Nash Sutherlin and the Lindenwood Lions will travel to Kirksville for a huge GLVC football game against Truman State on Saturday. (Photo: Steven Delia)

Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 5 – Lindenwood (2-2) at #18 Truman State (4-0)
Date/Time – Saturday, October 2 – 6 pm
Location – Stokes Stadium — Kirksville, MO
Broadcast – GLVC Sports Network
Live Stats – SideArm Stats

by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

October is here. And that means Great Lakes Valley Conference play is here for the Lindenwood University football team, which will begin with perhaps its toughest conference game of the season — a trip to Kirksville, Mo. to play No. 18-ranked Truman State.

The host Bulldogs are unblemished in 2021, with a record of 4-0, and jumped into the national rankings this week, following last week’s comeback win over then-No. 12 Tiffin.

Truman was down for 11 with less than four minutes to play, but scored two touchdowns in the final 3:29, including a game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left, to pull out a heart-stopping 38-35 win.

Lindenwood had a bit easier last week, but had to come-from-behind as well to nab its second straight win. The Lions were held scoreless in the first half, but then scored four straight touchdowns on four straight possessions to begin the second half and pull away in a 28-16 victory over Findlay.

With Lindenwood and Truman both picked to finish near the top of the GLVC standings this season, Saturday’s winner will take a huge step towards possibly claiming the league title this year.

Players to Watch: Last week’s surprise standout for Lindenwood was freshman running back Robert Giaimo, who had a game-high 105 yards — the first 100-yard rushing game of his career — and a key touchdown that helped the Lions build their lead.

Quarterback Cade Brister also had a good day for Lindenwood. The junior from O’Fallon, Mo., was exceptionally effecient, going 23-of-28 passing for a season-high 253 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for what proved to be the game-winning score on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Truman was led by sophomore running back Cody Schrader, who carried the ball 32 times for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He was the one who provided that game-winning score for the Bulldogs with 26 seconds left.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Nolan Hair was 22-of-35 for 189 yards and two scores, both of whom went to senior wide receiver Dante Ruffin, who finished with seven catches for 65 yards.

The Bulldogs also got a huge play last week from senior return man Jaylen Jefferson, who ran back a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown that helped turn the momentum after Truman had fallen behind 21-7.

On defense, Truman held Tiffin to just 52 total rushing yards on 23 attempts, a miniscule 2.3 yards per attempt. Lindenwood rushed for 208 yards against Findlay and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

Up Next: Lindenwood will be back home next week, hosting its annual Homecoming Game at Hunter Stadium against Quincy University. Kickoff for that game is set for 1 p.m.

Truman will be on the road next week, traveling down to Rolla, Mo., for a game against Missouri S&T.

Probable Starters
Lindenwood Offense                         Lindenwood Defense
QB – 4 Cade Brister – Jr.                  DE – 8 Moses Ale – So.
RB – 3 Nash Sutherlin – Sr.              DT – 99 Tayvian Weary – Jr.
WR – 10 Alex Faddoul – Sr.               DT – 90 Dwight Dantzler – Sr.
WR – 17 Payton Rose – Jr.                DE – 92 Arsante Conners – Sr.
WR – 19 Glen Gibbons – Sr.              LB – 9 C.J. McClure – Sr.
LT – 77 Blake Rogenhofer – Jr.         LB – 5 Drew Seers – Sr.
LG – 72 Logan Wright – Jr.               LB – 43 Andrew Rodriguez – Jr.
C – 51 Connor Mazzotta – Jr.            CB – 15 Keith Beverly – Sr.
RG – 52 Asa Baker – So.                   FS – 21 Kai Ross – So.
RT – 74 Ethan Johnson – Fr.            SS – 14 Grady Daniels – Sr.
TE – 16 Clint Sigg – Sr.                     CB – 6 Jordan Perry – Sr.
PK – 98 Logan Siebert – Fr.               P – 91 Jared Stangler – Sr.

Truman State Offense                      Truman State Defense
QB – 6 Nolan Hair – Fr.                    DE – 50 Jack Marth – Fr.
RB – 7 Cody Schrader – So.              DT – 51 Robert Greco – Jr.
FB – 30 Jacob Morris – Sr.               DT – 49 Collin Alves – So.
WR – 11 Dante Ruffin – Sr.               DE – 14 Bennett Swope – Jr.
WR – 85 Zach Zerwing – So.             LB – 33 Isaiah Estes – So.
LT – 74 Justin Watson – Fr.              LB – 46 Jake McCollum – Fr.
LG – 54 Jon Saxbury – Fr.                LB – 41 Ulysses Ross – Fr.
C – 63 Nick Biesmeyer – Fr.              CB – 21 Ben Thomas – So.
RG – 75 Dane Eggert – So.                FS – 2 Ben Watson – So.
RT – 76 Joe Fanning – Fr.                 SS – 36 Kendall Hutchinson – Fr.
TE – 83 Jake Ellis – Sr.                      CB – 8 Ryan Olivas – Fr.
PK – 99 Josh Scheiderer – Jr.           P – 98 Taylor Cornish – Sr.