The Lindenwood football team measured itself against the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II on Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium. The Lions fell to No. 1 Northwest Missouri in their Homecoming contest by a 51-20 score.
 
The Bearcats came out hot offensively, scoring touchdowns the first two times they touched the ball. Northwest Missouri would eventually lead 17-6 after one quarter and 37-6 by halftime.
 
In the second half, Lindenwood played even with Northwest Missouri, with both teams scoring two touchdowns. The Bearcats scored just one offensive touchdown in the final half, and that came on a 26-yard drive.
 
Lindenwood finished the contest with 357 yards against a Bearcat defense that had not allowed over 200 yards in a game this season. The Lions continued to have troubles with turnovers though with four on the day, including one returned for a touchdown in the first half. Northwest Missouri finished the game with 431 yards of total offense.
 
Graham Lindman had his second 300-yard passing game in as many starts. He completed 23 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He completed passes to eight different teammates. Alex Robinson, Greg Coble, and Tre' Roby all had over 80 receiving yards. Roby scored on a 79-yard touchdown play and Coble scored on a 55-yard pass play. The other Lindenwood touchdown was a run by Lavorrie Johnson.
 
Connor Harris and Roderick Ryles each had a team-high eight tackles, followed by Clint Koons and Tyler Walker with seven apiece. Koons had 1.5 tackles for loss and the Lions finished with 7.0 tackles for loss as a team. Dillon Hawkins and Jeremy Morris boht had a pass breakup, and Brian Hawthorne intercepted a pass.
 
Game Notes: Lindenwood falls to 1-5 overall and 1-5 in the MIAA … Northwest Missouri's 21st straight win moved it to 6-0 on the year and in the MIAA … the Lions fall to 17-7 all-time on their Homecoming, and they have lost three straight Homecoming games, all to nationally-ranked NCAA Division II opponents … the meeting was the first in history between Lindenwood and Northwest Missouri … Jaron Alexander caught a team-high six receptions and also drew two pass interference penalties … the 57 passes by Lindenwood were the third most in school history for a single game, and the 57 passes by Lindman were the second-most by an individual, one short of the school record … Lavorrie Johnson finished with 146 all-purpose yards, his second 100-yard all-purpose game of the season … Tre' Roby was taken to the hospital as a precaution after receiving a hard hit, but is expected to be ok ... Lindenwood will travel to Nebraska-Kearney next weekend for a 1 p.m. game against the Lopers.