Life University moved to 2-0 in the Mid-South after the Running Eagles held off a furious late charge by Lindenwood to win 25-21 Saturday in Marietta, Ga.

In yet another close finish in the Mid-South, Life scored in the opening minute, A chip ahead for wing Harley Davidson bounced off the corner flag before Davidson gathered and touched down. No try given, but moments later Davidson scampered close to the line on the opposite side and offloaded to Zach Warren who scored in the corner.

Blane McIlroy added a penalty soon thereafter and the game stayed at 8-0 for most of the first half. But with only about six minutes left in the half, Lindenwood basically lost the game. A free kick to the Lions ended with a turnover to Life, and a long counter-attack that ended in touch. But the Lindenwood throw-in wasn’t straight and Marcus Walsh set up Alex Maughan for a try. McIlroy slotted the kick to make it 15-0. But Life wasn’t done. With about a minute left in the half, Life powered ahead again, and eventually lock Jake Anderson bulled over. McIlroy was good on the kick once more, and in the space of six minutes, an 8-0 game had been blown wide open, 22-0.

Lindenwood replied, scoring through defensive pressure early in the half, and then a big break from Cameron Reed set up another score. Midway through the second half it was 22-14.

McIlroy added a penalty, and Lindenwood looked set to close the gap once more, but dropped the ball in-goal.

Eventually they did score though No. 8 Seb Kalm on an eightman pick - Lindenwood’s scrum was one of their strengths in the game - and Lunaile Tshuma’s kick bounced off the upright and through to make it 25-21.

But Lindenwood couldn’t quite get there again, and Life held on. The Lions will be ruing mistakes in the lineout that cost them at key moments.

“It’s been a while since we’ve played at that level and speed of play, and we were a bit shell-shocked,” said Lindenwood Head Coach JD Stephenson. “You can’t turn over the ball six times, you can’t miss touch, and you can’t make those mistakes against a team like Life. The second half we were much better, but we’ve got to get out of the box harder, and we’re better for the experience today.”

With the victory, Life leads the Mid-South, but both games have been very close. One the road, Life might have more trouble.