The Lindenwood Lions will play their 2022 NCAA football season opener, Saturday night at Houston Baptist. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)
Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 1 – Lindenwood (0-0) at Houston Baptist (1-0)
Date/Time – Saturday, September 10 – 6 pm
Location – Husky Stadium – Houston, TX
Broadcast – ESPN3
Live Stats – Sidearm Stats
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The long-anticipated NCAA Division-I debut of the Lindenwood University football team will finally take place, Saturday night, deep in the heart of Texas, as the Lions travel to the Lone Star State to take on Houston Baptist University.
Lindenwood, which had dominated the Division II-level Great Lakes Valley Conference since joining the league in 2019, will be playing its first game since moving up to the D-I FCS level and joining the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Lions won back-to-back GLVC titles and made two appearances in the D-II playoffs, but now it’s time to see what they can do against the big boys.
Houston Baptist will come into Saturday’s matchup having won their own season opener last week, 46-34, on the road against Northern Colorado.
Players to Watch: LU will be led by senior quarterback Cade Brister. A former GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, Brister will be returning to the field, after missing the final four games of last season with a leg injury.
Before going down, Brister was having a fantastic year. The hometown kid, who played his high school ball at nearby Fort Zumwalt North, had passed for 1,572 yards and 10 touchdowns, and rushed for 317 yards and seven more scores.
For his career, the dual-threat star has thrown for nearly 8,000 yards and 70 touchdowns, while rushing for more than 1,400 yards and 20 touchdowns. And after missing the end of last season, Brister is chomping at the bit to get back onto the field.
“I’m excited, man,” Brister said. “I feel good. My body feels good, and I’m just ready to go.”
The Lions have a number of other standout players on their offense, including top returning receiver Payton Rose (45 catches, 707 yards, 9 TDs), sophomore running back Robert Giaimo (737 rush yards, 11 TDs), return man standout Spencer Redd (two kickoff return TDs, one punt return TD), and transfer wideout from San Diego State, Kobe Smith, who caught 58 passes for 691 yards, and four TDs in 2019.
On defense, Lindenwood is losing three-time All-American linebacker Drew Seers. But they are bringing back OVC preseason All-Conference selection, safety Kai Ross. A senior from California, Ross had 64 tackles and six interceptions last year, while also being selected as an academic All-American.
“We know we’ve got to rebuild a little bit with Drew gone,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “But I like the guys we have. We have other guys with lots of experience and lots of talent. We always tried to recruit at the D-I level. So we feel like we’ve got a roster of guys that are ready to face this challenge and play at this level.”
Houston Baptist went winless in 2021 (0-11), but put a strong end to that losing streak with a resounding win last week. Sophomore QB Justin Fomby had a big night, passing for 305 yards and four touchdowns.
Freshman RB Ismail Mahdi earned FedEx Ground National Freshman Player of the Week honors, after posting 267 total yards (184 rushing, 83 receiving) and two touchdowns last week.
The HBU defense had a great night as well. Linebacker Jalyx Hunt was the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week, after posting eight tackles, forcing a fumble, recording a sack, and returning a fumble for the game-sealing touchdown. DBs Isaiah Cash and and Devion Hargrove led HBU with 11 tackles each.
Up Next: Lindenwood will be back at Hunter Stadium next week, when it returns home to host its home opener, next Saturday, September 17, against NAIA powerhouse Keiser University. That game is scheduled to kickoff at 6 p.m.
Houston Baptist will be off next week, before returning to action in two weeks, on September 24, at Texas State.
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.
Houston Baptist Offense Houston Baptist Defense
QB – 7 Justin Fomby – So. DE – 9 Luke Horner – So.
RB – 6 Ismail Mahdi – Fr. DT – 44 Zae Smith – So.
WR – 14 Vernon Harrell – Jr. DE – 10 Delvin Mason – So.
WR – 8 Brandon Walker – Jr. LB – 6 Rodney Dansby – Fr.
WR – 80 Deon Cormier – Jr. LB – 42 Brennan Young – Sr.
LT – 64 Dylan McCreery – Jr. LB – 13 Jalyx Hunt – Jr.
LG – 72 Nolan Hay – Fr. CB – 4 Jordan Oliver – Sr.
C – 55 Christian Hood – Jr. CB – 11 Devion Hargrove – Sr.
RG – 63 Rob Walter – Fr. S – 1 Xavier Toliver – So.
RT – 78 Andrew Alvarado – Fr. S – 5 Coi Miller – Sr.
TE – 5 Karl Reynolds – Jr. S – 3 Isaiah Cash – Jr.
PK – 39 Nery Enriquez – Jr. P – 88 Brady Buell – Jr.
| 2022 Lindenwood Lions Football Schedule |
| Sat., September 10 — at Houston Baptist — 6 pm |
| Sat., September 17 — vs. Keiser — 6 pm |
| Sat., September 24 — at 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 |