Game Sheet | VanBiljon Audio | MacLellan Audio
SANDY, Utah. – Davenport outscored Dartmouth 24-3 in the second half and the Panthers advance to their second straight national championship game with a 35-18 win. Davenport will take on San Diego State University in the title game beginning at 6:30pm EST on Saturday.
In a battle of the top two ranked teams in the country, it was the No. 2 Big Green to get the early lead as they scored the game's first points at 8:10. After a missed conversion, DU trailed 5-0 but the Panthers came right back with their own try at 11:15 on a nice run from Adam Ries. The conversion was also no good as the score remained tied 5-5.
Dartmouth then scored the game's next 10 points on a penalty goal and a try with a good conversion to lead 15-5 with just under 20 minutes to play in the opening half. DU kept control of the ball for those remaining minutes and the Panthers got two penalty goals before the half from Jean Pierre Eloff to make it a 15-11 game in favor of the Big Green at halftime.
Coming out in the second half, the Panthers showed off their number one ranking early with a pair of try's from Gabe Sochanek and Demecus Beach to grab a 23-15 lead.
After Dartmouth cut the lead to just 5, DU got a big block and try from Eloff to make it 30-15 at 64:37. The Panthers finished the scoring with a try at 77:11 from Erin Hillary to make the final score 35-18.
Davenport advances to Saturday's national championship game to face San Diego State who defeated Tennessee earlier in the day. Game time is set for 6:30pm EST
Post-Game Quotes - Head coach Kruger Van Biljon and Angus MacLellan
Van Biljon On the strong second half - “We came out and possessed the ball in the second half and made some great runs. Every guy contributed and it really showed our depth”
MacLellan on playing some higher level teams this year - “We do not want to be No. 2 - I feel that we have a ton of potential and we will continue to work towards achieving that. Dartmouth was one of the best teams we have faced”
