X-Men lose the battle, optimistic about the war

September 22, 2025 3:18 PM

It begins with an admission.

A 43-10 loss to a bitter division rival is probably not the way any team wants to begin their season.

While the opening game of the X-Men’s 2011 campaign did not yield a desired result, the feeling amongst the group is to absorb the loss and use it as a learning experience for what is at its core a very young team.

“We are a much better team than we showed on Saturday,” says Junior Peter, a first year full back from Ottawa. “There was a lot of opening day tension and we just didn’t connect,” he adds.

“Missed assignments, ‘mentals’ as we refer to them,” Scott Holmes, first year defensive lineman from Barrie, Ontario adds when asked why he thought the team played as they did.

The rookies are quite optimistic about both the talent of the team and the vision of those guiding them on the sidelines. “We have good coaches, we just need a bit more time for this team to bond, get the intensity up, get a live bench and move on,” Peter explains.

The coaching staff is now in its third season under head coach Gary Waterman, who was promoted from defence coordinator after the departure of John Bloomfield in January 2009.

After a great 2009 season in which the team went 6-2 and had another close but unsuccessful clash with Saint Mary’s University at the Loney Bowl, the team has struggled the past two seasons, largely due to the departure of several key offensive players, like receiver Akeem Foster and quarterback Steve Snyder.

Similarly, on the defensive end, linebacker Henoc Muamba was the first X-Men to be picked first overall in the CFL draft this past spring.

The team will be aided by the return of one of its star defensive players: human highlight reel and fourth year defensive back Dylan Hollohan, who tweaked his groin while training this summer, and then missed the opening tilt against Acadia.

“I’m playing it by ear right now. Obviously, I’d like to get back as soon as possible, but I’m hopeful I’ll be back full time by Week 4,” says Hollohan when asked about the injury.

Hollohan says of the team’s opening performance: “It’s tough because you have a lot of guys at new positions, but you also have a lot of guys playing for the first time.

There is not a single fifth year on the team this year and there are only a handful of fourth year guys [including me], so that makes continuity pretty tough.”

Hollohan is optimistic about the coming season. He says, “We’re having a good, tough week of practice, the team is stopping at UNB to practice en route to Montreal [to play Concordia]. We now have game film on Acadia, so we’ll be better prepared and ready to take them by surprise in a couple weeks.”

Optimism is and should be contagious for this team, despite the loss to Acadia and the subsequent loss against Concordia.

StFX has the element of surprise against Acadia on September 24 and will then host Mount Allison at homecoming – a team they defeated soundly 23-0 in the pre-season.

With a pair of dangerous receivers like Jordon Catterall and Devon Bailey, a strong offensive line led by fourth year Colin Wicks, and the impending return of Dylan Hollohan, the future of this team is bright even if the current situation seems gloomy.