Photo by Paul DeCoursey: Dakota Southworth fights forward for Iowa Central against Lindenwood on Saturday.

The Iowa Central rugby program never backs down from a challenge.

And that is exactly what was presented to them on Saturday at Crimmins Field in the form of No. 1 Lindenwood.

Lindenwood swept the two matches, winning the A-side, 29-5, and the B-side, 39-3.

“We’ve been playing them for a couple years now and it’s just awesome for our guys to compete against the best in the country,” Iowa Central head coach Brent Nelson said. “It allows them to recruit our guys and gives (Lindenwood) the chance to get some of their guys into action against us.

“We love it because we want to see the best there is. It’s kind of the equivalent of Northern Iowa (being Iowa Central) going against Alabama (Lindenwood) in college football. We won’t see anybody like them again.”

Nelson noted the play of Collin Buteyn, a Wisconsin native, in the A-side match, as he scored the lone try.

“We ran a lot of really nice set pieces,” Nelson said. “Collin did a great job out there, as did all of our guys.”

In the B-side match, Javarious Burris and Christian Stanback were key players. Stanback converted the penalty kick for three points.

“Javarious really raised his hand,” Nelson said. “He had three long runs where he was breaking tackles, gaining meters and providing energy off the bench.

“I know from the outside, the scores don’t look great, but it wasn’t about being the winner. When you go up against the No. 1 team in the nation, all I ask is that our guys compete. There is something to be said about working hard and competing when you are doing so against the top teams. They never backed down and I’m so proud of them for that.”

After the matches, Lindenwood was in attendance for the Iowa Central women’s basketball game at Hodges Fieldhouse.

“Rugby is a sport where you battle in a physical — almost brutal — way, but afterward, there is a sense of fellowship that exists,” Nelson noted. “We have a social where we talk and provide food for the other team. Some of our guys helped bring some of Lindenwood’s players up so they could get cleaned up and, in somewhat of a way of saying ‘thank you,’ they stayed and cheered on the women’s team.”