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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After a close first half, Davenport pulled away in the second in the highly anticipated matchup with Miami Ohio. Seven different players scored tries for Davenport as they went on to win 49-15. Davenport remains undefeated at 5-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Davenport will host Bowling Green next Saturday at 1:45 pm.

Davenport got off to a good start in the first half as Demecus Beach scored a try less than two minutes into the game to give Davenport a quick 5-0 lead. After twelve minutes of back and forth play, Lance Cavanaugh was able to get past the Miami defense and score. A Jean Pierre Eloff conversion made it 12-0 Davenport.

Miami then got on the board with a dropkick score from near midfield. Davenport rebounded with a try by JP Eloff a minute and a half later to push the DU lead out to 16.

Miami closed the half with 12 unanswered points to cut the Davenport lead to 19-15.

To start the second half, Ryan Hargraves stole the ball from Miami on the opening kick and took it in for a try just 15 seconds into the half. Griffin Benson made the conversion to push Davenport's lead back out to 11.

Several minutes later, Gabe Sochanek and Mason Baum each scored a try in a three minute span to give Davenport some breathing room. Benson made one of the two conversions to extend the lead to 38-15.

Davenport controlled much of the second half. Cyrus Turner scored a try with 13:40 remaining in the half and Benson added a couple penalty kicks to put away Miami 49-15.

Davenport will be in action again next Saturday when they host Bowling Green at 1:45 pm. Bowling Green entered today undefeated and are taking on Michigan State (0-3) this afternoon.

Post-Game Quotes – Assistant Coach Thabu Eloff and Fly-Half Griffin Benson

Eloff's Thoughts on Today's Game – “The guys played a great game today. Miami is a very good team and they play very similar to us.  I thought we came out very strong and that is what we wanted from the guys and the only thing that we could work on is just having them play at the same level for the whole game.  And with JP going down, you never know what type of game we will have because he is such a leader but Griffin Benson came in and played a great game.”

Eloff on the Importance of this Game for the Conference Standings – “This was a big game for the season and we have another big game next week against Bowling Green which is a big rivalry for us.   We know that if we can bring it home against Bowling Green we will be in good position for the playoffs next season.”

Benson's Thoughts on Today's Game – “We played very well today, we came out as a team and were able to get a big win. There was a lot of hype leading into this game and I think we proved that we were one of the best teams in D1-AA.”

Benson on Coming in at the Half and Helping Lead Team to Win – “Coming in at half is a little different than starting the game because you have to get your intensity level up to what the other guys are at. Right off the bat, Ryan Hargraves broke away and scored the try to get the offensive going, which helped settle my nerves. Then on defense I knew that I just had to step up my game and make my tackles.”

Post-Game Notes

Davenport improves to 2-1 all-time against Miami Ohio…At least seven different players scored for Davenport for the second time this season…Davenport has scored 49 points or more in every conference game this season.

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