complete game notes in .pdf format
Storyline
Lindenwood accomplished one of the best regular seasons in school history this year, going 10-0, winning its third Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship (HAAC), and having a winning margin of victory of 38.9 points a game. For the Lions, however, none of that matters now as Lindenwood turns its focus towards a national championship when it begins play this week in the NAIA Football National Championship Series.
The No. 3 Lions will host a first-round playoff game this Saturday at 1:30 p.m., taking on No. 20 Langston. Both programs had playoff success last year. Lindenwood advanced to the NAIA semifinals and was one play away from the national championship game. Langston upset last year's HAAC Champion, MidAmerica Nazarene, in the first-round before falling to the eventual national champions in the quarterfinals.
The game will match up Lindenwood's offense, which enters the game averaging 57.4 points a game, against a stingy Langston defense, which is allowing less than 250 total yards a game.
On the other side of the ball, Lindenwood's defense, which is allowing just 2.7 yards per rushing attempt, will have to slow down Langston's Carlos Ross, who is averaging 5.7 yards per rush and over 100 rushing yards a game.
A Lindenwood Win Would...
-?improve the program to 107-110 all-time.
-?improve the Lions to 55-16 under head coach Patrick Ross.
-?improve Lindenwood to 3-4 in the NAIA Football Championship Series, including a 2-1 mark at home.
-?tie the longest winning streak in school history at 11 games.
-?increase its home winning streak to 18 games.
-?mark the second straight year that it advanced past the first-round of the playoffs.
A Lindenwood Loss Would...
-?drop the program to 106-111 all-time.
-?drop the Lions to 54-17 under head coach Patrick Ross.?
-?drop Lindenwood to 0-2 all-time against Central States Football League schools.
Offensive Scoring
Lindenwood's offense continues to put up historic type of numbers. If the Lions can keep their 57.4 average throughout the playoffs, it would be a new NAIA record. According to Tex Noel at 1st-N-Goal, Lindenwood will be the 80th team in college football history (NCAA and NAIA) to surpass 600 points if they score 26 against Langston.
Last week, the Lions scored the second-highest single-game total in school history and broke the school record for total points in a season.
O'Bryant Nears Record
Denodus O'Bryant has 17 touchdowns this season, just one shy of the Lions' record. The most impressive thing about O'Bryant is that he has touched the ball just 79 times this season, meaning he has scored once every 4.6 times that he has been directly involved in a play.
Accurate Passing
Philip Staback ranks second in the NAIA in pass completion with a 67.9 percent mark. He has been even better over the last seven games, a span in which he has completed 73.3 percent of his passes. Over those games, he has 18 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.
Early Game Defense
Lindenwood has not allowed a first quarter touchdown over the last four games and on the season, has allowed just four touchdowns and two field goals in the opening 15 minutes. The Lions have outscored foes 154-35 in the first quarter.
Scoring Defense
Lindenwood is on pace for a scoring defense under 20 points, as it is allowing just 18.5 a game. If that continues, it will be the fourth time in school history that the Lions have held opponents under 20 points for the season.
Vs. Ranked Teams
Lindenwood is 3-0 this year against teams ranked in the current Top 25 poll. The Lions have a 55-14 win over No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene, a 45-37 victory over No. 11 Missouri Valley, and a 52-30 win over No. 23 Baker.
Leading In The Game
Lindenwood has only trailed in one game this season and has led for the majority of each game. In 600 minutes, the Lions have led for over 541 minutes, and they have only trailed for 14:06.
Turnover Margin
Lindenwood is tied for seventh in the NAIA with a +13 turnover margin. Only four other teams have turned the ball over less than the Lions, who have 13 turnovers.
First In The NAIA
Besides scoring offense, Lindenwood also leads the nation in kickoff return yards and total offense. Halley Ferrell leads the nation in scoring for a kicker.
Up Next
The winner of the Lindenwood/Langston contest will advance to the NAIA playoff quarterfinals.
About The Lions
Langston will enter the postseason with a 7-3 overall record. The Lions went 4-1 in the Central States Football League and finished second, but earned the conference's automatic bid after Northwestern Oklahoma State was ineligible for postseason play.
The offense is led by Carlos Ross, who is averaging 101.5 rushing yards and 38.4 receiving yards a game, and has a total of 11 touchdowns. Quarterback Darrion Lewis is passing for 140.0 yards a game and has 14 touchdown passes and five rushing scores. Tony Cotton is the top receiver with 529 receiving yards and five touchdown catches.
The defense is led by Rodrick Jenkins with 70 tackles, including 11.5 for losses, and caused four turnovers. Dominique Turner leads the team with 7.5 sacks, and Derrick Butler has a team-high four picks.
Last Week
Langston ended the season on a down note, falling to Azusa Pacific by a 37-3 score. The Lions could not get anything going offensively, with just 171 yards and three turnovers. Azusa Pacific had 358 total yards and sealed the win with three second-half touchdowns.
Darrion Lewis threw for 83 yards and Carlos Ross rushed for 49 yards. Kor'Darien Mathis had 21 rushing and 27 receiving yards.
Defensively, Mark Brown had a team-high nine tackles, one more than Greg Brooks and Christian Torres.
Head Coach Greg Johnson
Greg Johnson is in his second stint as head coach of Langston, with his latest run starting in 2004. He has won a total of four conference championships at the school.
