Lindenwood Game Notes

Washburn Game Notes

MIAA Weekly Notes

Lindenwood vs. Washburn Notes
- The Lindenwood football team opens the 2014 season this Thursday evening with a 6 p.m. MIAA contest at Washburn.
 
- Lindenwood is starting its 25th season of football, and it is in its third year as a NCAA Division II member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).
 
- Lions head coach Patrick Ross is starting his 11th season as the head coach of Lindenwood. Ross is the most successful coach in program history and enters the season with 99 career victories.
 
- The Lions look to be a much more experienced team in 2014. In the season opener last year, 25 of the 44 offensive and defensive players on the two-deep were freshmen or sophomores. This year, just 19 players on the two-deep are freshmen or sophomores, including just six projected starters.
 
- Both Lindenwood and Washburn are looking to bounce back after struggling down the stretch in 2013. The Lions lost their final five games of the season and finished the year with a 3-6 overall record. Washburn finished the year on a three-game losing streak after opening its season with eight straight wins.
 
- Washburn leads the all-time series with Lindenwood by a 2-0 margin. Both games have been decided by single digits, including the Ichabods winning 44-35 last year in Topeka.
 
- Lindenwood is 12-12 all-time in its season opener, and it has won its last five. Last year, the Lions defeated Lincoln by a 24-22 margin to open the year.
 
- Lindenwood is playing its third Thursday night contest in program history, including its first on the road. The Lions are 2-0 all-time on Thursday night, with a 68-7 win over Evangel in 2010 and last year's victory over Lincoln.
 
- Lindenwood was picked ninth in both the preseason coaches and media MIAA polls. Washburn was picked sixth in the coaches poll and fifth in the media ranking.
 
- Lindenwood's first three road games this season are in the state of Kansas. Since joining the MIAA, the Lions are 2-2 on the road in Kansas. Three of those four games were against ranked opponents.
 
Lions Offense
- Lindenwood returns nine starters on offense this season, including every starter at the skill positions.
 
- The Lions return three all-conference players in second-team all-MIAA wide receiver Alex Robinson, honorable mention all-MIAA offensive lineman Jacob Heneisen and honorable mention all-MIAA wide receiver Jaron Alexander.
 
- Jaron Alexander was Lindenwood's Offensive Player of the Year last season. He led the team with 44 receptions and 637 receiving yards.
 
- Quarterback Dillon Miller has started the last 14 games for Lindenwood. Last season, he finished third in the MIAA with 259.3 passing yards a game.
 
- Running back Marvin Byrd enters his senior season needing just 11 rushing yards for 1,000 in his career. He will be the ninth running back at the school to reach that mark.
 
- The Lions return three starters on the offensive line in Jacob Heneisen, Alex Dole, and John Keltner. Keltner will move to the center position after playing guard last year. The new projected starters on the right side are J.T. Young and Derek Gurnea.
 
Lions Defense
- Lindenwood returns eight starters on defense.
 
- The Lions return four honorable mention players on defense in defensive lineman DeShawn Lawson, linebackers Dillon Hawkins and Clint Koons, and defensive back Wesley Thomas.
 
- Lindenwood will also get a boost from the return of defensive tackle Chaz Fulton and linebacker Connor Harris. Both starters received medical redshirts last year after suffering injuries early in the season.
 
- A true freshman linebacker has led the team in tackles for the last two seasons. In 2012, Connor Harris had a team-high 126 tackles. Last year, Clint Koons led with 62 stops.
 
- One of the top returning defensive lineman is Xavier Warren. Warren started seven games last season and recorded 3.5 tackles for loss.
 
- A pair of players who have not seen the field for Lindenwood will look to fill the cornerback positions. Dante Lewis (SIU-Carbondale) and Jeremy Morris (Utah State) are slated to start for the Lions at those spots.
 
Lions Special Teams
- Third-team all-MIAA punter Edward Burns helped Lindenwood lead the conference last year with a 37.4 net punting average.
 
- Brandon White is slated to take over the placekicking duties. White kicked in two games last year and was eight-of-eight on PATs, and one-of-three on field goal attempts.
 
Misc. Notes
- Lindenwood has its home opener on Thursday, Sept. 11, with a 6 p.m. game at Hunter Stadium against Pittsburg State.
 
- Lindenwood has three Thursday night games this season. The third is the Sept. 25 home game against Missouri Western which will be shown nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
About Washburn
- Washburn returns eight offensive starters and five defensive starters off of last year's 8-3 team that finished fourth in the MIAA.