Davenport faced off with Adrian College for their first game of the 15's season on September 9th. The final score against the Bulldogs was 23-12 resulting in a successful start of their back-to-back games over the weekend. Adrian arrived prepared for the game, but the Panthers attack and defensive strategies proved to be the glue that held them together. The Panthers received a number of yellow cards leaving them down three players, but they still managed to get some points on the board. Matt Kelly and Joseph Portillo scored three tries during the game, securing the point advantage and Mathew De Villiers had a conversion kick which resulted in another two points for Davenport. Sean Nolan had a strong start to the season with his penalty kicks which relieved the pressure off the team and allowed them time to really settle in and gain the points they needed to win the game. In the end, their defensive line speed and ability to be a cohesive team is what kept the start of this weekend in their favor.

Scoring Breakdown for Davenport v. Adrian
Matt Kelly - 2 tries (10 points)
Sean Nolan - 2 penalty kicks (6 points)
Joseph Portillo - 1 try (5 points)
Mathew De Villiers - 1 conversion (2 points)

Their second game of the weekend was played by Davenport's second side against Aquinas College. The game was played in 20-minute quarters, and Aquinas got the initial leg up during their first quarter ending with a 7-0 score. The Panthers quickly asserted dominance on the field showing Aquinas that they showed up ready to play. Garrett Hill on Davenport's team was one of the individuals who showed tremendous defensive skills and decision making. Aquinas had a solid defense, and their kicks had an intense accuracy, but nothing these Panthers couldn't overcome. Davenport's ability to move the ball quickly and their strength on defense allowed Davenport to create a 20-point gap by the end of the game resulting in a final score of 47-27. The most points awarded was to Josh Botha who had three conversion kicks and two penalty kicks resulting in a 12-point total for this match. Tries were scored by seven individuals that are located on the scoring breakdown below.

Scoring Breakdown for Davenport v. Aquinas
Josh Botha - 3 conversion kicks and 2 penalty kicks (12 points)
Tatenda Rwenyu - 1 try (5 points)
RJ Pua - 1 try (5 points)
Harrison Nash - 1 try (5 points)
Patric Fields - 1 try (5 points)
Alessandro Mares - 1 try (5 points)
Luther Deacon - 1 try (5 points)
Josh Peacock - 1 try (5 points)

Next week, the team takes on Indiana University on September 17th at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex. Kickoff will be at 4:30 PM.

Story by: Taylor Badal