Teams in the Midwest took advantage of the annual Lindenwood Tournament over the weekend to get a good multi-game kick-start to the season.
"It was a good tournament, and we had the opportunity to get some time for a lot of guys," said St. Thomas Aquinas Head Coach Tim Kluempers.
Aquinas won two games, beating Eureka and St. Louis Jets. They lost to 901 out of Tennessee, which took the result 26-5. In addition, 901 took a 48-7 win over Oklahoma-based Bixby; they were led by senior forwards Garret Hagan (U. Memphis commit), who scored four tries on the weekend, Andrey Toy, who scored three, and No. 8 Riley Windschitl, who also bagged three.
Alabama commit and flyhalf Colby Shelton was very good while outside center Ben Killebrew (off to Tennessee) and fullback Jack Sipniewski (University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in Saint Louis, aka UHSP) were also strong in the backs.
St. Martin's Kingfishers won twice via shutout, over Royal Rambler Force and over SLUH. Led by the halfback combo of Robbie Ritson and Will Van De Ryt, Kingfishers ran their attack with alacrity and they defended well, also. Captain Ethan Blakie was outstanding, also.
The Kansas City Jr. Blues beat CBC, St. Louis Jets, and SLUH.
It was a good showing for the Junior Blues since they have only had four practices outside.
They beat CBC 60-0 and led the Jets 22-0 before St. Louis was able to get on the scoreboard. The Blues eventually won 36-7.
