Lions come away with big win

Update: The Lions beat Texas A&M-Kingsville: 41-35 on Sat. October 8. Their record is now 4-2.

A 30-0 to South Dakota loss looks bad, but the football Lions walked away with the next best thing: experience.

“We all got a chance to see that we are not that far away from playing at that level,” head coach Patrick Ross said.

South Dakota is a NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program ranked in the top 20 (FCS is the second tier of D-1). LU is transitioning into D-2, the third tier of NCAA.

From the moment the Lions left LU on their way to Vermillion, South Dakota to face the Coyotes, they were learning. The Coyotes play in a dome, which is rare at the NAIA and D-2 levels. A crowd of 7,293 fans attended. The team has never played in front of a crowd that large. However, they were not startled:

“Definitely did not feel overwhelmed,” junior quarterback John Uribe said. “Any kind of football player is going to thrive in that environment.”

“It’s a good experience for our guys to go and get a chance to play in that atmosphere,” Ross said.

The Lions also gained exposure. The team has now played at Northern Colorado and South Dakota, two FCS teams. They will also travel to South Texas and Oklahoma.

Uribe completed 25-36 passes for 157 yards, but the LU offensive line allowed seven sacks. Junior running back Therman McGowan ran 11 times for 51 yards.

“There were phases of our game that were good,” Ross said.

The team was down 13-0 at halftime.  Ross said his offense came out in the second half and gambled a bit. That put the Coyotes offense in great field position and the LU defense had trouble stopping them.

“Overall we played pretty good,” said junior cornerback Justin Broome. “We made a couple of mistakes and gave up too many big plays.”

The Lions are 3-2 on the year and their next foe is Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Kingsville is a three hour drive south of San Antonio. The Javelinas are a longtime Division 2 power and they play in the Lone Star Conference. They have won seven national championships, including a playoff appearance in 2010 and are currently ranked 16th. Their current record is 2-2.

“They are going to be fast and it’s on their home turf,” Uribe said.

Broome said the Javelinas are big and strong, as well as fast. Game time is 7 p.m.

LU starting junior running back Denodous O’Bryant will not play this Saturday. The team hopes to have him back in two to three weeks. Without O’Bryant - the Lions all-time rushing leader in touchdowns - they are 0-2 with a total of 13 points.