The Lindenwood football team (0-2) fought hard, but fell to Appalachian State (2-0) by a score of 20-13 on Saturday in Boone, N.C.

GAME OVERVIEW
Appalachian State scored on its first offensive play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead. The Mountaineers thought they doubled the lead a few minutes later, but the ball was punched out by Jayden Patrick before the endzone which kept App State up by a score. The Mountaineers scored again late in the first, going up 14-0 after one.

The Lions defense got a big stop early in the second quarter giving them good field position. With the offense taking over near midfield, Nate Glantz eventually found the endzone with a one-yard touchdown rush, cutting the deficit to 14-6. The Black and Gold held the Mountaineers to just 48 yards in the middle frame and trailed by a touchdown at the break.

App State controlled the ball in the third quarter, but the Lindenwood defense was stingy un the redzone, holding the Mountaineers to just a field goal as the Lions trailed 17-6 after three quarters of play.

The Mountaineers added another field goal to begin the fourth quarter to take a 20-6 lead. Lindenwood continued to hang around with the help of its defense, getting its third takeaway of the day when Sanjay Strickland forced a fumble with just over nine minutes to go in the fourth. The Lions moved the ball but would be forced into a 4^th and 14 from Mountaineer 24. On the ensuing play, Nate Glantz scrambled out to his right and heaved the ball into the endzone which was brought in by Rico Bond for his first career touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff by Will Graham, Lindenwood recovered the onside attempt and Lindenwood got the ball in App State territory with 3:28 remaining. The Mountaineer defense stood tall, however and held on for the 20-13 victory.

GAME LEADERS
Rico Bond (seven catches, 102 yards, one touchdown)
Sanjay Strickland (13 tackles, five solo, one sack, one forced fumble)

QUOTABLE
"Coming out of last week we challenged our guys to respond to adversity, show fight and grit," said head coach Jed Stugart. All we wanted to see was effort every snap. That's exactly what we saw tonight.  We had our opportunities to win tonight, and we have to still clean that up, but effort is what kept us in it."
 
UP NEXT
Lindenwood will travel to Charleston, S.C. to begin conference play in a matchup with Charleston Southern next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. CT