Who Looked Good at Lindenwood Tournament?
Who Looked Good at Lindenwood Tournament?
The Lindenwood tournament once again turned out a solid series of early-season games for teams in the middle of the country.
When all nine varsity games were done, St. Thomas Aquinas had logged two impressive victories, KC Jr. Blues and Notre Dame de La Salette split their games, Archbishop Moeller lost twice but had their moments, Bixby was competitive, and SLUH showed well.
St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Westside Black Swarm 24-14 on Saturday. Max Doerfler once again was player of the game but there were other solid performances. Cooper Coates and Carson Kraft led a good forward effort while in the backs Owen Charlton had a good day.
Also in the tournament, Bixby defeated Moeller 17-11 and Notre Dame de la Salette beat the St. Louis Jets.
For Aquinas, Head Coach Tim Kluempers said he was just pleased his side stepped up against a physically larger opponent.
“I was just pleased they had the confidence to get stuck in and smash somebody,” he said.
KC Jr. Blues and SLUH battled it out on Saturday. SLUH went up 5-0 after knocking on the door for much of the first half. In the second half KC scored 17 unanswered points to win 17-5.
On Sunday Aquinas stormed out to an early lead and never looked back against Moeller, ultimately taking that contest 46-17. Michael Doerfler was outstanding at flyalf running the attack and unleashing STA's speed.
"He just did a really nice job all weekend," said Kluempers.
Moeller lost to Bixby and STA and their Varsity B side beat Eureka in a close one. This was one of Moeller's first runouts of the season. They had previously tied Notre Dame de la Salette 19-19.
La Salette looked impressive in their victory over the St. Louis Jets, and then on Sunday they held off the Jr. Blues. That was a game that went back-and-forth. La Salette ran out to a 14-0 lead. KC answered with tries to make it 14-10. The Illinois side added a third try to make it 19-10.
And that was the halftime score. The defenses ramped up in the second half. KC was repeatedly undone by penalties but they did get over for a try. And so to the dramatic ending—Lance Nauer powered over the line in a pile of bodies. KC thought they had scored; it was called held up, and the game ended that way.
Lindenwood scores:
KC Jr. Blues 17-5 SLUH
St. Thomas Aquinas 24-14 Westside
Notre Dame de la Salette 41-12 St. Louis Jets
Bixby 17-11 Moeller
Westside 24-7 St. Louis Jets
SLUH 20-7 Bixby
St. Thomas Aquinas 46-17 Moeller
Notre Dame de la Salette 19-15 KC Jr. Blues
