Lindenwood QB Cade Brister accounted for a school-record seven touchdowns in the Lions’ 52-49 win, Saturday night over Central Arkansas. (Photo courtesy: Central Arkansas Athletics)

Team1st2nd3rd4thTotal
 Lindenwood142114352
Central Arkansas141421049

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

CONWAY, AR — In a wild Saturday night affair, on the purple and silver striped field at Estes Stadium, on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas, which featured 101 total points, nine straight possessions where someone scored a touchdown, and 14 touchdowns overall, the Lindenwood University football team picked up its second road win of the season, thanks to a field goal.

That’s what the evening came down to, as Lindenwood kept scoring — and so did Central Arkansas — in what proved to be a 52-49 win for the Lions.

“There is no doubt we’re going to watch film and see the things that we need to keep improving on,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “But sometimes a team just needs to figure out a way to win. I know we didn’t get a lot of stops defensively tonight, but they stepped up and got the stops when it counted. That’s figuring out a way to win.”

Lindenwood kicker Logan Siebert, who had already gone seven-for-seven on point after attempts, banged home a 36-yard field goal with 9:47 to play to give the Lions what proved to be the final points they would need to win the game.

The Lindenwood defense, which had been bombarded by big plays all night, stepped up and held Central Arkansas scoreless in the fourth quarter to make that lead hold up. On two of those possessions, the Lions stopped the Bears on fourth down to give the ball back to their offense, which was able to run out the clock and preserve the win.

“We had some opportunities there late in the third quarter and early in the fourth that we didn’t take advantage of on offense,” Central Arkansas head coach Nathan Brown said, in a statement released by the UCA athletics department. “I thought we played pretty well on offense throughout the night, we just didn’t have a great end of the third quarter or fourth quarter on offense. If we played like we were earlier in the game, I think maybe we have a chance to win this game.”

But in a back and forth contest, it was Lindenwood that never trailed, and Central Arkansas that was constantly forced to battle to tie the game — which the Bears did seven different times.

The Lions, who put up 641 yards of total offense, were led by quarterback Cade Brister, who delivered what will rank as one of the best performances of his illustrious career. The senior from O’Fallon, Mo., accounted for 475 total yards and had a hand in all seven Lindenwood touchdowns.

The 6-foot, 222-pounder had 413 passing yards, two touchdown throws, 62 rushing yards, and scored five rushing touchdowns — smashing the Lindenwood school record for combined touchdowns in a game and tying his personal record for rushing touchdowns in one game.

“Tough night, but give 100 percent credit to Lindenwood, to their team, and their coaching staff,” Brown said. “I thought they had a good offensive scheme. And their quarterback played out of his mind.”

Brister was especially good in the second and third quarters, when he led the Lions to touchdowns on five straight possessions, including a key drive in the final 1:40 of the second quarter, which allowed Lindenwood to lead 35-28 at halftime.

Other players who stood out for the Lions, included running back Andrew Martin, who had 138 rushing yards, receiver Payton Rose, who had five catches for 103 yards, tight end Chase Lanckreit, who had six catches for 119 yards, and receiver Kobe Smith, who had 110 all-purpose yards and caught a touchdown pass.

Defensively, linebacker Devon Edwards, a transfer from Colorado State, who was making his first start, led the Lions with eight tackles. Safety Lloyd Lockett had seven tackles, including a team-high four solo stops.

But it was cornerback Darion Bolden, who made the defensive play of the night, when he knocked away a fourth-down pass in the Lindenwood red zone, on what proved to be Central Arkansas’ final offensive play of the night. The Lions were able to run out the clock after that and head home with a thrilling, hard-fought victory.

“We (just) didn’t play well enough as a whole,” Brown said. “But again, give credit to that program. They came in here and acted like they belonged. They punched us in the mouth and we didn’t respond very well. A humbling experience for our team.”

The victory lifted Lindenwood’s record to 3-2, while Central Arkansas fell to 2-4.

The Lions will be back on the road again next week, when they’ll travel to Charleston, Ill., for a matchup against Ohio Valley Conference foe, Eastern Illinois.

QtrTimeScoring PlayLUC. ARK
1st12:43LU – Cade Brister 6 yd run (Logan Seibert kick), 5 plays, 83 yards, TOP 02:1070
1st12:26C. Ark. – Christian Richmond 100 yd kickoff return (Hayden Ray kick)77
1st09:31LU – Dom McManus 15 yd pass from Cade Brister (Logan Seibert kick) 8 plays, 76 yards, TOP 02:50147
1st02:12C. Ark. – Jarrod Barnes 7 yd pass from Will McElvain (Hayden Ray kick) 2 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:551414
2nd13:24LU – Cade Brister 1 yd run (Logan Seibert kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:482114
2nd07:37C. Ark. – Darius Hale 3 yd run (Hayden Ray kick), 8 plays, 25 yards, TOP 02:242121
2nd03:01LU – Kobe Smith 14 yd pass from Cade Brister (Logan Seibert kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:362821
2nd01:40C. Ark. – Jordan Owens 10 yd pass from Will McElvain (Hayden Ray kick) 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:172828
2nd00:17LU – Cade Brister 1 yd run (Logan Seibert kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:233528
3rd14:48C. Ark. – Darius Hale 75 yd pass from Will McElvain (Hayden Ray kick) 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:123535
3rd11:41LU – Cade Brister 1 yd run (Logan Seibert kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:074235
3rd10:20C. Ark. – Kylin James 61 yd pass from Will McElvain (Hayden Ray kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:214242
3rd05:09LU – Cade Brister 1 yd run (Logan Seibert kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:114942
3rd03:45C. Ark – Jarrod Barnes 64 yd pass from Will McElvain (Hayden Ray kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 01:184949
4th09:47LU – Logan Seibert 36 yd field goal 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 01:425249
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
* – Denotes Ohio Valley Conference game
All Lindenwood home games will be played at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium