Box Score photo gallery
Lindenwood football's
Denodus O'Bryant became the school's all-time leading rusher on Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium. The No. 18 Washburn Ichabods spoiled the celebration though by scoring a touchdown with just 23 seconds remaining for a 19-16 victory over the Lions.
O'Bryant broke the record in style midway through the second quarter. Washburn had just scored a touchdown to go up 6-3 and Lindenwood took over on its own 12-yard line. On the very first play of the drive, O'Bryant broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and then outran the defense on the left side of the field. The 88-yard touchdown was the longest running play in school history and made O'Bryant the school's leader in career rushing yards.
Both teams kicked a field goal later in the second quarter and Lindenwood led 13-9 at halftime. Two more field goals in the third quarter gave Lindenwood a 16-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, the Lions had two chances to build its lead. Both times they drove inside the Washburn 30-yard line but missed long field goal attempts.
After the final missed field goal, Washburn went on a 12-play, 73-yard drive to win the game. The big play was a 10-yard completion on fourth-and-seven that took the ball down to Lindenwood's eight-yard line. Three plays later, the Ichabods scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run.
Lindenwood's defense played another strong game. It did not force a turnover but made Washburn punt on half of its possessions and also caused a turnover on downs. Twice, Washburn had first-and-goal inside the five-yard line, and the defense held Washburn to field goals. One of those started with Washburn taking all four snaps within two yards of the goal line.
Connor Harris led Lindenwood with eight tackles and two pass breakups.
Joe Day had six tackles, three tackles for loss, and the team's lone sack.
Cody Fogle made seven stops, including one for a loss, and broke up a pass.
Pierre Desir and
Justin Broome each had seven tackles, and Broome had two pass breakups.
Offensively, Lindenwood came in with a run-heavy gameplan as it rushed the ball 43 times, compared to 19 passes. The Lions finished with 265 rushing yards and they averaged 6.2 yards per carry. O'Bryant had 228 rushing yards, the fifth-most in Lindenwood history for a single game.
In his first collegiate game, true freshman
Dillon Miller was nine-of-19 passing for 132 yards. His lone turnover came in the final seconds of the game on a desperation pass downfield.
Sam Sealer was his favorite target as he caught three passes for 74 yards.
Game Notes: Lindenwood falls to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA … Washburn improves to 7-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAA … the Lions lost their Homecoming contest for just the second time in their last 12 seasons … Lindenwood falls to 0-2 against NCAA Division II nationally-ranked teams, with both losses coming the last two weeks … O'Bryant finished the game with 2,786 career rushing yards, and he scored his 56th career touchdown …
Dillon Miller was the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Lindenwood since Ben Kisner midway through the 2005 season … Lindenwood's defense held its third straight opponent under 20 points.