complete game notes in .pdf format

Storyline
Lindenwood's version of the 2011 playoffs begins this Saturday with one of the biggest home games in school history. The Lions conclude their transition season to the NCAA with two games against members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), the conference that Lindenwood joins next year. The first game, this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hunter Stadium, will be against Central Missouri, one of the top football programs in the conference.

Lindenwood's transition season has been a huge success, including road wins over a NCAA Division I program, Northern Colorado, and Texas A&M-Kingsville, a very tough NCAA Division II program. This week's contest will be the toughest test of the season though, when Lindenwood hosts the Mules.

The Lions will enter the game with a 7-2 record after a 70-24 victory over Culver-Stockton. All three areas of the game were dominated by Lindenwood in the victory. The offense had over 300 yards rushing, the defense forced six turnovers and scored two touchdowns, and the special teams scored their sixth punt return touchdown of the season.

Central Missouri enters the game with a 6-3 record. All three losses were against teams ranked in the latest national poll, including No. 2 Pittsburg State and No. 3 Northwest Missouri.

A Lindenwood Win Would...
- improve the program to 126-115-2 all-time.
- improve the Lions to 74-21 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- be the 27th straight regular-season win for the program at Hunter Stadium.
- be the first victory over a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
- improve the team to 3-1 against NCAA Division II competition in 2011.

A Lindenwood Loss Would...
- drop the program to 125-116-2 all-time.
- drop the Lions to 73-22 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- drop the team to 2-2 against NCAA Division II teams in 2011.
- snap the team's longest winning streak of the season.

Running Game
Lindenwood rushed for a season-high 313 yards last week against Culver-Stockton. Over the last three games, Lindenwood is averaging 203.7 rushing yards a game and has 10 rushing touchdowns. The team is averaging 5.3 yards per carry in that span.

Balanced Run Attack
Lindenwood has numerous options in the backfield. Two players have a 100-yard rushing game this year, and six have at least one game with over 50 yards rushing.

The running game is led by Therman McGowan, who has 582 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Marvin Byrd, who rushed for 119 yards last week, is second with 190 yards and five touchdowns.

Quarterback Numbers
John Uribe passed the 2,000-yard passing mark last week, joining Ben Kisner, Philip Staback, and Max Brown as the only players in Lindenwood history to throw for that many yards in a season.

Uribe has completed over 60 percent of his passes and has 17 touchdowns. Over the last four games, he has 10 touchdown throws and just three intereceptions.

Helmick Nears Record
Andrew Helmick caught his tenth touchdown pass of the year last week, two shy of Lindenwood's single-season record.

On the season, Helmick has caught 45 passes for 711 yards. He is scoring a touchdown once every 4.5 catches. Over the last four games, he has a touchdown once every 2.1 receptions.

Sack Record
Lindenwood has recorded 31 sacks this season, tying for the most for a Lindenwood team during the Patrick Ross era.

Cody Reider leads the team with six sacks, two more than Brock Reed and Jon McComb.

The Lions have 76 tackles for loss this season. Joe Day has a team-high 8.0, followed by Reed, Reider, and McComb with 7.5 tackles for loss each.

Defensive Touchdowns
Lindenwood scored two defensive touchdowns last week, and now has three on the season. Justin Broome and Nick Tepea each have an interception return touchdown, and Chris Howard has a fumble return touchdown.

Special Teams Play
Lindenwood's special teams have been the difference in several games this season.

On returns, the Lions have six punt return touchdowns, with three each from Mike Bunton and Therman McGowan. Lindenwood also has one kickoff return touchdown. The team has scored at least one special teams touchdown in each of the last four games, and in five of its six victories this year.

Vs. NCAA Division II
In three games against NCAA Division II programs this season, the Lions are averaging 36.3 points and 355.7 yards of offense a game. Defensively, the team is allowing 22.7 points and 418.3 total offensive yards.

Players of the Week
The team's players of the week for the Culver-Stockton game were Marvin Byrd on offense, Joe Day on defense, and Therman McGowan on special teams.

Taylor Jasin 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.

Senior Day
Saturday's game will be Senior Day at Hunter Stadium. The Lions will honor 14 seniors in a pre-game ceremony.

Since members of this year's class joined Lindenwood in 2007, the Lions have won 50 games, won two conference championships, advanced to four NAIA playoffs, and participated in the 2009 NAIA Championship game.

The players being honored are: Darron Bardot (OL), Mike Bunton (WR), Louis Crespo (OL), Tremieko Drake (DL), Kellen Dreyer (DL), Tyler Epstein (LB), Stephen Frichtl (OL), Christian Golder (DB), Chris Howard (LB), Chance Iott (OL), Morris Keseloff (P), DeAndre Nichols (OL), David Ortega (QB), and Nick Tepea (DB).

Spread Offense
Lindenwood switched to the spread offense before the 2007 season. Since that time, the Lions have had their five highest-scoring seasons in school history. Lindenwood is averaging 45 points in that span and has a 50-9 overall record.

Home Field Advantage
Lindenwood is 41-5 at Hunter Stadium since Patrick Ross came to Lindenwood in 2004. The Lions have not lost a regular season game at home since the 2006 season.

If the Lions can defeat Central Missouri, it will finish with a perfect home record for the fourth time in five seasons.

Schedule Breakdown
Lindenwood is 1-1 this season against NCAA Division I teams, 2-1 versus NCAA Division II squads, and 4-0 versus NAIA programs.

About the Mules
Central Missouri's offense has determined the team's 6-3 record this year. The Mules are 6-0 when they score 35 or more points, and 0-3 when scoring 20 or less. The team is averaging 34.4 points and allowing 24.4 a contest.

Quarterback Tommy Corwin leads the offense. He is throwing for 314.7 yards a game and has 29 touchdown throws. Jamar Howard is averaging over 100 receiving yards a game and has 12 touchdowns.

Defensively, Patrick Lewis has a team-high 86 tackles and three forced fumbles. Evan Knight is second with 61 tackles and he has two fumble recoveries.

Last Week
Central Missouri routed Lincoln last week by a 49-6 score in MIAA play. The Mules scored the final 35 points in the contest. Central Missouri had 549 yards of offense, including 300 rushing, and allowed less than 300.

Tommy Corwin threw for 191 yards and five touchdowns, and LaVance Taylor had 119 rushing yards, and scoring both a receiving and rushing touchdown. Devin King led the defense with nine tackles.

Head Coach Jim Svoboda
Jim Svoboda is in his second year at Central Missouri. Last season, he led the team to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. Svoboda was also the head coach at Nebraska Wesleyan from 1987-93, and among his assistant coaching jobs included stints at Northwest Missouri, UCLA, and Montana State.

Up Next
Lindenwood concludes its 2011 season on Nov. 12 with a road game at Central Oklahoma.

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.