The No. 5 Lindenwood football team ended its regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 29-18 victory over William Jewell. The Lions moved to 9-1 on the year and will now wait until Sunday afternoon to find out their first-round opponent in the NAIA Football Championship Series.

After a sluggish first quarter, in which the only points were from a James Neal field goal, Lindenwood's David Ortega threw three touchdowns passes in the second quarter to give the Lions a 23-0 halftime lead.

The first touchdown was a 37-yard pass to Andrew Helmick. After a William Jewell fumble, Lindenwood scored just two plays later on a 39-yard pass to Mike Bunton. The Lions forced a quick punt by William Jewell to give them one more possession in the half. On the third play, Ortega found Matt Bramow with a reception. Bramow advanced the ball into the red zone before pitching it to Jamere Holland, who finished the play in the endzone.

William Jewell dominated possession in the final half, but the Lions were too far ahead for the Cardinals to make a comeback. The Cardinals scored on their first possession but took nearly eight minutes off the clock. Lindenwood fumbled at the goalline on its next possession, but the defense came through again and gave the offense the ball back at the William Jewell 20 yard line. That led to another Neal field goal early in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals answered with a field goal on their next possession, but again the scoring drive took a lot of time off the clock. After a failed onside kick, Neal put three more points on the board for Lindenwood. William Jewell added one more touchdown, but its third failed onside kick allowed the Lions to run most of the remaining time off the clock.

Ortega finished with 166 yards passing and 23 yards rushing to go along with his three touchdown passes. Denodus O'Bryant was the team's leading rusher with 61 yards, and Bramow and Helmick each had two receptions for over 45 yards. Neal was a perfect three-of-three in field goal attempts for the Lions, making kicks from 33, 23, and 35 yards.

Defensively, Lindenwood allowed just 178 total yards of offense and forced three turnovers. Scott Cozart had a team-high six tackles and a fumble recovery. Keenan Mace also had a fumble recovery and Brock Reed had an interception.

Game Notes: Lindenwood finishes second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a 9-1 record … William Jewell ends its year with a 4-7 overall record and a 4-6 HAAC mark … Lindenwood takes an 8-7 lead in the all-time series with William Jewell and it has now won four straight over the Cardinals … the 177 total yards of offense was the second-lowest allowed by Lindenwood's defense this season … the announcement of teams that made the field for the 2010 NAIA Football Championship Series and the first-round matchups will be announced live at victorysportsnetwork.com on Sunday, starting at 1:30 p.m.