The 1-1 Lindenwood Lions will be on the road to face Western Illinois on Saturday. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 3 – Lindenwood (1-1) at Western Illinois (0-2)
Date/Time – September 16, 2023 – 6 pm
Location – Hanson Field — Macomb, IL
Broadcast – ESPN+
Live Stats – WIU Live Stats
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
MACOMB, IL — After suffering a rough defeat in its Big South-OVC Association opener last Saturday at No. 14 Southeast Missouri, the Lindenwood University football team will look to get back on the winning track this Saturday when it travels to play Western Illinois.
Lindenwood’s first two outings this season couldn’t have been more opposite. In the opener, the Lions blasted Wisconsin-Stevens Point 77-9, but last week LU was the one that took the blasting in a 45-7 defeat at SEMO.
This week, Lindenwood will take on a winless Western Illinois team that is coming off defeats against New Mexico State and Illinois State.
This matchup will be the first ever between Lindenwood and Western Illinois, but it won’t the last. The teams are scheduled to meet up again next season at Lindenwood.
Players to Watch: In its first two games, the Lions have been led by junior quarterback Cole Dugger, who’s in his first season as Lindenwood’s full-time signal-caller. Through two games, Dugger has thrown for 385 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for one.
Last week, Dugger threw three picks against SEMO. So it’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back.
Junior running back Robert Giaimo was Lindenwood’s offensive player of the week last week. Overall, he has 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, linebacker Brenden Dye is the leader. Through two games, the junior from Oklahoma has 13 total tackles, with 10 of them being solo stops.
Western Illinois is led by its quarterback Matt Morrissey. He has 453 passing yards and three touchdowns. His top two receivers are senior Donald McKinney (10 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD) and junior AJ Coons (six catches, 111 yards).
Up Next: The Lions will play the third of three straight road games next week, when they travel to Normal, Ill., to play FCS No. 18 Illinois State. After that, Lindenwood will be back home at Hunter Stadium for a matchup against Austin Peay.
Probable Starters
Lindenwood Offense Lindenwood Defense
QB – 2 Cole Dugger – Jr. DE – 4 Kobe McClendon – So.
RB – 21 Robert Giaimo – So. DT – 56 Darion Mullins – Jr.
WR – 10 Spencer Redd – Sr. DT – 99 Makai Finau – Fr.
WR – 19 Jeff Caldwell – Sr. DE – 46 Frank Caldwell – Jr.
WR – 81 Ronnie Thomas – Jr. LB – 20 Ethan Stuhlsatz – So.
LT – 78 Gareth Warren – Jr. LB – 52 Brenden Dye – So.
LG – 68 Joe Becker – So. LB – 40 Tyrone Griffin – Jr.
C – 58 George Miki-Han – So. CB – 7 Jayden Patrick – So.
RG – 71 Jacob Swihart – Jr. FS – 3 Darion Bolden – Sr.
RT – 74 Ethan Johnson – So. SS – 11 Mann McGruder – Sr.
TE – 18 Chase Lanckreit – Jr. CB – 24 Wesley Hines – Sr.
PK – 43 Logan Siebert – So. P – 95 Patrick Turner – Fr.
Western Illinois Offense Western Illinois Defense
QB – 7 Matt Morrissey – Jr. DE – 6 Tre Henry – Sr.
RB – 24 Ludovick Choquette – Sr. NT – 44 Brian Bruce – Sr.
WR – 2 Donald McKinney – Sr. DE – 65 Garret Steffen – Sr.
WR – 15 AJ Coons – Jr. LB – 13 Ryan Crandall – So.
WR – 3 Jaylin Jackson – Sr. LB – 19 Anthony Quinnery – Sr.
LT – 52 Jeremiah Banks-Wall – So. LB – 17 Juan Delacruz – Sr.
LG – 64 Dimitrios Gkountoudis – Sr. LB – 50 Mike Cardilli – Fr.
C – 56 Ryan Merklinger – Jr. CB – 1 JJ Ross – Sr.
RG – 74 Izaya Vimahi – Jr. S – 12 KJ Coleman – Sr.
RT – 79 Dagen Miller – So. S – 14 Bradyn Smith – Sr.
TE – 0 Jack Whyte – Sr. CB – 18 Willie Jones – So.
PK – 57 Owen Valek – Fr. P – 45 Jared Campbell – Jr.
| 2023 Lindenwood Lions Football Schedule |
| Sat., September 16 — at Western Illinois — 6 pm |
| Sat., September 23 — at #18 Illinois State — 12 pm |
| Sat., September 30 — vs. Austin Peay — 1 pm |
| Sat., October 7 — vs. Tennessee Tech* — 6 pm |
| Sat., October 14 — at Charleston Southern* — 3 pm |
| Sat., October 28 — at Tennessee State* — 2 pm |
| Sat., November 4 — vs. Eastern Illinois* — 2 pm |
| Sat., November 11 — vs. Bryant* — 1 pm |
| * – denotes Big South-Ohio Valley Conference game |
| All Lindenwood home games will be played at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium |