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Battle of the Cats
Lindenwood vs. Georgetown
Sept. 9, 2006 - Lindenwood University Stadium
St. Charles, MO
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Lindenwood football fans are in for a treat this Saturday at LU Stadium, as one of the NAIA’s premier programs comes calling. Georgetown (Ky.) College, led by veteran head coach Bill Cronin and All-American quarterback Jeff Smith, roll into town hauling a No. 4 national ranking and a barrel full of preseason expectations.
Head coach Patrick Ross and his Lion team are looking forward to the challenge, to say the least. The Lions sought this game as an opportunity to measure themselves against a nationally competitive team, and Georgetown is that: in terms of facilities, tradition, administrative support, athletes, coaching, etc., the Tigers are where the LU program wants to go.
To get there, at some point, you have to measure yourself up against the leaders of the pack, not just on your block, but in the entire neighborhood. The Tigers lost in the national semifinals last season, and appear to be loaded again in 2006. Their high-octane offense, in particular, can cause opposing coaches to lose sleep at night, so they are used to being the favorite.
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Over on the home sideline, the Lions find themselves in the unusual position of playing the home underdog this weekend. With a record of 19-6 since Ross and his staff came to town, it has been a rare occasion, indeed, when LU has found itself in a position to be picked on by the neighborhood bully.
After dropping a close one to open the season in the Wheat Bowl (a 14-13 decision to Northwest Oklahoma State), the Lions rebounded nicely to thump Culver-Stockton last week, 38-17. Freshman quarterback Stuart Sago shined in that one, tossing three TD passes in his first collegiate start, and the tough Lion defense picked off three Culver passes to key the rout.
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A very interesting quarterback matchup is on tap for Saturday afternoon at LU Stadium, as the All-American senior gunslinger (Georgetown's Jeff Smith, left) and the young gun with the chip on his shoulder (Lindenwood sophomore star Ben Kisner, right) will lead their teams in a non-conference showdown |
Sago, the reigning HAAC Offensive Player of the Week, will go back to his spot in the batting order behind sophomore Ben Kisner this week, as the regular LU signal caller should return to action on Saturday after missing most of the Wheat Bowl, and all of last week’s game, with an injury. Kisner has star power, so he’s still the guy, but it was very nice for the Lions to see that Sago can handle himself quite well should the need arise again during the course of LU’s 12-game regular season schedule.
Junior tailback Hakeem Abdullah pitched in with 104 yards on 11 carries, including a 36-yd. TD run, and senior wideout Steven Kennedy ran his career TD reception total to 17 with two big ones against Culver-Stockton. Junior cornerback Larry Gladney continued to shine in the early going, ripping off a school-record 100-yd. interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. In all, it was a great way to kick off the HAAC schedule, especially on a night when most of the other Heart favorites were upset in their opening contests.
Saturday is all about competing outside the conference, though, and the Smith-led Tigers will be in no mood to let their season-opener be a national coming out party for Lindenwood Football. When the young Lion decides to go after the king, all on the range stop to watch—and so it will be this afternoon, as NAIA programs all across the country take a peek at this battle of the big cats.
There is a pecking order to everything, and games like this one help to establish more than just bragging rights—it’s about the HAAC vs. the Mid-South, the young coach vs. the veteran, power vs. finesse, even region vs. region. However it comes out by Saturday, this game will provide both Georgetown and Lindenwood with some valuable information—either where they are right now, or where they’re headed … or probably, a little of both.
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Lion sophomore DE Billy Ray Uren has played well in the early going
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