GAME OVERVIEW
The Lindenwood football team (4-7, 4-7 MIAA) completed a spectacular comeback over Missouri Western (6-5, 6-5 MIAA) in a 27-23 victory on Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo.  The Lindenwood defense was nails as they allowed just 144 yards through the air and held the Griffons to 144 yards on the ground.
 
Missouri Western scored the only points in the first quarter as the Lions stood strong in their own red zone, holding the Griffons to a field goal.  The Lions put together a seven-play 64-yard drive that was capped off with an 18-yard touchdown run by Cameron Sanders early in the second frame.  Missouri Western held the Lions from scoring the rest of the half, but the Lions stayed sharp on the defensive end.  The Lions had their backs against the wall near the end of the half, but held the Griffons to a field goal to make it a 6-6 tie heading in to the break.
 
Missouri Western had great field position in the third quarter, but the Lions held the Griffons to a 25-yard field goal after a shot seven-play 17-yard drive.  The Griffons took charge of the game after returning a fumble recovery back 50 yards to take a 16-6 lead going into the final quarter.
 
With 8:03 the Griffons scored their only offensive touchdown of the game on a 21-yard run to build a commanding 23-6 lead, making it tough for the Lions.  Cade Brister led the Lions on a seven-play 72-yard drive that was highlighted by a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mason Bendigo.  The defense again held their ground, but the Griffons pinned the Lions at their own one-yard line with 4:12 left in the game.
 
Lindenwood marched down the field 99 yards in 11 plays to make it 23-20 after a Brister nine-yard rushing touchdown.  The Lions were left with 1:58 and lined up for the on-side kick in hopes getting one last possession.  Barrett Foley popped the ball up perfectly as Jordan Perry was able to cleanly grab the ball and give Lindenwood possession with 1:58 left in the quarter.  The Lions were faced with a fourth down and just five yards to go when Brister found Erik Henneman over the middle for just enough to get the first down.
 
With no timeouts left, Brister found Nash Sutherlin at the Missouri Western three-yard line for the 37-yard gain and a chance to win the ballgame.  Sutherlin took the next snap into the endzone for a three-yard score, giving the Lions a 27-23 lead.  The Griffons had 36 seconds to go 75 yards, but the Lions made the plays they needed as Drew Seers stopped Missouri Western at the three-yard line on the final play of the game to seal the 27-23 victory.
 
The Lions were 0-for-3 on third downs in the final quarter, but were a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth downs.  Brister threw for 164 yards in the final 15 minutes of play while completing 15 of his 20 attempts.  Sanders had 83 yards rushing and in the game while adding 61 yards on kickoff return.  Seven different receivers had three catches or more in the game.  Grady Daniels led the Lions on defense with 13 tackles, while CJ Bivens had a key interception to go along with his four tackles.
 
GAME LEADERS
Cade Brister (31-53, 275 pass yards, 1 TD, 58 rush yards, 1 TD)
Cameron Sanders (11 rushes, 83 yards, 1 TD, 19 rec yards, 61 KR yards)
Darrius Williams (8 tackles, 7 solo, 2.0 TFL)