written by Nick Salen | D1ARugby.com
Following a successful campaign in the Las Vegas Invitational and a draw a day later with Arkansas State, the Lindenwood Lions were quick to pounce from the opening kick off versus the Panthers.
8-Man Wesley White scored on the first play for Lindenwood off a clearance kick down the right side. It gave the Lions early momentum, and a follow up try by Michael de Waal gave the team a 10-0 lead in the first 20 minutes.
Davenport did not stay down for long thanks to lock Mike Lau, who touched down in the 29th minute. Following a yellow card to Lindenwood's Nick Feakes, the Panthers took advantage with a try by loose-head prop Connor Schilling to tie the game.
Coming out of the break, however, it was all Lindenwood on the scoreboard. In the span of 15 minutes the Lions made two successful tries, a conversion and penalty kick to help put the game our of reach for good. It was 25-10 until a last-minute score by Christian Rodriguez.
"Our confidence on attack is growing week-to-week. I'm impressed with how well we are pressuring the whole field and getting more consistent in our decision making every week," said head coach Josh Macy.
Defensively, Macy highlighted the play of de Waal specifically by being coolheaded and becoming a turnover machine. That mentality has quickly made the freshman flanker an impact player for the Lions.
James Lillis was also a notable individual by Macy during the game. The junior lock earned a start for the first time and made his presence known almost immediately in the second row.
Davenport continues to search for its identity in the spring season. In the second half the Panthers utilized fresh legs with four substitutions. Unfortunately it was not enough to help narrow the deficit in the team's third consecutive loss. Despite this, the team is showing less costly errors as of late.
Schilling remains a leader on the front line in addition to the chemistry of Brady Gent and Noah Zomberg, the offense is struggling to finish. 8-Man All-American Dominique Bailey and Lau also continue to be leaders on the field. But overall it is not translating into points, or a full 80 minutes. The Panthers remain winless in 2017 and now look in to next week against Arkansas State to bring it all together on the field.
"The game was a hard fought battle and the guys had great spirits tying the game at half 10-10," said DU head coach Harry King. "We missed out again on scoring opportunities going into the second half and missed quite a few more in the second half. Lindenwood kept up great attacks and they were able to crack our hard line defense. It was a game of tough groups of young men and the Lions came out on top. I feel that the seasons has been tough based on the Midwest conditions and our schedule in the Mid-South. We have Arkansas State coming up next weekend and we are going in the right direction as a team."
