The Lindenwood football team dropped its Homecoming contest on Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium by a 41-30 score to Emporia State.
 
Play of the Game
After Lindenwood cut the lead to 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, its defense had Emporia State on a third-and-two in Emporia State territory. The Hornet's Braxton Marstall completed a six-yard pass to Justin Brown to move the chains. Three players later, the Hornets scored a touchdown, and Lindenwood was never able to get within one possession again.
 
Offensive Shootout

• Both teams had big offensive numbers in the game. Emporia State finished with 612 total yards of offense, including 421 through the air. Lindenwood had 466 yards of offense, with 367 being passing yards.
• Lindenwood averaged 7.5 yards per play, compared to 6.9 for the Hornets. Emporia State ran 104 plays in the game though, 29 more than the Lions.
• Emporia State was 16-of-23 on third-down conversions, and also converted its only fourth-down play. The Lions were five-of-15 on third-down, and one-of-three on fourth-down.

 
First Quarter (Emporia State led 14-0)

• Emporia State never trailed in the game after scoring the first 14 points. On its first play, the Hornets had a pass play for 72 yards, eventually leading to a touchdown 1:15 into the game.
• After trading punts, the Lions had their first good scoring chance, but a 47-yard field goal went just wide right.
• Emporia State went up 14-0 after a 13 play drive later in the half, scoring on a five-yard touchdown pass.

 
Second Quarter (Emporia State led 14-7)

• The Lions scored on the first official play of the second quarter when Calen Campbell broke a 49-touchdown run.
• Lindenwood's defense did not allow another point in the half, forcing one turnover, a punt, a missed field goal, and the end of the half. The Lions also did not score, and only got into Hornets' territory one time.

 
Third Quarter (Emporia State led 20-14)

• Lindenwood tied the game after an Emporia State turnover gave the Lions the ball at the Emporia State 38-yard line. Jackson rushed the ball in from eight yards out after completing three straight passes.
• Emporia State took the lead right back with a 15-play drive. That drive included a fourth-down conversion, and the Hornets scored a nine-yard rushing play.

 
Fourth Quarter (Emporia State won 41-30)

• A wild fourth quarter started with the Lions kicking a field goal to make the score 20-17 early in the quarter.
• Emporia State scored touchdowns on its next three possessions to pull away for the win, including two straight after the Lions got within three.
• Lindenwood also scored two more touchdowns. Jackson completed a seven-yard pass to Shakeem Wharton for one score, and he had a three-yard pass to Kai Collier for the other touchdown.
• Emporia State recovered two onside kicks, and it ran out of the clock after the final one.

 
Career Statistics

• Campbell went over 1,000 career rushing yards on his touchdown run. He finished the game with 1,025 yards.
• DeSean Warren broke into Lindenwood's top-10 list for career receiving yards. He is tenth on the list with 1,453 yards.

 
Key Statistics

• Jackson had 398 total offense yards, the sixth-most in program history, and his 367 passing yards were the 13^th-most. He had three touchdowns with two passing and one rushing.
• DeSean Warren finished with eight receptions for 121 yards. He had his fourth career 100-yard rushing game.
• Nine different players caught passes for the Lions, including seven receptions for 89 yards for Kendell Sparks.
• CJ Bivens led the defense with 17 tackles, shattering his previous career high of 10. He has two double-figure tackle games this season.
• Darrius Williams had 11 tackles, his fifth double-figure tackle game.
• Nate Blanchard had 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
• Ace Rogers had an all-around line of five tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, and one pass breakup. He is the first person to intercept Emporia State's quarterback this season.
• Nick Granberry had a fumble recovery, which was forced by Williams.
• Punter Michael Crowder averaged 48.6 yards per punt, including a long of 65, and had two inside the 20-yard line.

 
Game Notes:

• Lindenwood falls to 2-5 on the season, while Emporia State goes to 4-3.
• Emporia State improves to 6-0 all-time against Lindenwood, including 3-0 at Hunter Stadium.
• Lindenwood falls to 19-9 all-time in its Homecoming contest.