The 2-0 Lindenwood Lions will take on the No. 19-ranked UT-Martin Skyhawks, Saturday night, in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both clubs. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 3 – Lindenwood (2-0) at No. 19 Tennessee-Martin (1-2)
Date/Time – Saturday, September 24 – 6 pm
Location – Graham Stadium — Martin, TN
Broadcast – ESPN+
Live Stats – Stat Broadcast
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
MARTIN, TN — The Lindenwood University football team will be back on the road on Saturday, for its first big game of the 2022 season, when it heads down south to Graham Stadium, to take on the No. 19-ranked University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks.
Saturday’s contest will be the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both Lindenwood and UT-Martin. The Skyhawks, who won their season opener against Western Illinois, are coming off a pair of tough losses against FCS No. 5 Missouri State, and FBS mid-major powerhouse Boise State, while Lindenwood will come into Saturday night with an undefeated record after knocking off Houston Baptist and NAIA power Keiser University.
UT-Martin is the defending OVC champion and was picked in the preseason to win the league title again this year.
“This is a big game for us,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “They’re the defending league champs. Picked to win it again, and this is going to be a big challenge for us, especially going against that offense. This is going to be a game where we can’t go down there and not move the ball or get anything done on the first couple of drives, then try to get started. We have to come out ready to go right away. Or this team will put us away.”
Players to Watch: For Lindenwood, it always starts with senior quarterback Cade Brister, who after tossing three touchdowns last week, is now the sole owner of the school record for touchdown passes with 73. Brister is also just 181 yards away from becoming LU’s all-time passing yards leader as well.
His performance last week, which included 400 total yards of offense to go along with the three touchdown throws, not only led Lindenwood to a 37-3 win over Keiser, it also earned him OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
LU’s top two receivers also had big nights last week. Payton Rose had seven catches for 180 yards and a touchdown, and Kobe Smith had five catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Lindenwood has been led by sophomore linebacker Tyrone Griffin and senior safety Kai Ross. Griffin leads the Lion defense with 20 tackles, while Ross is right behind with 10 tackles on the season. Junior defensive end Sterlin Williams leads the team with 2.5 quarterback sacks so far this year.
UT-Martin boasts some of the top individual offensive performers in the league through the first three games of the season. Quarterback Dresser Winn ranks second in the OVC with 765 passing yards and seven touchdowns.
Running back Zak Wallace leads the league with four rushing touchdowns and has a 75.3 yards per game average, which ranks second. Wide receivers Colton Dowell and E.J. Smoot are tied with a league-best three touchdown catches, and Dowell is in second the conference with 104.0 receiving yards per game average.
Linebackers Rob Hicks and John Ford II are first and second in the OVC in tackles, Hood with 34 and Ford with 33. Ford is also tied with teammate Daylan Dotson for the OVC league lead in sacks (3.0) and has the most tackles for loss of anyone in the conference (4.5).
The Skyhawk secondary is led by cornerback Shaun Lewis, who leads the league with four passes defended and two interceptions through three games.
Up Next: Lindenwood will be back home with its first OVC home game next week, when it will host Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, October 1, at Hunter Stadium. That game will kickoff at 1 p.m.
UT-Martin will also be at home next week, as the Skyhawks will host their archrival, Tennessee Tech, Saturday at 2 p.m.
Probable Starters
Lindenwood Offense Lindenwood Defense
QB – 4 Cade Brister – Sr. DE – 91 Kobe McClendon – Fr.
RB – 20 Robert Giaimo – So. DT – 8 Moses Ale – Jr.
WR – 1 Kobe Smith – Sr. DT – 56 Dylan Petti – Sr.
WR – 17 Payton Rose – Sr. DE – 35 Sterlin Williams – Jr.
WR – 10 Spencer Redd – Jr. LB – 31 Matt Barnett – So.
LT – 77 Blake Rogenhofer – Sr. LB – 44 David Whittemore – Fr.
LG – 78 Gareth Warren – So. LB – 40 Tyrone Griffin – So.
C – 51 Connor Mazzotta – Sr. CB – 3 Darion Bolden – Sr.
RG – 52 Asa Baker – Jr. FS – 21 Kai Ross – Sr.
RT – 74 Ethan Johnson – So. SS – 7 Lloyd Lockett – Sr.
TE – 18 Chase Lanckreit – Jr. CB – 24 Wesley Hines – Jr.
PK – 43 Logan Siebert – So. P – 90 Riley Ripper – So.
Tennessee-Martin Offense Tennessee-Martin Defense
QB – 3 Dresser Winn – Sr. DE – 10 Daylan Dotson – So.
RB – 21 Zak Wallace – So. NT – 99 Kenyonte Davis – Jr.
WR – 15 Colton Dowell – Sr. DT – 6 Jay Rogers – Jr.
WR – 13 E.J. Smoot – Jr. JACK – 8 Giovanni Davis – So.
WR – 4 DeVante Tanksley – So. LB – 1 Rob Hicks – Sr.
LT – 79 Gavin Olson – Jr. LB – 18 John Ford II – Sr.
LG – 72 Jarod Russell – Fr. ROV – 12 Carson Evans – So.
C – 54 Matthan Hatchie – Sr. CB – 14 Tyler Gore – Sr.
RG – 73 D’Marius Warren – Sr. S – 30 Deven Sims – Sr.
RT – 77 Lamar Morgan – Jr. S – 9 Oshae Baker – So.
TE – 81 D.J. Nelson – Fr. CB – 5 Shawn Lewis – Sr.
PK – 37 Tyler Larco – So. P – 37 Tyler Larco – Sr.
| 2022 Lindenwood Lions Upcoming Football Schedule |
| Sat., September 24 — at #19 Tennessee-Martin — 6 pm |
| Sat., October 1 — vs. Southeast Missouri State — 1 pm |
| Sat., October 8 — at Central Arkansas — 4 pm |
| Sat., October 15 — at Eastern Illinois — 2 pm |
| Sat., October 22 — vs. Murray State — 1 pm |
| Sat., October 29 — vs. William Jewell — 1 pm |
| Sat., November 5 — at Tennessee Tech — 1:30 pm |
| Sat., November 12 — vs. McKendree — 1 pm |
| All Lindenwood home games will be played at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium |