Two of Lindenwood football's biggest wins since joining the MIAA have come at Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg, Kan. The first came in 2012, and sparked the team to a Mineral Water Bowl appearance. The second came last Saturday when the Lions defeated the Gorillas by a 45-11 margin.
 
On the surface, the statistics for the game make it look like a close contest. Both teams had over 400 yards, the turnover margin was won by the Lions by just one turnover, and Pittsburg State won the time of possession battle.
 
However, almost all of the biggest plays in the game went to Lindenwood, especially when the Gorillas had the ball. Lindenwood's defense allowed a season-low 4.2 yards a play, and forced a season-high three turnovers. The Lions also held Pittsburg State to six-of-19 on third-down plays, and forced five turnovers on downs.
 
For the third straight game, the Lions defense did not allow a touchdown in the first half. It also gave the team an early spark with a turnover on downs the first time Pittsburg State touched the ball. The Gorillas had a fourth-and-one play at the Lindenwood 24-yard line, and CJ Bivens met the Gorillas runner at the line of scrimmage and kept him short of the first down.
 
The defense forced two more punts in the first quarter, helping the Lions grab an early 14-0 lead. In the second quarter, Pittsburg State had its best drive of the game, but Lindenwood held strong in the redzone. The Gorillas had 17 plays, including seven in the redzone, but they were held to a field goal. Drew Seers played a big role in that, making two tackles inside the 10-yard line.
 
On Pittsburg State's next possession, it got great field position in Lindenwood territory. Ricky McCoy intercepted a pass in the endzone though to end the threat. The Gorillas had one more chance in the half, but turned it over on downs on the final play of the half.
 
The second half has been the biggest problem for the Lindenwood defense this year, but it changed that narrative against the Gorillas. It forced a quick punt right out of the locker room, and the punt hit a Gorilla blocker, leading to a quick Lions field goal. The Lions forced two more punts and had an interception by Seers in the quarter, and Lindenwood led 31-3 with 15 minutes remaining.
 
Lindenwood's defense allowed a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and Pittsburg State looked to regain momentum after recovering the onside kick. The defense came through in one of the biggest possessions of the game, forcing four straight incomplete passes. Lindenwood's defense allowed just 28 yards the rest of the game, forcing one punt and getting a third interception, this one by Bakari Triggs.
 
While the defense was shutting down a Pittsburg State offense that was averaging over 40 points a game, the offense used a balance attack to score over 40 points for the second time this year. Lindenwood averaged 7.2 yards per play in the game, had 485 yards of total offense, and recorded seven offensive plays over 20 yards.
 
In the first quarter, the Lions had two touchdowns drives of 76 and 80 yards. The first scoring drive was 13 plays long, and one of the biggest plays came when Najee Jackson rushed for nine yards on a third-and-eight play in the redzone. Three plays later, Shakeem Wharton took the ball in on a five-yard rush on another third-down conversion.
 
The next scoring drive was a quick one, lasting just four plays and 68 seconds. Jackson found Deantrell Prince behind the secondary for a 46-yard touchdown play.
 
That was the final scoring play for the Lions in the first half, but the offense came alive again in the second half. Lindenwood scored on five of its seven second-half drives, including four touchdowns.
 
In the third quarter, it was big plays that led to two touchdown drives of 75 and 76 yards. Prince had another 46-yard reception, setting up a 10-yard touchdown run by Calen Campbell. Jackson used his arm on the Lions' next possession, and Lindenwood scored on a 19-yard pass play to DeSean Warren. In the fourth quarter, Lindenwood had two more rushing touchdowns from Wharton and Nash Sutherlin.
 
Defensively, Darrius Williams led the team with 14 tackles, and Jordan Perry and Seers both had eight. Jonathan Harris had two sacks, and Arsante Conners and Drew Harlow both assisted on a third sack. Ace Rogers had three pass breakups, five tackles, and a tackle for loss. Triggs had two pass breakups to go along with his eighth career interception, and he now has 242 interception return yards, five behind the Lindenwood career record.
 
Offensively, Jackson had 231 passing yards and 46 rushing yards. He threw two touchdowns, and continued his streak without throwing an interception, which is now up to 107 straight passes. Wharton had his second 100-yard rushing game of the year, going for 105 yards. He averaged 8.8 yards per rush, and Campbell and Sutherlin each averaged 6.5 yards per rush or better. Campbell had 52 rushing yards and moved into tenth-place in Lindenwood's career rushing list. Prince finished with seven receptions for 113 yards.