The Mid-South continues to live up to ita reputation as a game where anything can happen. Yes, Life University is 2-0 in the conference, but those wins came by three and four points, respectively.

Now the two teams Life beat, Davenport and Lindenwood, meet in St. Charles, Mo. for the Charles Labry Memorial Game. Labry was a Lindenwood player who died in an accident a week before Lindenwood was slated to play Davenport last fall. The game was played in Labry's honor, and now the contest has become a traveling shield between the two teams.

"It's a tradition that you see all over the rugby world, and we're honored to be a part of it," said Davenport captain Angus MacLellan. "It's terrible what happened, and if we could do this to help Lindenwood deal with it, we're glad to do it."

 Davenport won the meeting in the fall, 7-3 against a distraught and over-motivated Lindenwood team. They return with the trophy engraved and ready to keep it.

"We know this game will be a close, tough game," said MacLellan. "But that's what we want. Of the season we've done a good job of simplifying the game - sometimes that's a good thing - and we've benefited from it. We expect Lindenwood to be aggressive, good tacklers, and hard-nosed players who will not stop for 80 minutes."

That's what Lindenwood Coach JD Stephenson expects, too. His team has been able to get some important work in following their 25-21 loss at Life. And while the Memorial aspect of the game is important, it can't be everything.

"I think last time we put too much into it and the guys put pressure on themselves to have a great game," said Stephenson. "This time, we know it will be close. What we can't do is take 40 minutes to get into the game - 40 minutes to realize we're playing DIA rugby. These games are great. It's exactly what we all want, these close games. You know that if you turn the ball over, you'll be punished. You know that if you give up a penalty, then players like JP Eoff will make it three points."

Stephenson said he wants his players to adjust to the referee and the conditions more quickly. If they do that, they can pull out what promises to be a tight game.

MacLellan wants his teammates' approach to conitnue.

"The guys are doing all the hard stuff," he said "We've got well-rounded players who do everything, and aren't afraid to do the stuff that's not glamorous. We need to keep doing that."