Lindenwood’s Justin Williams gets lifted in the air by teammate Chase Lanckreit, following a touchdown in the Lions’ double-overtime victory, Saturday afternoon at Eastern Illinois. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT1 | OT2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindenwood (4-2) | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 37 |
| Eastern Illinois (2-4) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
CHARLESTON, IL — The late game thrills and chills just keep on coming for Lindenwood football in its first season as an NCAA Division I FCS team.
The Lions won their first game of the season on a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown in the final 30 seconds against Houston Baptist. They won last week at Central Arkansas, in a game that featured 14 touchdowns — seven by each side — on a field goal late in the game. Then held on by making a pair of sensational defensive plays that prevented their opponent from even getting a chance to tie the game.
And this week, in perhaps the most exciting game of the season so far, Lindenwood pulled out a sensational double-overtime road victory, 37-34, over new Ohio Valley Conference foe, Eastern Illinois.
“You know, it’s a mindset with these guys. You can see it in their eyes,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “They don’t get down when bad things happen, or if something doesn’t go our way. They believe they’re gonna win. They know they’re gonna win. It’s just a matter of figuring out how we’re gonna get it done.”
And they did it by rallying twice in the fourth quarter, and then doing it again in double overtime.
Eastern Illinois, which was celebrating its Homecoming and hosting the game at its O’Brien Field in front of a huge hometown crowd, led 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter. But Lindenwood was able to drive down the field and get a tying field goal by ever steady kicker Logan Seibert.
Then after the Panthers re-took the lead on a scoop-and-score, fumble return for a touchdown with 7 minutes to go, the Lions answered with nine-play, 75-yard drive, right down the throat of Eastern Illinois’ defense, which was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cade Brister.
“After they scored there, our guys didn’t panic,” Stugart said. “You could see it on the sideline. Guys were just saying to each other, ‘let’s get this done’. And they did. I’m just really proud of these guys.”
Once the game went to overtime, Lindenwood got the ball first, and scored to take the lead on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Brister to Payton Rose. Eastern Illinois answered just two plays later, on a 1-yard run by their quarterback Jonah O’Brien to tie the game.
That forced a second overtime where the home team got the ball first. The Panthers moved inside the Lions’ 10-yard line, but were facing a fourth down from the Lindenwood 5, following a brilliant one-on-one tackle by Lindenwood safety Lloyd Lockett.
Eastern Illinois had a choice to make. Go for the fourth down and try to get a first down. Or kick the field goal and try to take the lead.
The Panthers chose the field goal, which their kicker made to go ahead 34-31. That gave Lindenwood the ball, with the chance to either tie the game with a field goal of its own. Or possibly win, if it could score a touchdown.
The Lions were going for the touchdown the entire time. And they got it on the fifth play, when Brister found senior receiver Kobe Smith streaking uncovered through the Eastern Illinois end zone.
The play went for a 9-yard touchdown and set off a wild celebration on the Lindenwood sideline, as the Lions enjoyed another spine-tingling, late-game comeback victory.
When asked how he got so open on what proved to be the most critical play of the game, and if maybe the defenders got confused and possibly lost what they were doing, Smith said, “I lost him. O-line gave us time. QB made a good read. And I ran a good route. Just great teamwork. That’s why I was so open.”
Brister finished the day with 302 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, a game-high 79 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown. Smith led all receivers with eight catches for 91 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Defensively, linebackers David Whittemore and Devon Edwards led the way with a combined 17 tackles. Edwards had eight and Whittemore had a team-high nine, along with a forced fumble. Lockett had four tackles, a pass breakup, and was the one who recovered the fumble Whittemore forced.
“I can’t say enough about the effort these guys give,” Stugart said. “Our coaching staff too. They all believe in each other and work so hard for each other. They just make me proud, every practice, every game, every time we come out together, I’m proud.”
The victory lifted Lindenwood’s record to 4-2, while Eastern Illinois fell to 2-4. And even though both teams are members of the OVC, Saturday’s matchup didn’t count as a league game because it was added to the schedule late.
Lindenwood will be back home hosting its own Homecoming Game next Saturday. The Lions will be taking on Murray State in a contest at Hunter Stadium take is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m.
Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | LU | EIU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 03:30 | EIU – O’Brien, Jonah 1 yd run (Galloway, Stone kick), plays, yards, TOP | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | 13:52 | LU – Williams, Justi 5 yd run (Seibert, Logan kick), plays, yards, TOP | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 04:44 | EIU – Galloway, Stone 31 yd field goal plays, yards, TOP | 7 | 10 |
| 2nd | 00:09 | LU – Haerr, Abraham 20 yd pass from Brister, Cade (Seibert, Logan kick) plays, yards, TOP | 14 | 10 |
| 3rd | 04:51 | EIU – Smith, DeAiriou 13 yd pass from O’Brien, Jonah (Galloway, Stone kick) plays, yards, TOP | 14 | 17 |
| 4th | 13:26 | LU – Seibert, Logan 27 yd field goal plays, yards, TOP | 17 | 17 |
| 4th | 07:00 | EIU – Oyawale, Alexan 40 yd fumble recovery (Galloway, Stone kick) | 17 | 24 |
| 4th | 03:09 | LU – Brister, Cade 1 yd run (Seibert, Logan kick), plays, yards, TOP | 24 | 24 |
| OT1 | 00:00 | LU – Rose, Payton 2 yd pass from Brister, Cade (Seibert, Logan kick) plays, yards, TOP | 31 | 24 |
| OT1 | 00:00 | EIU – O’Brien, Jonah 1 yd run (Galloway, Stone kick), plays, yards, TOP | 31 | 31 |
| OT2 | 00:00 | EIU – Galloway, Stone 22 yd field goal plays, yards, TOP | 31 | 34 |
| OT2 | 00:00 | LU – Smith, Kobe 9 yd pass from Brister, Cade ( ) plays, yards, TOP | 37 | 34 |
| 2022 Lindenwood Lions Upcoming Football Schedule |
| 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 |
| * – Denotes Ohio Valley Conference game |
| All Lindenwood home games will be played at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium |