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The Lindenwood football team opened up the home portion of its 2011 schedule with a strong defensive performance during a 67-10 victory over Graceland. The Lions allowed just 101 yards of total offense, the second lowest total in program history.

The defense set the tone in the first half when it allowed just one total yard of offense. Graceland had eight possessions and lost yards on half of them. The Yellowjackets were one-of-10 in the half on third and fourth downs, and they only ran one play from Lindenwood territory.

The defensive effort helped the offense have good field possession. In the first quarter, the Lions had an average starting position of Graceland's 37 yard line, and they scored four quick touchdowns because of that. John Uribe threw two touchdown passes to Alex Robinson and Andrew Helmick, and Denodus O'Bryant and Marvin Byrd had rushing scores. Lindenwood scored another touchdown in the second quarter when Ty Munnerlyn scooped up a Lion fumble in the endzone, and the home team led 34-0 at halftime.

Lindenwood went up 41-0 midway through the third quarter when Mike Bunton returned a punt 48 yards for a touchdown. After that score, Graceland's offense had its only sustained drive of the night, going 13 plays and 62 yards. The drive ended with a 24-yard field goal.

After that field goal, Lindenwood's defense returned to its shutdown form, with only one long pass of 33 yards keeping the team from setting a school record for fewest yards in a game. The Lions added a safety, two more rushing touchdowns, a punt return touchdown, and a field goal the rest of the way. A fumble recovery touchdown by Graceland ended the scoring.

Lindenwood's defense ended the game allowing minus-seven yards rushing, which ties a school record. The Lions had six sacks for 50 yards, and 18 tackles for loss for 99 yards. The Lions forced 11 punts, two turnovers, one turnover on downs, and one safety in 17 possessions.

Jon McComb, Cody Reider, and Cody Fogle all had team-highs with seven tackles. McComb had 2.5 tackles for loss, while Reider and Steven Butler had two. Tony Ritzman recovered a fumble, Nick Grubbs forced a fumble, and Justin Broome intercepted a pass. A total of 15 Lions had at least 0.5 tackles for loss.

Offensively, Uribe threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Bunton was the leading receiver with three catches for 57 yards, and Mike Bunton caught three passes for 50 yards. Therman McGowan was the leading rusher with 30 yards and three attempts. Byrd finished with two rushing touchdowns.

Game Notes: Lindenwood improves to 2-0 overall and Graceland falls to 0-2 … the six sacks by the Lions was the third-most for a single-game … James Neal's 44-yard field goal was the longest of his Lindenwood career … Lindenwood has now won nine straight home openers and 22 straight home regular season games … the Lions have defeated Graceland seven straight times and has a 13-3 record all-time against the Yellowjackets … for the second straight season, Lindenwood has held its first two opponents of the year under 300 yards of total offense … the Lions will host St. Joseph's next Saturday at 6 p.m.