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Senior Day 2006 brings Eagles to Lion Country
Lindenwood vs. Avila
Nov. 4 , 2006 - LU Stadium
Saint Charles, MO
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Nearing the end of what has been a long, hard road of a 2006 football season, Lindenwood University will bid a last home cheer to sixteen Lion seniors tomorrow afternoon, as Avila University comes to LU Stadium for a Heart of America Athletic Conference battle. The Eagles, led by veteran head coach Bruce Young, have played some good football this season, winning three times, and they would like nothing more than to spoil Senior Day for the Lions.
Though injuries and some cruel twists of fate have made it less than a memorable senior season for most of those sixteen men, there is much they can be proud of as they leave the active part of the LU Football family.
This class, five of whom joined the Lions in the spring of 2004, along with head coach Patrick Ross and a new staff, has led LU to 21 wins in the last three years. In the three years previous to that, the Lions had produced a total of seven wins, so the turnaround is a remarkable story they will always be a part of.
Attendance at home games and regional interest in Lion football are at an all-time high, the future looks extremely bright with a talented group of underclassmen in the fold, and someday, when a national champion in football is crowned at Lindenwood, these sixteen seniors will know they were there when the foundation was laid.
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No one wants to lose on Senior Day, so it will be important for the Lions to put the pregame emotion to work once the ball is kicked off. Avila is not a team that can be taken lightly in 2006, and they’re coming off a win over Culver-Stockton last weekend. After going winless in 2005, Coach Young’s team has a chance to win as many as five games this fall, if the Eagles were to win today and next weekend against Benedictine—a good turnaround story in its own right.
The Lions have battled the two-headed monster of inexperience and injury all season, and that foul beast finally got the better of them last weekend, as a 31-7 loss at MidAmerica was easily the year’s worst outing.
The game started out well, with sophomore QB Ben Kisner tossing a 37-yd. TD pass to standout freshman flanker Trevan Hombs only two minutes into the game. Things deteriorated after that, however, and the Lions will be looking to get back on the horse and finish the season strong here this afternoon.
Hombs is only one of many youngsters getting a trial by fire in 2006, and he has responded, grabbing five passes for 102 yards last week. The Lions will start only two seniors on offense on Saturday, and two on defense—that on-the-job-training all the young players have accumulated this season should be a nice base in years to come.
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A pair of Lion senior defensive stalwarts who will be sorely missed in the future: All-American safety Marcus Klund (3) and noseguard David Gladney (70). |
Senior noseguard David Gladney has been a rock all season for the Lion defense, leading LU since the injury to All-American safety Marcus Klund, and he will be fun to watch against the Eagles —take a close look each time the pile unfolds, and the Louisiana native will be one of the last ones up.
He and sophomore linebacker Logen Wright, the team’s leading tackler, will have to be on their game in order to slow down the Billy Firn-led Avila offense. The Eagles have been watching the film, so you can bet Firn and a good group of receiver s will try to make some plays in the air tomorrow.
With eight days left in the 2006 season, the natural inclination is to look ahead, and what lies on the horizon for this Lion program looks good. Saturday is about this year, though, and sending out those sixteen proud seniors in style—with HAAC win #22 over the last three years on their belts.
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