The Lindenwood football team gave No. 14 Fort Hays State a scare on Saturday at Hunter Stadium, but the Tigers were able to hold on by a 38-35 score.
 
Play of the Game
Lindenwood, trailing 31-28 midway through the fourth quarter, had the ball, but was using its backup quarterback due to an injury to Najee Jackson. Fort Hays State intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. That put the Tigers up 38-28, and Lindenwood couldn't overcome that 10-point deficit in the final 3:34 of the game.
 
Lindenwood's Offense
- Fort Hays State came into the game allowing just 11.0 points and 269 yards a game. Lindenwood's offense though put 35 points on the board and had 438 yards of total offense, both season-highs allowed by the Tigers.
- Lindenwood threw for 382 passing yards in the game, the most by a Lions team since the Central Missouri contest in 2013.
- Najee Jackson competed 29-of-47 passing for 365 yards and three touchdowns. The 365 yards were the 13th-most in program history, and the most since 2013.
- Deantrell Prince caught 10 passes for 175 yards. The 175 receiving yards were the seventh-most in program history, and the 10 receptions tied for the eighth-most.
 
First Quarter (Fort Hays State led 14-7)
- Fort Hays State scored on two of its first three possessions to grab a 14-7 lead. Lindenwood's lone stop in the quarter came when Bakari Triggs forced a fumble that was recovered by Ace Rogers.
- That fumble led to Lindenwood's first touchdown. The Lions had to go just 25 yards, and they scored on a one-yard run by Jackson.
 
Second Quarter (Lindenwood led 21-14)
- The Lions defense did not allow a point in the second quarter, and it only allowed 66 yards. Fort Hays State missed a field goal, and punted three times.
- Lindenwood tied the game early in the quarter when Jackson found DeSean Warren in the endzone for an 11-yard score. That duo hooked up again before halftime, this time on a four-yard pass play. Both scoring plays came on third down.
 
Third Quarter (Score tied 28-28)
- The third quarter was back-and-forth, with Fort Hays tying Lindenwood twice in the quarter.
- Lindenwood's scoring drive in the quarter was a short one after a big kickoff return by Bakari Triggs. Shakeem Wharton finished the drive with a one-yard run.
 
Fourth Quarter (Fort Hays State won 38-35)
- Lindenwood missed a chance to go ahead early in the quarter on a short missed field goal attempt.
- Fort Hays State went ahead at the 7:59 mark on a 27-yard field goal.
- The next three possessions saw the offense turn the ball over. The most costly turnover was a Lindenwood interception that was returned for a touchdown.
- The Lions cut the lead to three on a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. Jackson completed a 17-yard pass to Prince for the seven points.
- Fort Hays State recovered the onside kick after that touchdown, and was able to run the clock out after that.
 
Career Statistics
- Prince went over 1,000 receiving yards in the game. He now has 79 catches for 1,066 yards in his two-year career, and he has 12 receiving touchdowns, which ranks seventh in the career records.
 
Key Statistics
- Ace Rogers had two fumble recoveries in the game, and Ricky McCoy had an interception. The fumbles were caused by Drew Seers and Triggs.
- Darrius Williams, CJ Bivens, and Seers all had 10 tackles. Bivens set a career-high in tackles, while Williams had his fourth double-figure tackle game and Seers had his third.
- Antonio Davis led the team with 1.5 tackles for loss.
- Punter Michael Crowder averaged 49.2 yards per punt, including two of his five punts being inside the five-yard line. His long punt was 56 yards, his longest as a Lion.
 
Game Notes:
- Lindenwood falls to 2-3 on the season, while Fort Hays State improves to 5-0.
- Fort Hays State leads the all-time series by a 5-1 margin, and it has won five straight in the series. The Tigers are now 3-0 at Hunter Stadium.
- The Lions go on the road next weekend, travelling to Missouri Western for a 1 p.m. game.
- The game was the school's Hall of Fame Game. Five athletes and two teams will be inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame later in the day, including former linebacker Logen Wright.