The forecast was dire for April 10 in St. Charles - the Weather Channel was calling for thunder, wind, rain and lightning. Turns out, neither rain nor thunder showed up, and the only lightning was supplied by Lindenwood senior quarterback Ben Kisner and the Lion offense.

On what turned out to be a beautiful evening in front of a large crowd approaching 1,500 spectators at Harlan C. Hunter Stadium, the 2008 version of the LU offense was the star of the show, racking up 648 yards of offense on 86 plays in the 2008 Black and Gold Game.

The game was played in an offense vs. defense format, with no special teams and ten-minture quarters. The final period was played with a running clock as the reserves finished up. The quick pace seemed to suit the Lion offensive units, as three LU quarterbacks completed 37 of 58 pass attempts for a whopping 504 yards through the air.

"Some of those passing numbers you can take with a grain of salt, because the quarterbacks weren't live," said Lion head coach Patrick Ross. "The defense probably got the best of the offense in the first two scrimmages this spring, so it was nice to see things even out a bit in the last one. All in all, it was a fun night."

Kisner, who will be entering his fourth season as a Lion starter in the fall, led the offense to three quick first half scoring drives, tossing three touchdown passes. The Independence, Mo., native completed 18 of his 29 pass attempts for 195 yards in less than two quarters of action.

"We were able to hit some big plays without throwing the ball downfield, because our backs and receivers did a great job of running with the ball after the catch," said Ross. "Ben has been outstanding all spring, and I think our young offensive skill players were very good when they got in there - which results in big plays and lots of yardage when it gets added up. The No. 1 defensive guys played well, though."

Senior wideout Brent Hodgkiss (four catches, 63 yards) and junior star-in-waiting Rudy Fleming (four grabs, 56 yards) topped the list in number of receptions, while sophomore tailback Robert Williamson picked up the most receiving yards with 128 on three screens. Hodgkiss picked up a 30-yd. TD reception from Kisner in the second quarter, while the lightning-quick Williamson raced 66 yards for a score with a shovel pass from senior QB Bobby Demoulin just before halftime.

An interesting twist to the spring has been the continued development of the Lion offense after the departure of former offensive coordinator Shawn Jackson one day before the beginning of spring ball (Jackson left to take a high school head coaching job in Tennessee). Anyone curious to see what the Lions would look like on offense certainly got an eyeful on Thursday night.

"Nothing has really changed for us other than the normal adjustments you make when personnel comes and goes, which is a part of college football, " said Ross. "We're breaking in new tailbacks, too, and they all looked awfully good in both the running game and the passing game. The only difference people will see in our offense is that we're one year better in this system."

The tailback position has been hotly contested all spring, which will continue into the summer and fall. Sophomore Nate Orlando was the leading rusher in the Black and Gold Game, picking up 50 yards on five carries, with senior Dario Camacho netting 36 yards on five totes of his own. In all, the five Lion tailbacks racked up 122 rushing yards on 20 carries, while adding another 190 yards on 11 pass receptions.

Even with all the excitement about the offensive display, Ross was smiling about the work of several players on defense.

"Our defensive end group played well, as they have all spring," said the Lions sixth-year head coach. "Billy Ray Uren and Alvin Davie both showed us some things tonight, and it was nice to see a young guy like Kellen Dreyer get in there and make a big play late in the game."

A redshirt freshman, Dreyer provided the game's only takeaway - and a defensive score - when he rolled 42 yards for a touchdown with an interception return in the fourth quarter.

The younger Lions played almost exclusively after halftime, and sophomore quarterback Will Saffen made the most of his opportunity, completing 10 of his 13 pass attempts for 175 yards, two for touchdowns. His 50-yard TD strike to redshirt freshman Isaac McFarland was the game's final play.

"It was good to see so many hard workers making plays," said Ross. "We had 15 different players catch passes, with new guys like Darrell (Thornton) and Terry (Martin) making nice touchdown grabs. We should be very, very deep at the skill positions on offense."

The Lions will open the 2008 season with a huge road game in Olathe, Kan., doing battle with MidAmerica Nazarene University on Sept. 6. Click on the link below to watch a highlight video from the 2008 Black and Gold Game: