Two undefeated DII Men’s College teams clashed this past weekend in the Gateway Conference, but it was not the tight contest of dominant teams everyone expected.

St. Louis University hammered previously-undefeated Principia 68-0. 
 

Wet weather made it muddy going and yet the slow ground didn’t seem to stop SLU, which caused the Thunder Chickens all sorts of problems in the lineouts.

“We knew they had a good jumper and we targeted contesting the throws against him and it worked,” said SLU Head Coach Justin Whitton. “Disrupting that lineout really set the tone for us.”

Principia were undercut by a nastily collision between two of their players during the game, seeing both players taken off the field. It was yet another example of the injury problems they have suffered. But they also had to contest with a St. Louis backline that is starting to work well together. Centers Zach Boente and Andy Colton were especially effective.

The game could hardly have come at a worse time for Principia and their coach, Ward Patterson, which is really under injury pressure. But for SLU, it was a big boost.

“Ward has national championships in both 15s and 7s,” said Whitton, referring to Patterson’s 7s DII win last fall with Principia, and his 15s DII titles with Middlebury. “We knew they would be a tough team. We’re trying to get to that level.”

With the result, SLU is in command in the Gateway Conference: