The Lindenwood Lions will be on the road Saturday, taking on Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Ill. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
Lindenwood Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 5 – Lindenwood (3-2) at Eastern Illinois (2-3)
Date/Time – Saturday, October 15 – 2 pm
Location – O’Brien Field — Charleston, IL
Broadcast – ESPN+
Live Stats – Sidearm Stats
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
CHARLESTON, IL — Fresh off its thrilling upset win on the road over Central Arkansas last Saturday, the Lindenwood University football team will be back on the road this Saturday, for a matchup against new Ohio Valley Conference foe, Eastern Illinois.
And though both Lindenwood and Eastern Illinois are members of the OVC, Saturday’s contest will not count in the OVC standings.
Last week’s victory, a 52-49 slugfest over Central Arkansas, which featured 14 total touchdowns and more than 1,200 yards of total offense, was Lindenwood’s third win of the season, and its second over an NCAA Division I-FCS program.
Eastern Illinois will be celebrating its Homecoming weekend on Saturday so everything in Charleston will be painted black and blue in honor of the Panthers, who will be looking for their third straight win, after beginning the year with three straight losses.
Players to Watch: The player everyone will be watching is Lindenwood standout quarterback Cade Brister. The senior from O’Fallon, who’s already on the verge of setting every Lindenwood QB passing & rushing record there is, is coming off a simply phenomenal game last week.
Brister, who is quickly proving himself to be one of the best players in OVC this season, put up 475 total yards against Central Arkansas and had a hand in all seven touchdowns the Lions scored.
The 6-foot, 222-pounder threw for 413 yards and two touchdowns, while also tying his own personal record with five rushing touchdowns. That performance not only earned Brister OVC Offensive Player of the Week honors, it also landed him a spot on the FedEx Ground FCS National Player of the Week list.
With Brister at the helm, Lindenwood is leading the OVC in total offense, with nearly 500 yards of offense per game. The Lions also lead the league in passing (340.2 ypg) and are the only team in the conference that averages more than 300 yards passing per game.
Senior receiver Payton Rose is Lindenwood’s top pass catcher this season, with 28 catches for 539 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow senior Kobe Smith is right behind with 27 catches for 371 yards and a team-leading four touchdown receptions.
On defense, the Lions are led by linebackers Tyrone Griffin and David Whittemore, who have combined for 62 tackles in five games. and cornerback Darion Bolden, who has 21 tackles and a team-leading eight pass breakups.
Bolden also made the defensive play of last week’s game at Central Arkansas, when he knocked away a pass on fourth down, which ended the Bears’ last possession in the Lindenwood red zone.
Eastern Illinois is led by its own dual threat quarterback, Dom Shoffner. A senior from Cary, N.C., who transferred to EIU from UNC-Charlotte, Shoffner does most of his damage on the ground.
Last week, he had 134 yards and two touchdowns in EIU’s 35-27 win over Northwestern State. The Panthers had four rushing touchdowns overall in that game, and are averaging 192.2 rushing ypg, which ranks 18th amongst all FCS teams.
The back-to-back wins for EIU marked the first time the team won consecutive games since 2017, and the back-to-back 300-rushing yard performances were the Panthers’ first since 2014.
On defense, EIU is the OVC leader in forced turnovers. The Panthers have 12 in five games this season, which ranks 10th-best in the FCS.
Up Next: Lindenwood will celebrate its own Homecoming weekend next week, when it hosts Murray State at Hunter Stadium. That contest will be the first of two straight home games for the Lions, who will host former Great Lakes Valley Conference foe, William Jewell, on October 29.
Eastern Illinois will be on the road at Tennessee State, next Saturday.
Probable Starters
Lindenwood Offense Lindenwood Defense
QB – 4 Cade Brister – Sr. DE – 91 Kobe McClendon – Fr.
RB – 22 Andrew Martin – 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 – 23 Devon Edwards – 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.
Eastern Illinois Offense Eastern Illinois Defense
QB – 0 Dom Shoffner – Sr. DE – 97 Tim Varga – Jr.
RB – 1 Markenzy Pierre – Sr. NT – 57 Terence Simon, Jr. – Sr.
WR – 13 Cooper Williman – Jr. DT – 93 Cameron Leach – Jr.
WR – 33 Nile Hill – Jr. DE – 91 Jordan Miles – So.
WR – 88 DeAirious Smith – So. LB – 45 Colin Bohanek – So.
LT – 67 Chad Strickland – Sr. LB – 43 Elijawah Tolbert – So.
LG – 78 Max Stineman – So. CB – 2 Mark Aitken – So.
C – 62 Michael McNicholas – Jr. S – 12 Nick Coates – So.
RG – 66 Jack Valente – Jr. S – 39 Elijah Bell – Sr.
RT – 58 Anthony Imperio – So. S – 1 Jordan Vincent – So.
TE – 11 Anthony Menaves – So. CB – 7 Tyris Harvey – So.
PK – 53 Stone Galloway – Sr. P – 36 Trey Wilhoit – So.
| 2022 Lindenwood Lions Upcoming Football Schedule |
| Sat., October 15 — at Eastern Illinois — 2 pm |
| Sat., October 22 — vs. Murray State — 1 pm (Homecoming) |
| 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 |