The Lindenwood football team defeated Missouri Southern State 34-30 in a come from behind victory on Saturday in Joplin, Mo.
 
Lindenwood tallied 14-fourth quarter point to earn its third victory on the season.  The Lions offense was well balanced with 198 yards on the ground and 192 yards through the air.  Lindenwood was 5-for-12 on third downs and held the ball for just 26:21.
 
Missouri Southern jumped on the board first with a 3:36 drive on 10 plays for 65 yards that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run.  The host Lions added another score just 32-seconds later with a 30-yard pick six to put Missouri Southern up 14-0.  Lindenwood was force to put late in the first quarter, but a forced fumble by Deon Rieux resulted in a recovered fumble by Phillip Posley at the Missouri Southern 41-yard line.
 
The Lions carried the drive into the second quarter and capitalized on a one-yard touchdown run by Connor Harris to close the deficit to 14-7.  Missouri Southern responded with a methodical 12-play 67-yard drive in 3:25 minutes to take a 21-7 lead with 10:18 to go in the half.  After a Lindenwood punt, Connor Harris recovered his own forced fumble on the first Missouri Southern play of the drive at moved the ball down to the opponent 33-yard line.
 
Two plays into the Lindenwood drive, Lavorrie Johnson ran for 26 yards to the Missouri Southern 10-yard line and the drive was finished with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Mason Bendigo to Tre' Roby.  The Lions pulled within seven points, but surrendered a Missouri Southern field goal just before the end of the first half.  Lindenwood trailed 24-14 going into halftime, but it saw solid production on the ground as Johnson had 70 yards on the ground and Harris tallied 10 tackles in the first half.
 
In the second half, Missouri Southern started with the ball, but could only muster up 14 yards on five plays and finalized the dive with a 17-yard punt to the Lindenwood 44-yard line.  Lindenwood drove 56 yard on five plays including a 20-yard catch by Roby and it was completed with a 38-yard touchdown catch by Johnson from Bendigo to pull the Lions within four points.
 
The Lindenwood defense forced a three-and-out and blocked a field goal near the end of the third quarter to keep the Lions within striking distance.  Missouri Southern picked off Bendigo with just 20 second to go in the third to start the fourth quarter with the ball and the lead.  The Lions kicked a field goal to lead Lindenwood 27-20, but a big play changed the course of the game.  Down seven points, Roby returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to the Lindenwood 44-yard line and provided a spark to the Lindenwood offense.
 
Ahmad Springer opened the drive with a nine-yard run and two plays later DeAngelo Strickling ran 47 yards to the house to tie the game at 27-27 with just over 13 minutes to go in the game.  The Lindenwood defense again stood strong as Roderick Ryles intercepted a pass and returned it 10 yards to the Lindenwood 38-yard line.  Missouri Southern quickly changed momentum on the third play of the drive with a sack that forced Bendigo to fumble and the Lions took over at the Lindenwood 33-yard line.  Missouri Southern kicked a field goal with 7:20 on the clock and held a 30-27 lead.
 
Lindenwood went three-and-out, but the resilience of the defense showed as Ryles snagged his second interception of the game and took it near midfield to the Lindenwood 41-yard line with 5:15 left.  On a third down Bendigo tossed his third touchdown of the game to Johnson for a 56-yard score to give the Lions a 34-30 lead with 4:03 to go in the game.  In crunch time the Lindenwood defense again flexed its muscles in a five-play drive allowing just two yards to force a punt. 
 
Lindenwood attempted to put the game away, but fumbled the ball away at the Missouri Southern 15-yard line to give the Lions one last shot.  The first play from scrimmage resulted in an 11-yard sack by Nick Granberry and Justin Taylor.  Missouri Southern gained 34 yards on three plays to its own 37-yard line before Lindenwood called a timeout with 21 second to go in the game.  Two plays later Chaz Fulton and Jonathan Harris sacked the quarterback to end the game.
 
Harris led all tacklers with 13 and Wesley Thomas was right behind him with 12 of his own.  Bendigo was 10-for-25 for 192 yards and three scores while Johnson was the leading receiver on the team with three receptions for 98 yards and two touchdown catches.  Johnson added 86 yards on the ground.  Strickling rushed just four times for a total of 90 yards and a score.
 
Lindenwood improves to 3-5 overall … Missouri Southern State falls to 1-7 on the season … Connor Harris(449) has passed Steve Savard (441) for most career tackles in the MIAA … Lindenwood is now 2-4 when playing in the MIAA Television Network Game of the Week … Chaz Fulton reached his 100th career tackle … Roderick Ryles leads the team with two interceptions … The Lions have now posted 10 sacks in the past two weeks … Lindenwood returns home next weekend for a 1:30 start against Central Missouri at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo.