complete game notes in .pdf format
Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2 (Graceland Contest)
Storyline
The Lindenwood football team has played 235 games in its program's history, but has never once faced a NCAA Division II school. That will change on Saturday when the Lions take on Saint Joseph's at 6 p.m. at Hunter Stadium.
Lindenwood is looking for its third straight win of 2011, after opening the season with wins over both a NCAA Division I program and a NAIA program. The latest victory was a 67-10 win over Graceland last Saturday in the home opener for the Lions.
The defense is the story of the Lindenwood football team right now, as it has allowed just four drives of 40 yards or more on the season. If the team was able to qualify for the NCAA Division II statistics, it would rank fifth nationally by allowing just 182.0 yards a game.
The offense is putting up "only" 44.5 points and 386.0 yards a game. Those are marks that most teams would happily take, but are disappointing to the Lions who averaged over 50 points the last two years.
Saint Joseph's, a .500 team last season, is looking for its first win of the season. The Pumas dropped their opener to Ohio Dominican, and then fell last weekend to No. 8 Shepherd. Saint Joseph's is averaging 326.5 yards of offense a game, but are allowing nearly 500 yards a contest.
A Lindenwood Win Would...
- improve the program to 121-113-2 all-time.
- improve the Lions to 69-19 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- start the season with a 3-0 record for the third straight year, and the fifth time under Patrick Ross.
- be the first win in program history over a NCAA Division II program.
- be the 23rd straight regular-season home victory for the Lions.
A Lindenwood Loss Would...
- drop the program to 120-114-2 all-time.
- drop the Lions to 68-20 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- snap a four-game losing streak for the Pumas.
- snap Lindenwood's 22-game regular season home winning streak.
Record Book Additions
Lindenwood's defense made three marks in the record book last weekend. The minus-7 rushing yards the team allowed tied the school record. The 101 yards of total defense was the second fewest in school history. The six sacks by the team was third in record book, one shy of the record.
Moving Backwards
Lindenwood has 23 tackles for loss in two games for 112 yards. The team has eight sacks for 58 yards. Most of those occurred against Graceland when the Lions had 18 tackles for loss and six sacks.
Nineteen different players have had at least an assistant tackle for a loss this year and seven have been on a sack. Jon McComb leads the team with three tackles for loss, and Brock Reed and Steven Butler have a team-high two sacks.
Defensive Drive Chart
The defense has been on the field for 30 drives this season. The Lions have forced 20 punts, two turnovers, one safety, one turnover on downs, and one ended at halftime. Lindenwood has allowed just five scoring drives, two of which came when the opposing team took over in Lions territory.
Over half the drives, 16, have been three-and-outs.
20/21 Connection
Juniors Cody Fogle and Brock Reed, numbers 20 and 21 in your program, are the team leaders in tackles. Fogle has 14 on the season, one more than Reed.
Third-Down Conversions
Lindenwood's defense is holding opponents to just a 23 percent success rate on third down. That is an major improvement over last year's 39 percent.
One reason for this is that the Lions are getting opponent in third-and-long situations. Of the 35 plays that opponents have run on third down, 23 have been third-and-five or longer.
Scoring TDs
Lindenwood has had a balanced scoring attack through two games. Eight different Lions have scored touchdowns on the year. Marvin Byrd, Denodus O'Bryant, and Therman McGowan are tied for the team-high with two touchdowns.
Quarterback Play
John Uribe is averaging 263.0 passing yards a game after throwing for 232 last year. He has three touchdown passes and is completing nearly two-thirds of his passes.
Running Game
As the competition gets tougher, Lindenwood will need to step up its play in the running game. After averaging nearly 200 yards a game last year, the Lions are rushing for just 89.5 yards a game this season. Lindenwood is averaging 2.8 yards a rush in 2011, compared to 5.9 yards last season.
The top two rushers have had success. Therman McGowan is averaging 51.5 yards a game and 6.4 yards a carry. Denodus O'Bryant is rushing for 41.0 yards a game and is averaging 4.3 yards a carry.
Players of the Week
The team players of the week for the Northern Colorado game were Alex Robinson on offense, Jon McComb on defense, and Mike Bunton on special teams.
Brock Reed 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.
Return Game
Like previous seasons, Lindenwood has one of the top kick return games in the country.
The Lions are averaging 26.9 yards per kickoff return and the average starting field position for Lindenwood is the 40 yard line. Andrew Helmick has returned four kicks for 24.8 yards. Three other players have returned one kick each, with the shortest return being 23 yards.
On punt returns, Lindenwood is averaging 18.6 yards per return. Mike Bunton has returned seven punts for 16.3 yards a return. Both Bunton and Therman McGowan have a punt return touchdown.
Kicking Game
One week after kicking the game-winner against Northern Colorado, James Neal connected on a 44-yard field goal, the longest of his Lindenwood career. He is now four-of-four on field goals and nine-of-10 on PATs this year.
Morris Keseloff is averaging 38.8 yards per punt and has a net average of 33.0 yards. He has three punts inside the 20, including one against Graceland that was downed at the one-yard line.
All-Purpose Yards
Three Lions are currently averaging over 100 all-purpose yards a game. Denodus O'Bryant is averaging a team-high 120.5 yards a game. O'Bryant has 82 yards rushing, 123 receiving, and 36 on kickoff returns.
Mike Bunton is second with 117.0 yards, and Andrew Helmick is third with 111.5 yards. Bunton has most of his yards receiving and punt return, while Helmick's have been receiving and kickoff returns.
About the Pumas
Saint Joseph's is 0-2 on the year after losses to Ohio Dominican and Shepherd. Offensively, the team is averaging 326.5 yards a game, including 268.0 passing. Defensively, though, it is allowing nearly 300 rushing and 500 total yards a game.
Billy VandeMerkt is the quarterback and has thrown for 536 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite targets are EJ Woody and Alphonso Hines, and Julian Walker has two receiving touchdowns. The leading Puma rusher is Jake McFadden with 40.5 rushing yards a game.
Ben Gomes leads the defense with 25 tackles. He has 1.5 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Drew Byrd has 19 tackles and the team's other turnover on the year.
Last Week
Saint Joseph's trailed nationally-ranked Shepherd by just seven late in the second quarter until Shepherd added a late touchdown. That momentum then led to 24 unanswered points in the final half, and Shepherd won 45-7.
Shepherd finished with 325 yards rushing and 543 total yards. Saint Joseph's had just 244 total yards.
EJ Woody had 90 receiving yards and one touchdown, and Ben Gomes had a hand in 17 tackles.
Head Coach Cory Sanders
Cory Sanders is in his first season as a head coach. He was a four-time all-conference player at Saint Joseph's, and has been an assistant coach at Elmhurst and Saint Joseph's.
Up Next
Lindenwood will begin a three-game road trip on Sept. 24 with a trip to Missouri S&T for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
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.
