The Lane College defense stymied the Edward Waters offense and Tarik McKinzie came off the bench to lead the Dragons to a 20-9 win and a 2-0 start in conference play.
After giving up an opening drive touchdown, the Lane defense shut out the Tigers offense that was averaging 32 points per game coming into the day.
The Dragons offense got off to a slow start, earning just five first downs before the final drive of the first half when senior quarterback Michael Huntley led the Dragons to four first downs before exiting the game with under a minute to go in the half with a lower leg injury.
McKinzie completed a pass on the final play of the first half to tight end Joseph Logan who fell as he caught the ball just short of the goal line.
The hosts carried over that momentum from the first half when Lane kicker Noah Shalz executed a perfect pooch kick to open the second half. The Dragons jumped on it and took advantage of the short field to get on the board.
McKinzie led the Dragons on an eight play, 32-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to Ryheem Quinney from 5-yards out.
The teams swapped punts before the visitors marched down the field and in to the red zone, looking prime to score points, but a big tackle for loss on third and goal from the country's leader in that category, Andrew Farmer, led to a 22 yard field goal attempt that Flakewood Tucker blocked to keep the Tigers off the board.
It took McKinzie just six plays to take the Dragons 80 yards for another touchdown. This time, it was a 24-yard pass to Jacquez Jones to give Lane the lead.
Edward Waters next possession ended in one play when Jeffrey Johnson sacked the Tigers' quarterback and forced a fumble that Taquon Brown recovered to send the Lane offense back on the field.
A healthy dose of Ike Brown is what was served to EWU as the sophomore running back carried the ball four times for 34 yards on the drive and capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown run. The score put the game on ice, as Lane won their second straight game and currently sits alone atop the SIAC West standings.
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