Receiver/returner Akeem White and the Moncton Mustangs host the Halifax Harbour Hawks in a Maritime Football League semifinal on Saturday.  PHOTO: Tanya Everett Photography

Akeem White makes the spectacular run look routine.

The Moncton Mustangs' speedy receiver/returner has been a regular in the end zone in the Maritime Football League this season.

He's one of the reasons the Mustangs are one win away from returning to the league final for the fourth consecutive year.

White posted three touchdowns as a returner and also caught three TD receptions in five regular-season games.

Not bad for a player who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury.

White is coming off scoring three touchdowns - on two receptions and an 87-yard kickoff return - in Moncton's 27-21 win over the defending champion Saint John Wanderers in its regular-season finale last weekend.

The 26-year-old - born in Jamaica and raised in Toronto - has returned two kickoffs and one punt for majors this season.

"I follow my elite blockers, and as soon as a hole opens up, that's when I go for it. The rest is behind me, I guess," said White, who came to Moncton to play on a basketball scholarship at Crandall University.

"The only thing that goes through my mind is taking it to the end zone every time. It's a really exciting feeling."

The Mustangs, who finished second in the six-team league with a 5-1 regular-season record, host the third-place Halifax Harbour Hawks (4-2) in a semifinal on Saturday 5:30 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

The winner advances to the MFL championship game next week.

Moncton won its final five games of the regular season after dropping its opener to Saint John.

White is in his third year playing with the Mustangs, but sat out all of last season due to an Achilles injury suffered in a men's league basketball game.

He could only watch as rival Saint John recaptured the league title, defeating Moncton 42-23 in last year's final.

"I really wanted to be there last year, so that was really difficult, and so was the rehab process," said White, who rejoined the Mustangs for the second game of this season.

"I've just tried to take it game by game. The more games I play, the more comfortable the leg gets."

While basketball is his first love, White played two seasons of high school football in Toronto and two seasons of CEGEP football at Champlain College in Lennoxville, Que.

He met members of the Mustangs while playing flag football at the Moncton SportsDome, and they encouraged him to join the team.

Head coach Jason Terris is happy he did.

"With his hands and his ability to move well, he's a playmaker for us," Terris said of White.

"He's very explosive, and his speed and his mobility are almost unmatched. If you give him an inch, he can take a mile, and he did so last weekend."

White said his Mustangs squad is deeply motivated following last year's championship game loss, but won't look past the Harbour Hawks on Saturday.

Moncton beat Halifax in a Week 3 regular-season matchup, turning a 9-6 halftime lead into a 23-6 victory.

"They're very athletic and the first time we played them, it was pretty close in the first half," said White, a member of the Mustangs' 2017 MFL championship-winning team.

"The playoffs are a different atmosphere, and I feel both teams are going to come out strong."

First-place Saint John (5-1) is home to the fourth-place Island Mariners (3-3) in Saturday's other semifinal.