The Lindenwood football team (2-1, 0-1 OVC) dropped a tough game to No. 19 UT Martin (2-2, 1-0 OVC) on Saturday night by a final of 56-26 in Martin, Tenn.
 
GAME OVERVIEW
The Skyhawks opened the game with a touchdown on the opening drive, and took an interception back to the end zone for a quick 14-0 lead.  Lindenwood settled in and took the ball 83 yards on a 10-play drive to cut the deficit to 14-7, after Darrin Fugitt hauled in his first career touchdown.  The Lions forced a three-and-out on the next UT Martin drive to get the ball back at the Lindenwood 30-yard line.  Logan Seibert knocked through a 40-yard field goal to make it a 14-10 game early in the second quarter.
 
After another quality defensive possession, the Lions were backed up in their own territory.  In the middle of the drive, Cade Brister found Payton Rose on a 32-yard connection to bring the ball inside the UT Martin red zone.  The Lions where held out of the end zone, but a 26-yard field goal by Seibert made it a one-point deficit late in the half.  The Skyhawks were able to tack on another touchdown before the break, making it a 21-13 ballgame.
 
UT Martin went up 28-13 at the 11:24 mark of the third quarter, but the Lions continued to click on offense.  Lindenwood drove down the field, and had a first-and-goal from the nine-yard line.  After the Lions were ruled short of the goal line, the Skyhawks forced a turnover on downs.  UT Martin went 97-yards on the next play to extend the lead to 35-13.  Lindenwood added 14 points in the fourth quarter on scores by Andrew Martin and Jeff Caldwell.  The Lions couldn't keep pace in the road loss on Saturday to being conference play.
 
Brister set the new school record for passing yards in a career.  Brister now sits at 8,648 yards in a Lindenwood uniform, passing Ben Kisner who set the mark in 2008.  The senior from O'Fallon, Mo. has collected over 10,000 yards of total offense in his career, a first in program history.  Rose eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the second-straight week, drawing him within 250 yards of the all-time record for receiving yards in a career at Lindenwood.
 
QUOTABLE
"I was proud of our guys and their fight to climb back in it when we got down early," said head coach Jed Stugart.  "We learned tonight that you can't fail to capitalize on opportunities against good opponents.  It's a first game for us in the new era of the OVC that we can learn from.  One thing about it is this team doesn't have any quit in them, and that's something we can definitely build on."  
 
GAME LEADERS
Payton Rose (7 catches, 156 yards)
Cade Brister (25-for-42, 306 pass yards, 1 TD, 14 rush yards)
David Whittemore (7 tackles, 4 solo, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU)
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will return to Hunter Stadium on Saturday to host Southeast Missouri State at 1:00 p.m. in St. Charles, Mo.