Lindenwood defenders Devon Edwards (23), Frank Caldwell (46), and Kobe McClendon swarm William Jewell running back DeQuan Dallas during Saturday’s NCAA football game at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles. (Photo: Cedric Williams)

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Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University football team extended its season-long winning streak to four straight games by defeating visiting William Jewell College, 64-23, Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium.

The Lions put up season highs in points (64) and yards (683), and scored points on 10 of its 13 possessions, even though the home team only had the ball for a total of 28 minutes and 44 seconds.

“I thought we had a good day,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “We moved the ball pretty good. We built a good lead, right off the jump, and then we kinda let up. We talked about that at halftime. Although, us coaches didn’t really have to say much. The guys were saying to each other that we can’t let up on people like that. And we really talked about coming out here more focused in the second half and doing what we could to pull away.”

And that’s exactly what the Lions did in the second half, as they outscored the Cardinals 31-0 in the second half, and only gave up four first downs.

Quarterback Cade Brister had another big day for Lindenwood. The senior from O’Fallon, Mo., completed 21-of-30 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 80 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown just before halftime that gave the Lions a 33-17 lead.

William Jewell answered with a near-miracle touchdown play with 12 seconds left in the second quarter. Cardinals QB Tyler Eggers threw a pass that appeared to be intercepted by Lindenwood’s David Whittemore. But the sophomore linebacker bobbled the ball high into the air, where it was then caught by William Jewell’s Winston Quinn for a 38-yard touchdown that made the score 33-23.

As it turned out, that was one of the last positive plays of the day for William Jewell, as Lindenwood completely dominated the second half on its way to its largest victory of the season.

“We really wanted to control every aspect of the game, or as much as we could, in the second half,” Stugart said. “We tried to be really aggressive on defense, and we wanted to go after them with some big plays on offense. It worked out pretty well.”

That aggressiveness really showed on both teams’ first possessions of the second half. Lindenwood stopped William Jewell on just six plays and forced them to punt. Then, when the the Lions got the ball, they drove 98 yards on eight plays for a touchdown that put them up 40-23.

The teams traded turnovers at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which led to a Lindenwood field goal and a 43-23 lead for the home team.

That was when the Lions began to pull their starters out of the game. But that didn’t stop its reserves and backups from continuing Lindenwood’s dominant performance.

Backup QB Cole Dugger threw for 119 yards and three touchdowns. Reserve running back Jared Rhodes had a team-high 90 rushing yards and a touchdown that was called back because of a penalty. And freshman wide receiver Jeff Caldwell caught three passes for 74 yards, with all three going for touchdowns.

It was truly impressive performance by the Lindenwood backups.

“Our team has kind of a unique makeup,” Stugart said. “We have a bunch of upperclassmen and seniors, and then a whole lot of young guys. Freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and sophomores. And I think today, we got to see a little bit of what those young guys can do. Our future’s in good hands. Cole, and Jared, and Jeff, and some of our guys on defense too. I like our team and where we’re headed.”

Another upperclassmen who had another big game for Lindenwood was senior receiver Payton Rose. He finished the day with nine catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns — the third of which made him the school’s all-time leader in touchdown catches with 33.

“He’s such a clutch player for us,” Stugart said. “That’s why we go to him in big situations. We know he’s going to get open and we know he’s going to make the play for us. We’ve got a great set of receivers around here, and Payton’s the leader of that group.”

The victory lifted Lindenwood’s overall record to 6-2, which ensures the team will finish its first season as an NCAA Division I team with a winning record.

The Lions will play their final road game of the season, next Saturday, November 5, when they’ll travel to Cookeville, Tenn., to take on Ohio Valley Conference opponent, Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles are 2-6 on the year, but coming off an impressive road victory, Saturday at Eastern Illinois, where they defeated the host Panthers, 20-17.

QtrTimeScoring PlayWJCLWU
1st12:02LU – Rose,Payton 16 yd pass from Brister,Cade (PAT no good) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 02:4906
1st08:56WJC – Geelen,Paul 49 yd field goal 9 plays, 43 yards, TOP 03:0636
1st07:01LU – Rose,Payton 5 yd pass from Brister,Cade (Seibert,Logan kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:55313
1st03:20LU – Weary,Tayvian 6 yd fumble recovery (Seibert,Logan kick)320
2nd14:55LU – Rose,Payton 5 yd pass from Brister,Cade (PAT no good) 3 plays, 57 yards, TOP 00:47326
2nd10:43WJC – Latina,Grant 3 yd pass from Eggers,Taylor (Geelen,Paul kick) 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 04:071026
2nd07:12WJC – Thomas,Jesse 10 yd pass from Whitmire,Marquis (Geelen,Paul kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:261726
2nd00:53LU – Brister,Cade 53 yd run (Seibert,Logan kick), 5 plays, 85 yards, TOP 00:461733
2nd00:12WJC – Quinn,Winston 38 yd pass from Eggers,Taylor (2-pt attempt failed) 5 plays, 34 yards, TOP 00:382333
3rd07:41LU – Caldwell,Jeff 6 yd pass from Brister,Cade (Seibert,Logan kick) 8 plays, 98 yards, TOP 03:572340
4th13:48LU – Seibert,Logan 40 yd field goal 4 plays, yards, TOP 00:462343
4th09:17LU – Caldwell,Jeff 25 yd pass from Dugger,Cole (Seibert,Logan kick) 4 plays, 32 yards, TOP 01:492350
4th07:32LU – Caldwell,Jeff 43 yd pass from Dugger,Cole (Seibert,Logan kick) 2 plays, 42 yards, TOP 00:312357
4th02:48LU – Jones,Aiden 29 yd pass from Dugger,Cole (Seibert,Logan kick) 4 plays, 74 yards, TOP 01:392364
2022 Lindenwood Lions Remaining Football Schedule
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