The Lindenwood football team rewarded its fans for sitting through a chilly afternoon with one of the most exciting finishes at Hunter Stadium in the last few seasons. The Lions had a big special teams play and a game-winning touchdown in the final minutes for a 35-31 victory over Nebraska-Kearney.
 
A wild fourth quarter started with three turnovers and a punt in the first 2:16 of the period. After the last turnover, Nebraska-Kearney went on a 75-yard touchdown drive that put the Lopers up 31-28 with 8:07 remaining. Lindenwood advanced the ball into Lopers territory on its next possession, but choose to punt with 4:03 remaining.
 
That decision proved correct when the defense forced a fourth-down play at the 2:24 mark. Nebraska-Kearney tried to punt the ball away, but Lindenwood's A.J. Dudley blocked the punt. The Lopers recovered at their 16-yard line, but Lindenwood took over there on a turnover on downs.
 
Calen Campbell carried the ball for the next two plays, picking up nine and seven yards, respectively. The final seven put him in the endzone and gave the Lions a 35-31 lead.
 
After Dudley got a tackle on the ensuing kickoff, Nebraska-Kearney had to go 72 yards for the win in the final 85 seconds. Nebraska-Kearney made three first downs to get the ball into the redzone. On the first-down play, Ricky McCoy made a big tackle for loss, forcing the Lopers to take their final timeout. After an incomplete pass on second down, Jonathan Harris forced a fumble on a sack. The Lopers recovered but they lost nine yards and had to rush to get its fourth-down play off. Lindenwood got good pressure again, forcing the Nebraska-Kearney quarterback back to near midfield. He got a pass off into the endzone, but it touched the ground to give Lindenwood the win.
 
The final quarter capped off a back-and-forth game. In the first quarter, Lindenwood scored on both of its first two possessions for a 14-6 lead. Najee Jackson had a three-yard run for the first score, and Jackson found Kai Collier for a 39-yard touchdown reception for the second score.
 
Nebraska-Kearney got within one point on the first play of the second quarter. The Lopers then went on a 10-minute drive later in the half. That drive ended in a field goal that put Nebraska-Kearney up 16-14 at halftime.
 
Former quarterback and current tight end Mason Bendigo threw his 18th career touchdown pass on the opening play of the second half. Bendigo received a backwards pass from Jackson, and then found a wide open Collier behind the defense. The touchdown play was good for 68 yards, the longest offensive play of the year for the Lions.
 
After a quick three-and-out, Lindenwood's offense scored again to put the Lions 28-16.  Campbell had an 18-yard rushing touchdown to finish that drive. Nebraska-Kearney got seven points back later in the third quarter, which set the table for the exciting finish.
 
Nebraska-Kearney finished with a slight edge in total yards, by a 386-378 margin. Lindenwood had 150 rushing yards and 228 passing yards. The Lopers had 220 on the ground and 166 passing. The Lions had an edge in yards per play by a 5.8-4.8 margin. Lindenwood had five turnovers, two more than Nebraska-Kearney.
 
One of Lindenwood's big statistical advantages was in field position, where it had an average starting field position of its 41-yard line, 10 yards better than Nebraska-Kearney. The Lions were also 11-of-17 on third-down plays, while Nebraska-Kearney was six-of-16.
 
Offensively, Collier led the team with five receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Campbell also had a 100-yard game, rushing for 107 yards and two score. Jackson threw for 160 yards, and had one rushing and one passing touchdown.
 
Defensively, Triggs had his ninth and tenth career interceptions in the fourth quarter of the game. He also had seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and two pass breakups. Ace Rogers had a career-high 19 tackles and also had 1.5 tackles for loss. Darrius Williams, Harris, and Antonio Davis all forced a fumble, and Davis' was recovered by McCoy.
 
Besides the blocked punt, Lindenwood also had good all-around special teams. Michael Crowder had three punts, all of which went inside the 10-yard line. Travis Spraul connected on all five PATs he attempted.