Lindenwood RB Robert Giaimo looks to avoid a defender during last Thursday’s football season opener against Wisconsin-Stevens Point. (Photo: Cedric Williams)

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

The first weekend of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference football season kicked off with several exciting games and big time wins throughout the conference. The biggest of which being Lindenwood’s 77-9 beatdown of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The Lions scored 11 touchdowns — five rushing, five passing, and one on a blocked punt return — in front of a nearly sold out Hunter Stadium to pick up their first win of the season. Below are recaps and box scores of each contest.

LINDENWOOD 77, WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT 9 | BOX SCORE
Lindenwood picked up a 77-9 win over Wisconsin Stevens-Point in the 2023 season opener on Thursday night at Hunter Stadium. The Lions scored eight first half touchdowns and led 56-0 at the break. Additionally, the defense limited the Pointers to just 78 years of total offense in the first half. The passing attack turned into a ground game in the second half with Lindenwood rushing for 186 yards (and totaling 349 on the ground for the game). Quarterback Cole Dugger completed 9-of-14 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns, while Robert Giaimo rushed for one score and caught a pass for another.

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EASTERN ILLINOIS 27, INDIANA STATE 0 | BOX SCORE
Eastern Illinois ended the opening half with a flurry with not one, but two interceptions returned for touchdown as the Panthers defeated Indiana State 27-0 to open the season.  Leading 6-0 late in the first quarter, Tyris Harvey picked off a pass at the 19-yard line and returned it for a touchdown with 55 seconds left in the opening half.  EIU went for two as they were without the services of starting kicker Stone Galloway.

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CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 13, NORTH GREENVILLE 10 | BOX SCORE
Charleston Southern opened the Gabe Giardina era by scoring 10 unanswered points in the final stanza to win 13-10. Charleston Southern struggled to find footing in the first half, as North Greenville laid claim to the first 10 points of the contest. The second half saw Charleston Southern answer the call down the stretch, laying claim to the final 13 points of the contest, starting with a field goal from Sam Babbush from 20 yards out as the first half expired. The lone Buccaneer visit to pay dirt came in the fourth as Autavius Ison took the rock across the goal line from three yards out to give the Bucs their first lead of the game. North Greenville had the final possession of the night, getting the ball back with 2:40 to play after a Charleston Southern punt from its own eight. The Crusaders took it all the way down to the CSU three with under 10 ticks to play, but the drive was halted after a false start penalty triggered a 10-second runoff and saw the clock run down and preserve the 13-10 victory for the Bucs. JD Moore made his name known in the CSU backfield, amassing 105 yards on the ground on 17 attempts.

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#6 FURMAN 45, TENNESSEE TECH 10 | BOX SCORE
Six turnovers by Tennessee Tech led to 28 points for the Paladins, as the Golden Eagles fell in their season opener to nationally-ranked Furman.  Through the first three quarters, the Golden Eagles put up better offensive numbers than the Paladins, a credit to both Tech’s offense moving the ball and the defense – led by Aaron Swafford’s 12 tackles and a fumble recovery – making Furman’s offense work for what it did collect.  Ethan Roberts, in his first career start, completed 25 of his 38 passes for 204 yards, throwing a touchdown pass to Willie Miller in the second quarter. Roberts engineered several great drives, including an 11-play, 75-yard series for the touchdown, as well as a 13-play, 54-yard narrative with Hayden Olsen knocking through a 38-yard field goal.

APPALACHIAN STATE 45, GARDNER-WEBB 24 | BOX SCORE
Appalachian State pulled away from #24/25 Gardner-Webb late as the Mountaineers knocked off the Runnin’ Bulldogs 45-24 on Saturday, Sept. 2.  GWU held a 24-21 third quarter lead before ASU jumped ahead for good.  Ty French made history on Appalachian State’s second drive of the game, recording a sack on third down to give him 25.0 career sacks. That mark ties Chima Uzowihe (Liberty, 2012-15) for the most career sacks in Big South history.

UNLV 44, BRYANT 14 | BOX SCORE
Bryant dropped its season opener to UNLV, 44-14, on Saturday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.  Bryant was opening its season with an FBS opponent for the second-straight year. Ryan Clark scored both of Bryant’s touchdowns on the afternoon, while Zevi Eckhaus accounted for 319 yards of total offense. Landon Ruggieri posted 11 catches for 109 yards and Robert Crockett III picked off his first pass as a member of the Black and Gold. 

AIR FORCE 42, ROBERT MORRIS 7 | BOX SCORE
Air Force ran for 374 yards and held Robert Morris to 43 yards on the ground as the Falcons won 42-7 in the season opener. The Colonials were led in offense by quarterback Anthony Chiccitt who completed 14-18 attempts (78%) for 99 yards in the air. RMU wideout Noah Robinson received for 36 yards while teammate Kimon O’Sullivan rushed for 39. Linebacker Jamar Shegog paced an RMU defensive effort that racked up 68 tackles Saturday, including 32 solo takedowns, by notching a game-high 12 stops. Seven of those takedowns were of the solo variety as Shegog picked up his first double-digit tackle performance since the 2021 campaign. 

#1 GEORGIA 48, UT MARTIN 7 | BOX SCORE
UT Martin battled throughout the evening against two-time defending Football Bowl Subdivision champion Georgia before falling 48-7 in front of a sellout crowd of 92,746 fans at Sanford Stadium. The Skyhawk defense showed out in the first quarter, limiting the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs to seven points on just 59 total yards over three drives – including a pair of three-and-outs. Georgia scored 10 points in the second quarter to take a 17-0 halftime advantage. Following 21 unanswered Bulldog points, UT Martin got on the scoreboard with a touchdown with 6:39 remaining in the fourth quarter before Georgia registered 10 points over the final 2:09 to close out the contest.

#13 NOTRE DAME 56, TENNESSEE STATE 3 | BOX SCORE
After Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Tennessee State responded with 2:44 left in the first quarter to narrow the margin to 7-3 on a James Lowery 38-yard field goal. TSU would not score again in the game and Notre Dame tacked on 49 more points to finish off the scoring. Deveon Bryant led all TSU rushers with 29 yards in the contest, picking up 4.8 yards per carry. Jalen Rouse also added 28 yards on the ground. Da’Shon Davis hauled in one catch for 22 yards.  Sammy Taylor showed finished with one fumble recovery. 

BigSouthOVCFootball.com contributed to this story.

WEEK 2 BIG SOUTH-OVC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE — SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2023
AwayHomeGametimeLocation
Charleston SouthernCharleston SouthernClemsonClemson11 AMClemson, S.C.
Long IslandLong IslandBryantBryant1 PMSmithfield, R.I.
Tennessee TechTennessee TechNew MexicoNew Mexico2 PMAlbuquerque, N.M.
Eastern Illinois Eastern IllinoisBowling GreenBowling Green2 PMBowling Green, Ohio
ElonElonGardner-WebbGardner-Webb3 PMBoiling Springs, N.C.
Saint FrancisSaint FrancisRobert MorrisRobert Morris6 PMMoon Township, Pa.
LindenwoodLindenwoodSoutheast MissouriSoutheast Missouri6 PMCape Girardeau, Mo. (Conf.)
Arkansas - Pine BluffArkansas – Pine BluffTennessee StateTennessee State7 PMMemphis, Tenn
Missouri StateMissouri StateUT MartinUT Martin7 PMMartin, Tenn.