The Lindenwood football team won its home opener on Thursday night at Hunter Stadium with a 49-10 victory over Northeastern State. The win was the first one as a Lion for new head coach
Jed Stugart.
Play of the Game
Lindenwood appeared ready to take a 21-0 lead into halftime when it attempted a Hail Mary in the final seconds of the half. Northeastern State appeared to have the play well covered, but after a RiverHawk player tipped the ball, it ended up in the hands of
Deantrell Prince for a touchdown. That gave the Lions a 28-0 lead, and they put the game away by scoring on its first three possessions of the second half.
Offensive Numbers
- Lindenwood set a school record by rushing for 417 yards.
Shakeem Wharton led the team with 103 yards, followed by
Calen Campbell with 86,
Najee Jackson with 82, and
Nash Sutherlin with 70.
- The Lions finished with 686 yards of total offense, the fourth-highest in program history.
Defensive Numbers
- Lindenwood did not allow a point in the first half for the first time since the Oct. 15, 2016 game versus Emporia State. The RiverHawks had just 142 yards at the break, including 27 on the ground.
- Lindenwood held Northeastern State to just four-of-14 on third-down plays for the contest.
First Quarter (Lindenwood led 7-0)
- Lindenwood took the opening drive 86 yards for a touchdown. Campbell scored on a nine-yard run.
- The Lions defense forced three punts, and gave up only 26 yards in the period.
Second Quarter (Lindenwood led 28-0)
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Najee Jackson threw three touchdowns to
Kendell Sparks (2 yards),
DeSean Warren (55 yards), and
Deantrell Prince (43 yards).
- Lindenwood's defense forced three more punts and a turnover on downs.
Third Quarter (Lindenwood led 42-3)
- Northeastern State got on the board with a 39-yard field goal on its first possession of the second half.
- After that, the Lions defense forced a punt and its first turnover of the season with a fumble recovery.
- Lindenwood's offense scored on both of its possessions with a one-yard run by Wharton and a 65-yard run by Campbell.
Fourth Quarter (Lindenwood won 49-10)
- On his first collegiate pass,
Max Meylor threw a 50-yard touchdown to
Justin Smith.
- Northeastern State rounded out the scoring by going 10 plays and 68 yards to score its first touchdown with 6:42 left in the game.
Key Statistics
- Jackson finished the game with 208 passing yards and three touchdowns, and he completed 71 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 82 yards.
- Warren led the receivers with five catches for 94 yards and one score.
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Darrius Williams led the defense with 13 tackles, his second straight double-figure tackle game.
Drew Seers, a true freshman, earned his first start and had 10 tackles.
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CJ Bivens had team-highs of 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.
Game Notes:
- Lindenwood improves to 1-1 on the season, and Northeastern State falls to 0-2.
- The 49 points were the most by the Lions since their home opener last season.
- Lindenwood is 2-2 all-time against Northeastern State.
- The Lions are 21-7 all-time in its home opener, including a 5-1 mark since moving to the MIAA.
- Lindenwood is now 6-4 all-time in Thursday night contests, and has won three straight Thursday games at Hunter Stadium.
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Jed Stugart is the fourth of six Lindenwood head coaches to win his first game at Hunter Stadium.
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Shakeem Wharton had his first 100-yard rushing game, and
Calen Campbell's 65-yard run was the longest of his career.
- Lindenwood's total offensive yards were the most since the ninth game of the 2010 season.
- The Lions will be at home again next week with a Saturday, Sept. 16, game against Washburn. Both teams will come into that game with a 1-1 record. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
