The Lindenwood football team saw its 2016 season end on a down note on Saturday in Warrensburg, Mo. The Lions fell to No. 24 Central Missouri by a 35-7 margin.
 
Lindenwood struggled in the first half statistically, but only trailed 14-0 at halftime. The Lions forced two turnovers, one turnover on downs, and stopped the Mules in the redzone at the end of the first half. Central Missouri did have two long touchdown drives in the second quarter for its lead.
 
Early in the third quarter, Lindenwood had its best chance to get back into the game. Central Missouri missed a field goal on the first possession of the half, and the Lions answered with one of their best drives of the game. They ran 12 plays and got down to the Mules' eight-yard line. Lindenwood was sacked though on a third-down play, and missed a field-goal attempt to get no points out of its efforts.
 
Central Missouri used that momentum to score a touchdown on its next drive to go up 21-0. The Mules added two more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to go up by 35 points. The Lions scored their final points of the season late in the game when Alex Faddoul found DeSean Warren for a 48-yard touchdown pass play.
 
The Mules' offense rolled up 634 yards of total offense in the game, with 251 on the ground and 383 through the air. Central Missouri ran 100 plays, had 35 first downs, and it was 12-of-18 on third-down conversions.
 
Offensively, Lindenwood struggled against Central Missouri's front line. The Mules had seven sacks in the game and allowed just 26 rushing yards. The Lions threw for 229 yards and finished with 255 total yards of offense.
 
Connor Harris ended his Lions career with 12 tackles against the Mules, and finished his career with 633 total tackles. He had one tackle for loss, and forced a fumble that Lindenwood recovered. Ricky McCoy had 10 tackles, and Wesley Thomas had nine. Antron Watts had the team's only sack, and Bakari Triggs recorded an interception.
 
Warren led the offense with 98 receiving yards and his one score. Kendell Sparks had eight receptions for 80 yards, and he broke Lindenwood's single-season receptions mark. Faddoul threw for 229 yards, and Aaron Daniels rushed for 44 yards.
 
Game Notes: Lindenwood finished the season with a 3-8 overall record, and tied for eighth in the MIAA standings … Central Missouri improves to 9-2 on the year … the Lions are now 0-6 all-time against Central Missouri, including a 0-3 mark in Warrensburg … Lindenwood finished the season 0-3 against nationally-ranked teams … Kendell Sparks ended the year with 69 receptions, breaking the school record of 67 which had been held by Rudy Fleming since 2008 … Sparks also finished with 469 kickoff return yards, the second-highest at Lindenwood for a season … Bakari Triggs recorded his sixth interception of the season, tying him for second in the school's single-season list … Connor Harris' final career numbers include 323 solo tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 6 interceptions, 14 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries … a total of 18 seniors played their final games for the Lions, including eight on offense, nine on defense, and one on special teams.