Lindenwood’s Kobe Smith tries to break free from Tennessee-Martin’s Oshae Baker during Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference football game at Graham Stadium in Martin, Tenn. (Photo: UT-Martin Athletics)

Team1st2nd3rd4thTotal
Lindenwood7601326
 UT-Martin147211456

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

MARTIN, TN — The Lindenwood University football team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday night, when it was defeated by the University of Tennessee-Martin, 56-26, in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams at UT-Martin’s Graham Stadium.

The host Skyhawks came into the game ranked No. 19 in the national FCS rankings, and looked every bit like it, as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. But Lindenwood rallied in the second quarter, to make the score 14-13, with just over two minutes left in the first half.

That’s when the game turned though, as UT-Martin went down the field to score just before halftime, then added threw more touchdowns in third quarter, to turn what had been a tight ballgame into a 42-13 blowout.

The Skyhawks added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as did Lindenwood. But it was the late second quarter score and the three straight scores in the third quarter that proved to be the difference.

“I was proud of our guys and their fight to climb back in it when we got down early,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “We learned tonight that you can’t fail to capitalize on opportunities against good opponents. It’s a first game for us in the new era of the OVC that we can learn from. One thing about it is this team doesn’t have any quit in them, and that’s something we can definitely build on.”

Tennessee-Martin outgained Lindenwood 541 yards to 429, and did most of that damage on the ground, as the Skyhawks finished the night with 343 total rushing yards.

Sophomore running back Zak Wallace had 204 yards and scored two touchdowns, including a 97-yard scamper, just after UT-Martin had stopped the Lions on a 4th-and-goal from the 3-yard line.

At the time, Lindenwood was only behind 28-13, and a score there could have pulled the Lions to within one score. Instead, the Skyhawks held Lindenwood scoreless to take back the momentum, then they drove in a dagger with Wallace’s long touchdown run.

For Lindenwood, quarterback Cade Brister threw for 306 yards and a touchdown. But he was also intercepted once and sacked four times. The passing yards allowed Brister to set a new school record for passing yards in a career.

In his career, Brister has over 10,000 yards of total offense, making him the first Lindenwood player to ever reach and surpass that total.

Wideout Payton Rose caught seven passes for 156 yards, and tight end Darrin Fugitt had five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore running back Andrew Martin got most of the carries for Lions. He had 14 rushes for 50 yards, after taking over for fellow sophomore Robert Giaimo, who left the game with a leg injury.

This was Rose’s second straight game going over the 100-yard mark. And he is now just 250 yards shy of setting a new school record for career receiving yards.

The loss dropped Lindenwood’s record to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Lions will look to get back on the winning track, next Saturday, when they’ll host another OVC opponent, Southeast Missouri State.

That game will kickoff at Hunter Stadium at 1 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY
QtrTimeScoring PlayLUUTM
1st10:59UTM – TANKSLEY, DeVon 25 yd pass from WINN, Dresser (LARCO, Tyler kick) 8 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:0107
1st08:38UTM – BAKER, Oshae 41 yd interception (LARCO, Tyler kick)014
1st04:12LU – Fugitt, Darrin 5 yd pass from Brister, Cade (Seibert, Logan kick) 10 plays, 83 yards, TOP 4:21714
2nd12:48LU – Seibert, Logan 40 yd field goal 12 plays, 47 yards, TOP 4:381014
2nd02:10LU – Seibert, Logan 26 yd field goal 14 plays, 76 yards, TOP 7:511314
2nd00:34UTM – WALLACE, Zak 12 yd run (LARCO, Tyler kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:361321
3rd11:24UTM – FRANKLIN, Sam 3 yd run (LARCO, Tyler kick), 6 plays, 50 yards, TOP 2:321328
3rd04:25UTM – WALLACE, Zak 97 yd run (LARCO, Tyler kick), 1 plays, 97 yards, TOP 0:131335
3rd02:19UTM – FRANKLIN, Sam 16 yd run (LARCO, Tyler kick), 3 plays, 25 yards, TOP 1:291342
4th14:18LU – Martin, Andrew 1 yd run (Brister, Cade pass failed), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:011942
4th12:53UTM – FRANKLIN, Sam 21 yd run (LARCO, Tyler kick), 3 plays, 38 yards, TOP 1:251949
4th07:21UTM – NELSON, DJ 7 yd pass from WINN, Dresser (LARCO, Tyler kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:551956
4th01:43LU – Caldwell, Jeff 6 yd pass from Dugger, Cole (Seibert, Logan kick) 6 plays, 42 yards, TOP 2:412656
2022 Lindenwood Lions Upcoming Football Schedule
Sat., October 1 — vs. Southeast Missouri State — 1 pm
Sat., October 8 — at Central Arkansas — 4 pm
Sat., October 15 — at Eastern Illinois — 2 pm
Sat., October 22 — vs. Murray State — 1 pm
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