The Lindenwood Lions will play their first game of the 2021 fall season Thursday night at Hunter Stadium. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
It’s been 642 days since the Lindenwood University football team took the field for an actual game. That’s nearly two full years since the Lions played their last game on November 30, 2019 in the second round of NCAA Division II playoffs.
Covid caused a lot of problems all over the world. But the wait for Lindenwood football is finally over, as the Lions will get back on the gridiron Thursday night to host their 2021 season opener against Angelo State.
Lindenwood had quite a successful season in 2019, going 9-4, winning their first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship, clinching a berth in the D2 playoffs, and earning their first ever D2 playoff win in a thrilling upset of then-No. 5 ranked Ouachita Baptist.
This season, the Lions are hoping for similar success and it seems some national pundits believe its possible, as Lindenwood found itself among those ranked in several national Top 25 preseason polls.
College Football America and the American Football Coaches Association had the Lions ranked No. 21 in their Top 25, while D2Football.com had Lindenwood as the No. 23 team in the country in their preseason poll.
Angelo State didn’t make any of the national Top 25s, but the Rams, who are members of the Lone Star Conference and call San Angelo, Texas home, just missed the playoffs in 2019, after going 8-3 and had a successful, though covid-shortened season last year, where they went 2-2.
Thursday’s matchup at Hunter Stadium will be the first ever meeting between Lindenwood and Angelo State.
Players To Watch: Lindenwood is led by its quarterback Cade Brister. The 2019 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, Brister threw for 3,779 yards and 39 touchdowns, while also rushing for 552 yards and seven more scores.
The junior from O’Fallon, MO, was also named a preseason All-American by D2Football.com and is considered one of the top quarterbacks in all of college football.
The Lions also have standout players at running back and wide receiver, in senior Nash Sutherlin and junior Payton Rose. Sutherlin led the Lindenwood with 822 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns in 2019, while Rose had one of the best seasons ever by a receiver in school history, after putting up 1,168 yards and scoring a school-record 15 touchdowns.
On defense, the Lions are led by All-American linebacker Drew Seers. A hometown boy from St. Louis, Seers led Lindenwood with 175 tackles in 2019 and posted a school-record 17.0 tackles for loss.
Seers, the 2019 GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, was also named to D2Football.com’s preseason All-American team.
Another native St. Louisan, junior Tayvian Weary had a school-record 7.5 sacks in 2019 and will return this year to lead the LU defensive line.
Angelo State will feature a pair of standout upperclassmen at running back in senior Alfred Grear and junior Nathaniel Omayebu, who tied for the team lead in touchdowns last spring with six each. And on defense, the Rams will rely on senior middle linebacker Hunter Kyle, who led the team with 101 tackles in 2019.
Up Next: Next week, Lindenwood will play its first road game of the season, when it travels to Brookings, S.D., to take on South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were recently ranked the No. 3 team in the NCAA Division I FCS poll and will play their first game on the road on Friday at Colorado State.
Angelo State’s next game will be Saturday, September 11, when the Rams will play at Chadron State.
Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 1 – Angelo State (0-0) at Lindenwood (0-0)
Date/Time – Thursday, September 2 – 7 pm
Location – Harlen C. Hunter Stadium – St. Charles, MO
Broadcast – GLVC Sports Network
Live Stats – Sidearm Stats
Probable Starters
Angelo State Offense Lindenwood Defense
QB -3 Zach Bronkhorst – Jr. DE – 8 Moses Ale – So.
RB – 22 Alfred Grear – So. DT – 90 Dwight Dantzler – Sr.
WR – 0 Rasheen Green – R/Fr. DT – 99 Tayvian Weary – Jr.
WR – 10 Austin Landry – Sr. DE – 95 Derek Edwards – So.
WR – 11 Kellen Pachot – Sr. LB – 1 Tre’ Hendon – Sr.
LT – 76 Braxton Webb – Jr. LB – 5 Drew Seers – Sr.
LG – 58 Jacob Neal – Jr. LB – 20 C.J. McClure – Sr.
C – 69 Alfredo Fernandez – Jr. CB – 6 Jordan Perry – Sr.
RG – 77 Jacob Long – So. S – 14 Grady Daniels – Sr.
RT – 74 Willis Patrick – Fr. S – 7 Lloyd Lockett – Sr.
TE – 88 Cason Brown – Sr. CB – 32 Darion Bolden – Jr.
PK – 37 Asa Fuller – Sr. P – 91 Jared Stangler – Sr.
Angelo State Defense Lindenwood Offense
DL – 94 Weston Bauer – Jr. QB – 4 Cade Brister – Jr.
DL – 93 Tre’Darius Colbert – So. RB – 3 Nash Sutherlin – Sr.
DL – 55 G’Karri McCoy – Sr. WR – 10 Alex Faddoul – Sr.
LB – 24 Hunter Kyle – Sr. WR – 17 Payton Rose – Jr.
LB – 28 Josh Quinton – Sr. WR – 19 Glen Gibbons – Sr.
LB – 14 Daron Allman – So. LT – 77 Blake Rogenhofer – Jr.
LB – 20 Donavyn Jackson – Sr. LG – 72 Logan Wright – Jr.
CB – 9 Darrick Dickerson – Sr. C – 51 Connor Mazzotta – Jr.
S – 9 Darrick Dickerson – Sr. RG – 52 Asa Baker – So.
S – 25 Leddy French – Sr. RT – 74 Ethan Johnson – Fr.
CB – 2 Deshaun Douglas – Jr. TE – 16 Clint Sigg – Sr.
P – 37 Asa Fuller – Sr PK – 98 Logan Seibert – Fr.