The Lindenwood football team lost its Family Day contest on Saturday evening at Hunter Stadium to Pittsburg State. The Lions fell to the Gorillas by a 50-19 score.
 
Lindenwood trailed 27-13 at halftime, but appeared poised for another big second-half comeback. The Lions defense forced a three-and-out to start the half, and Lindenwood got within one possession just three plays later. Mason Bendigo found DeSean Warren for a 37-yard touchdown pass which made the score 27-19.
 
Lindenwood's defense quickly got the ball back to the offense with an interception, but the Lions couldn't capitalize. The two teams traded the ball back and forth, but the Gorillas started winning the field-position battle. They finally took advantage with a 12-play drive that ended in a touchdown that made the score 34-19 late in the third quarter.
 
A safety on a bad snap put Pittsburg State up 36-19 at the end of the third quarter and the Gorillas added two more touchdowns in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
 
Besides finishing strong, the Gorillas also had a good start to the game. It scored on its first offensive possession, and then had a punt return touchdown to have a 13-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game. Lindenwood got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Bendigo found Deantrell Prince for a 30-yard touchdown.
 
Later in the second quarter, the two teams combined for three touchdowns in a span of four offensive plays. Lindenwood's touchdown was an 85-yard pass play to DeSean Warren (video), but the Gorillas had the other two touchdowns which helped them lead 27-13 at halftime.
 
Pittsburg State finished the game with 526 yards of offense, compared to 302 for Lindenwood. The Gorillas were especially dominant on the ground, outgaining the Lions by a 190-57 margin. The Lions turned the ball over two more times, and gained just 15 yards after their first possession of the second half.
 
Both teams struggled on third-down plays, going a combined seven-of-34. Lindenwood's defense held Pittsburg State to four-of-17 on third-downs, and also forced a turnover on downs.
 
Offensively, the Lions were led by DeSean Warren who caught four passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Bendigo threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Calen Campbell rushed for 50 yards.
 
Defensively, Dennis Rufus had an interception, and Antron Watts forced and recovered a fumble. Connor Harris recorded 17 tackles, Roderick Ryles had 12, and Wesley Thomas finished with 10 stops. Lindenwood had 6.0 tackles for loss, with eight different players assisting on at least one tackle for loss.
 
Game Notes: Lindenwood falls to 1-3, while Pittsburg State improves to 3-1 … Pittsburg State has won four straight in the series, and now leads the series 4-1 … the Gorillas were the first team to outscore the Lions in the second half this season … Connor Harris finished the night with 549 career tackles, one shy of the NCAA All-Division record of 550 … DeSean Warren's 172 receiving yards were the 17th-most in program history for a single game … Mason Bendigo threw three touchdown passes for the fourth time in his career … the Lions will next travel to Fort Hays State next Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest against the Tigers.