The college season kicked off this weekend with Kentucky and Marian University meeting up Friday night at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis.

This was a crossover match between the two-time D1AA champion Wildcats and the NCR D1 Knights, held at the new rugby stadium and facility in Indiana's largest city. Before a solid crowd the two teams put on a bit of a show in a game that came down to the wire.

Kentucky started out on the front foot but little connections weren't quite going to hand—this is very early in the season and this was a bit of an issue for both teams. It wasn't just flat-out dropping the ball, but more alignment, timing, and things like that. Kentucky is very young and started three freshmen—lock Elliot Smyth, center Alex Dempsey, and wing Colin Spellacy. For Marian, their issue was partly that due to hot weather and a new player heat index-related welfare policy at the school the Knights had only practiced three times.

Marian was able to survive the first attack and kicked clear. They then ran some phases after a scrum before flyhalf Tomasso Lorenzetti sliced through a half-gap and was gone from 30 meters out. Lorenzetti converted for a 7-0 lead at 10 minutes.

The same situation happened after the restart, in that Marian held on and kicked clear. But this time the Knights were offside on the kick. After an attempt at a quick-tap was cruelly called back, the Wildcats took the lineout, worked it back and forth, and put outside center Luke Keough through for a nicely-taken try. Flyhalf John Dardis slotted the conversion and it was 7-7

More penalties by Marian put them on the back foot.

"We were offside way too much," said Marian Head Coach John Hartley after the game. "Discipline is a big deal and that's why this game is so good to have, so we can work on it. We were offside a lot."

Kentucky took the lineout through openside flanker Eli Arthur and then sent a flat ball to flanker Gage Curry, who charged onward. The Wildcats ran it out the ball and Keough linked with Spellacy on the right wing for the freshman's first UK try in his first game. (Spellacy was part of the St. Ignatius national championship side this past spring and set up a crucial try in that match.) 

Dardis was good on the kick—he was impressive in that aspect of the game last year even though he was backup to the excellent Jack Phillips. So now it was 14-12.

Marian surged back with some key runs from their center pairing of Clay Peters and Joe Martindale. Overall Marian was bigger and perhaps a little stronger. They did seem to be in a position to win the physical battle. A massive hit from tighthead prop Alex Baccoli forced a turnover and Noah Norris was a tough presence at No. 8. 

Kentucky had a couple of chances and were held out.

Goalline stand by @MUKnights rugby vs @kentuckyrugby ... key moment here as former USA skipper Bryce Campbell, and his dad, watch. pic.twitter.com/GjdiLJdmoa

— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) August 23, 2025

Head Coach Sam Enari noted some key moments in the game that hurt his team, and late in the second half there were two. One was the team opted for a lineout when they had a fairly easy-to-convert penalty goal chance. The other was a long-range kick from Dardis that doinked off the crossbar.

Another came in Kentucky's end. After a Kentucky clearance kick Marian was dinged for a not-straight throw. The Wildcats opted for the scrum, despite the fact that their lineout had been functioning well and in the scrum they were giving up size and experience and some ground, too. Marian shoved hard in the scrum, got the whistle, and moved quickly.They passed it out to Zach White put the Carmel Chargers product over for the try.

"We certainly made some early-season mistakes," said Keough. "Some of them were by me. They were tough and we know we need to work on all of that, with a young team, and we know we can get better."

As the half ended Marian scrumhalf Casey Grabill scampered down the field with an impressive run. He was dragged down but eventually the Knights got a penalty and Lorenzetti put it over the bar for a 15-14 Marian lead at halftime.

Second Half Back and Forth

Marian seemed to take control early. A deep kick was fumbled a bit by UK. Marian was able to stay in the Kentucky 22, and finally after they got the ball back a nifty cutback and pass out to White saw the wing get his second straight. Lorenzetti converted and it was 29-14.

Kentucky's response was impressive with Keough and Curry leading the way. They marched down to the Marian line, but were unable to get it over. Twice a pick-and-go got the Wildcats from six meters out to maybe half a meter out, but that was as close as they got.