complete game notes in .pdf format

Storyline
Lindenwood plays Culver-Stockton this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles. The game is likely the end of an era for the Lions football program, as it plays a NAIA team for the last time in the foreseeable future.

The Lions were a member of the NAIA from 1990 through 2010.This season, as they make the transition to the NCAA Division II level and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Lindenwood has scheduled four NAIA foes. After going 3-0 against the first three, Culver-Stockton will be the final opponent from the NAIA ranks.

Lindenwood needed a comeback to defeat NAIA nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific last weekend. The Lions scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the game for a 38-31 win. The game-winning play was an 82-yard touchdown pass from John Uribe to Andrew Helmick with 29 seconds left.

The difference for Lindenwood once again was its special teams. The Lions had a punt return touchdown, blocked a field goal, forced a punt return turnover, made every field goal and PAT try, and even had two punts downed inside the 20.

Culver-Stockton comes into the game with a 1-7 overall record. The Wildcats have their best offense since 2007, but the team has been hurt by averaging nearly four turnovers a game.

A Lindenwood Win Would...
- improve the program to 125-115-2 all-time.
- improve the Lions to 73-21 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- be the 26th straight regular-season win for the program at Hunter Stadium.
- be the sixth straight victory in the all-time series against Culver-Stockton and the tenth all-time win in the series.
- improve the team to 4-0 in 2011 against NAIA competition.

A Lindenwood Loss Would...
- drop the program to 124-116-2 all-time.
- drop the Lions to 72-22 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- be the team's first loss to Culver-Stockton since the 2005 season.
- be Culver-Stockton's first win since week one of the 2011 season.

Helmick's Hot Streak
Andrew Helmick remained hot last week with seven catches for 137 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Over the last three games, he has 16 receptions for 338 yards and seven touchdowns.

Helmick needs three receptions and 11 receiving yards to move into Lindenwood's top-ten season lists in those categories. He is tied for fourth with nine receiving touchdowns this season.

Blocked Kicks
Lindenwood's special teams have blocked three kicks the last two games. Christian Golder has two blocks, one on a punt and one on a field goal attempt. Cody Reider also blocked a field goal attempt.

Punt Return Touchdowns
Lindenwood recorded its fifth punt return for a touchdown in 2011 when Therman McGowan returned his second one of the year against Azusa Pacific.

Mike Bunton has already set the school's single-season punt return records with 26 attempts, 446 yards, and three touchdowns.

Lindenwood is averaging 18.2 yards per punt return. If the Lions were eligible for NCAA Division II statistics, they would rank eighth in the nation with that mark.

Field Goal Kicking
James Neal improved to nine-of-ten on the season with one field goal last week. His nine field goals made ties for third at Lindenwood for a single-season. Neal is 34-of-36 on the season on PAT attempts and leads the team with 61 points.

2,000 Yard Passing
John Uribe is approaching the 2,000 yard passing mark for the season. He needs 105 yards this week to become the fourth quarterback in Lindenwood history to throw for 2,000 yards in a year.

Uribe had his first 300-yard passing game last week with 313. Over the last three games, he has eight touchdown passes.

All-Purpose Threats
Lindenwood has three players averaging over 100 all-purpose yards a game, and perhaps its biggest threat is just below that mark. Mike Bunton leads the team with 135.9 yards a game, including 806 yards on special teams. Therman McGowan and Andrew Helmick each average over 100 yards. Denodus O'Bryant would also average over 100 all-purpose yards if you took away the Saint Joseph's game in which he was hurt on the first play.

Personal Best in Tackles
Chris Howard set a career-high with 14 tackles last week. It was the sixth time in his career that he had double-digit tackles.

Howard leads the team on the season with 62 tackles, including 43 on running plays. He also has five tackles for loss and one sack.

Taking the Ball Away
After having five turnovers through the first five games of the season, the Lindenwood defense has now forced eight turnovers over the last three games. The Lions have forced five fumbles and three interceptions in that span.

Players of the Week
The team players of the week for the Azusa Pacific game were Andrew Helmick on offense, Chris Howard on defense, and Therman McGowan on special teams.

Mike Bunton won the team's Living the D.R.E.A.M. award. That acronym stands for dedication, responsibility, enthusiasm, attitude, and motivation. The award goes to the player who exemplifies those qualities on the practice and game field, around campus, inside the dorm, and in the classroom.

Red-Zone Scoring
In its six victories this season, Lindenwood has scored on nearly 90 percent of its red-zone opportunities. In the two losses, it scored on just 40 percent.

Defensively, opponents were a perfect 100 percent during Lindenwood's two losses. In the Lions' wins, opponents are scoring just 63 percent of the time.

For the season, Lindenwood is scoring touchdowns 60.6 percent of the time that it reaches the red zone. Opponents have scored touchdowns 44.4 percent of the time.

Long Plays
The game-winning pass last week from John Uribe to Andrew Helmick was the longest offensive play of the 2011 season. It was the fourth passing play of the season that was longer than 50 yards, and the 16th that was over 30 yards.

The longest run play of the season was a 66-yard touchdown by Gary Wilson. Lindenwood has just two rushes in 2011 longer than 30 yards.

Close Games
Lindenwood has played in four games this season which have been decided by seven points or less. Over the previous two seasons, the Lions had just three games that were decided by that margin.

Lindenwood is 3-1 this season in those contests. During Patrick Ross' career at Lindenwood, the Lions are 18-7 in games decided by seven points or less.

Schedule Breakdown
Lindenwood is 1-1 this season against NCAA Division I teams, 2-1 versus NCAA Division II squads, and 3-0 versus NAIA programs.

About the Wildcats
Culver-Stockton opened the season wtih a 25-point win over Graceland, but the Wildcats are 0-7 since that win. Offensively, it has put up yards, but is averaging nearly four turnovers a game. Defensively, the Wildcats are allowing over 200 yards a game on the ground.

Matthew Herman is the quarterback in recent games. He has six touchdowns and is averaging 140.5 passing yards a game. The favorite receiving target is Dontay McGaffie, who has seven touchdowns. Blake Jackson averages 61.0 yards rushing. Ryan Javan is a leading defender with 62 tackles and three sacks.

Last Week
Baker scored the first 40 points of the game in a 71-21 victory over Culver-Stockton. Baker had 565 yards of offense, compared to Culver-Stockton's 412. The big difference was six Culver-Stockton turnovers.

Matthew Herman threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Swinford caught eight passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. James Emerson rushed for 70 yards. Defensively, Kyle Haeberlin had 10 tackles, and Ryan Javan had nine tackles and a fumble recovery.

Head Coach Jeff Duvendeck
Jeff Duvendeck is in his first season at Culver-Stockton. He comes to Canton after assistant coaching stints at Michigan State, Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, and Grand Valley State.

Up Next
Lindenwood will have one of its biggest home games in school history when the Lions take on MIAA Central Missouri on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.

NCAA II Transition
Lindenwood is in its second year of NCAA Division II candidacy in 2011-12. The school has dropped its NAIA membership and is an independent.

In 2012-13, Lindenwood hopes to enter a provisional year in the NCAA. The Lions will join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association that season.

In 2013-14, assuming all expectations have been met, the NCAA will vote to make Lindenwood a full member.