Lindenwood will host its second straight home game, Saturday against Charleston Southern. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 7 – Charleston Southern Buccaneers (1-4) at Lindenwood Lions (2-4)
Date/Time – October 12, 2024 – 1 pm
Location – Hunter Stadium — St. Charles, MO
Watch – ESPN+
Listen — 89.1 The Wood
Live Stats – LU Sidearm Stats
ST. CHARLES, MO — Still stinging from a tough loss last week, the Lindenwood University football team will be back in action on Saturday, when it hosts Charleston Southern in a Big South-OVC Football Association game at Hunter Stadium.
Lindenwood suffered a bitter defeat last week, when it blew a 20-7 halftime lead and lost 24-20 to Tennessee State. The Lions scored two touchdowns in the first three-plus minutes of the game, but couldn’t find the end zone again the rest of the day.
TSU outscored Lindenwood 17-0 in the second half and took advantage of three second half turnovers to come all the way back and win.
“That one’s going to sting bad all week,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said, following the game. “I thought we played a good first half and gave ourselves a good lead. But that team (Tennessee State), you have to hold them down and keep them down, because they keep coming. They’ll make plays and build momentum and if you don’t cut them off, they can take one away from you… That’s what happened today.”
The Lions are 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in league play, and will be looking to get back on track this week against a Charleston Southern team that has struggled through the first half of the season.
The Buccaneers are 1-4 on the year, 0-2 in the conference, and have lost three games in a row, including their own Homecoming Game against Western Illinois last week.
CSU was down 14-13 with two minutes to go before halftime, but gave up a score in the final seconds of the first half, then another in the early minutes of the third quarter to fall behind 28-13. From there, they were never really able to get back into the game.
Last year, the Buccaneers defeated the Lions 24-10 in a game in Charleston, S.C.
Lindenwood junior WR Jeff Caldwell has 26 catches for 553 yards and a conference-leading eight touchdowns this season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Players to Watch: Lindenwood continues to run the ball well on the ground after compiling 181 yards last week. The Lions lead the Big South-OVC with 906 rushing yards on the year and average 151 per game, which ranks third in the Association. Senior Cortezz Jones and freshman Steve Hall both rank in the top 10 among league running backs in rushing yards with 366 and 293, respectively.
Lindenwood’s top playmaker this season though, has been junior receiver Jeff Caldwell. The 6-foot-4-inch speedster from Louisville, is third in the Big South-OVC in catches (26), second in receiving yards (553), but leads the league with eight touchdown catches and a 21.3 yards per catch average.
On defense, senior Vincent King leads the conference in total tackles (56) and solo tackles (34), while teammate Donnie Wingate is second in the league with four quarterback sacks. Preseason All-Conference edge rusher Kobe McClendon had two sacks last week and narrowly missed a third, on a play where he hit the quarterback, who managed to keep his balance just long enough for Wingate to hit him and knock him down to get the sack.
Lindenwood senior LB Vincent King leads the Big South-OVC with 56 total tackles and 34 solo tackles this season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Charleston Southern has the lowest scoring offense in the Big South-OVC. The Buccaneers average just 14.8 points per game. But they do rank second in the conference in rushing at 158.0 yards per game.
Running back Autavius Ison has 551 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and leads the league with a 110.2 yards per game average.
Probable Starters
Charleston Southern Offense Charleston Southern Defense
QB – 1 Rob McCoy, Jr. – Gr. DE – 0 Josh Hill – Sr.
RB – 23 Tyson Greenwade – Fr. DT – 99 Devante Turner – Sr.
WR – 3 Chris Rone – Jr. DT – 92 Laron Davis – Jr.
WR – 6 Noah Jennings – So. DE – 32 Darius Bell – Sr.
WR – 83 Quay Kindell – So. LB – 13 Chandler Perry – So.
LT – 70 Colin Sorensen – Fr. LB – 58 Steven Zayachowsky – So.
LG – 76 Andrew Threatt – So. LB – 33 Omari Jenkins – Sr.
C – 51 Ronnie Hayes II – Jr. CB – 1 Leon Thomas – So.
RG – 62 Ethan Hunt – Jr. S – 2 Dion Villers – So.
RT – 71 Josiah Lancaster – So. S – 5 Trayson Fowler – Gr.
TE – 12 Landon Sauers – Jr. CB – 24 Ja’Kobe North – Gr.
PK – 49 Reid Montgomery – Sr. P – 46 Gilbert Brown – Jr.
Lindenwood Offense Lindenwood Defense
QB – 18 Nate Glantz – Jr. DE – 4 Kobe McClendon – Jr.
RB – 0 Cortezz Jones – Sr. DT – 91 Austin Rustemeyer – So.
WR – 1 Jeff Caldwell – Jr. DT – 92 Jonah Rubadue – Sr.
WR – 8 Drew Krobath – Fr. DE – 6 Donnie Wingate – So.
WR – 10 Reece Thomas – So. LB – 36 Jacob Waller – Jr.
LT – 78 Gareth Warren – Sr. LB – 15 Sanjay Strickland – Jr.
LG – 77 Adel Mountassir – So. LB – 9 Vincent King – Sr.
C – 74 Ethan Johnson – Sr. CB – 7 Jayden Patrick – Jr.
RG – 63 Cameron Cooper – Sr. FS – 39 Eric Gant – Jr.
RT – 56 Gavin Hulet – Jr. SS – 2 Jordan Knapke – Sr.
TE – 86 Darrin Fugitt – Jr. CB – 5 Jaylan Wesley – So.
PK – 43 Logan Siebert – Sr. P – 95 Patrick Turner – So.
Up Next: Lindenwood will be on the road next week, with a game in North Carolina against Gardner-Webb.
Two weeks from today, on October 26, the Lions will host their 2024 Homecoming Game against Western Illinois. Kickoff at Hunter Stadium that day is set for 2 p.m.
2024 LINDENWOOD LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 12, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Charleston Southern | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| October 19, 2024 (Saturday) | 3:00 pm | Away | Gardner-Webb | Boiling Springs, N.C. |
| October 26, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 p.m. | Home | Western Illinois | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| November 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Away | Tennessee Tech | Cookeville, Tenn. |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:00 p.m. | Home | Southeast Missouri State | St. Charles, Mo. / Hunter Stadium |
| November 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:00 pm | Away | Tennessee-Martin | Martin, Tenn. |