Photo by Davenport Athletics
A strong Davenport team outran and out-muscled the Wolverines in a spring friendly Friday night in Grand Rapids.
The Panthers handled Michigan in all facets of the game. Their superior physicality in contact situations caused the Men in Blue to be on their heals most of the night. The score started in the 5th minute and continued to a 39-0 halftime lead. Michigan had chances in the first half to put points on the board. Their first trip into Davenport’s 22 resulted in a turnover from a bad scrum outlet. Later, Grady Bridges had a penalty kick go wide right.
The game was mainly for development purposes for Michigan. Open subs were used to try new combinations and test young players. The Wolverines focused on specific areas of the game and their methods. Freshman Nick Fehrman played well at prop while fellow freshman Chening Duker caused problems at flanker.
Regardless of the scoreline, Michigan never gave in and late pressure awarded U of M with points. Battling near the Panthers’ try line, tight forward play resulted in numerous Davenport penalties. Eventually, the ball was moved to wing Sequoyah Burke-Combs who touched down on the last play of the game. Grady Bridges’s conversion attempt was missed.
Michigan takes on Western Michigan next week in Kalamazoo. The teams last met in the fall of 2011 where Michigan won 22-13.
1. Brennen Arnett
2. John Palladino
3. Nic Bishar
4. Drew Vecchio
5. Cole Van Harn
6. Kenny Andutan
7. Chening Duker
8. Mike LaCivita
9. Max Arevuo
10. Grady Bridges
11. Sequoyah Burke-Combs
12. Jared Bosma
13. Joel Conzelmann
14. Mark Borowski
15. CJ Stock
Subs: Evan Rourke, Evan Noon, Zach Burns, Nick Ferhman, Travis Sawyer, Ben Clemens
Try: Burke-Combs 80′
Michigan’s B-side took on Davenport-B in the preceding match. A 60 minute contest offered more playing opportunities for newer players such as Cooper Smart, Jesse Fenno, and Joe Stevens. The result was 66-0 in Davenport’s favor as the athleticism of the Panthers was on display. Poor tackling from Michigan resulted in numerous line breaks and scores. Fenno was noted for his tackling performance at flanker.
1. Brennen Arnett
2. Jackson Wagner
3. Nic Bishar
4. Joe Stevens
5. Matt Pilon
6. Jesse Fenno
7. Chening Duker
8. Cole Van Harn
9. John Palladino
10. Evan Noon
11. Vino Ravichandran
12. Ryan McDonough
13. Mark Borowski
14. Brandon Gardner
15. Cooper Smart
