Men’s rugby had already clinched the Heart of America Rugby Football Union, but they put an exclamation point on it and sent the senior class off in style in the final home game of the season with a convincing 113-14 win over Kansas Saturday afternoon at the Lindenwood Track.

The Lions ran 17 tries into the zone, highlighted by 10 in the second half alone.  Freshman flanker Daniel Kerckhoff opened the scoring for Lindenwood in his first start of the year.  Nicholas Markowski and Sebastian Kalm each had two tries in the first half and Cody Schwahn and Tyler Black each added one. 

In the second half, most of the scoring for Lindenwood came from speed on the outside.  Freshman wing Brad Foster scored three times and Justin Mathis and Prince Russell each had one try.  Starting locks Daniel Jones and Colin Bartolomeo and replacement player Matt Wirken also scored.

Fullback Stephen Duff was successful on 14 of 17 conversions and also crossed the line once to lead the Lions in scoring with 33.   Lindenwood dominated conference play, compiling a perfect 7-0 record and outscoring opponents 743-50 overall.

It was the final collegiate home game for seniors Zach Bollman, Trevor Locke, Jake O’Neill and Jeremy Chacon. 

The Lions now head into the post season as one of 16 teams in the USA Rugby Division 1-AA Playoffs.  Lindenwood will compete in the Midwest Regional beginning April 27 in Madison, Wisc.