"The truth is, there are no easy weeks in the Heart," said Ross, who now owns a record of 23-8 in conference play since coming to LU, the most wins of any HAAC program during that span. "You have to be ready to play, emotionally and physically, every week - or you're going to get beat."

The Lions opened the season in an extreme state of readiness against MidAmerica, ripping off big plays on offense and forcing six turnovers on defense. That three-headed tailback - senior Hakeem Abdullah, along with juniors Leonard Durant and Richard Murrell - will be sharing the workload all season, and they averaged nearly ten yards per carry against the Pioneers.

The Lions also received some outstanding individual performances on defense, even though MNU quarterback Matt Schneider passed for some yards (understatement?). Junior transfer cornerback Thomas Christian picked off a pair Schneider passes, returning one of them for a 20-yd. TD, and tackled very well. Newcomers Scott Burton (DB) and Quran Barge (LB) led the team in tackles, helping to cover up for the loss of junior LB Logen Wright early in the game to a broken leg.

"You don't lose a player and person like Logen and not miss it," said Ross of his preseason All-American candidate. "But the people who came in and played his spot made plays. We're going to have to move on without him for right now, and hopefully guys like Tyler Kasper and Derek Coxson take advantage of their opportunity."

The game plan will probably be very similar for the Lion offense again this week, as new offensive coordinator Shawn Jackson continues to find more and more players comfortable in their roles. The Lions flashed huge big play potential against MidAmerica, and a revamped offensive line with four new starters dominated the line of scrimmage. Junior QB Ben Kisner looked very comfortable in the no-huddle spread look, completing 19 of his 25 pass attempts, including two for TD's.

"The offense was fun to watch last week," said Ross. "It has been a while since we felt like we were capable of scoring on any play, and that was the atmosphere in the stadium on Saturday. We need to continue to get better every week as more film on us gets out there, but it was a great first step."

Junior QB Ben Kisner (16) opened his third season as a starter with 250 passing yards, completing 19 of 25 attempts, with two TD's; senior DE Jeremy Coley came up with some big lost yardage plays, and provided good upfield pressure against MNU
Junior guard LeShawn Newberry (78) and sophomore center Jeff Hynes (69) were often at the point of attack as three Lion tailbacks rushed for 216 yards on 22 carries in LU's season-opening upset of 17th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene last weekend.