vs. Eastern Illinois | Steward Field at Hunter Stadium | St. Charles, Mo. | 2:00 p.m. | Senior Day/Hometown Heroes
The Lindenwood football team (4-6, 3-3 OVC-Big South) looks to bounce back in a matchup with Eastern Illinois (3-7, 2-5 OVC-Big South) on Senior Day. Kickoff from Steward Field at Hunter Stadium is set for 2:00 p.m.
Lindenwood is coming off a tough 24-21 loss on the road at Western Illinois last week. The Black and Gold went up 14-0 in the first quarter, but couldn’t hang on. Steve Hall led the offensive attack, rushing for a season-high 148 yards on 21 carries, while finding the end zone for the fourth time in the last three games. The St. Louis, Mo. native now leads the team with 520 yards on the ground and is tied for tops on the team with six rushing scores along with Nate Glamtz.
Glantz tossed two more touchdowns on Saturday, marking the fourth time this season that he has had multiple touchdown passes in a game. The Elkhorn, Neb. native has 15 touchdown passes so far this season, ranking second in the OVC-Big South Association. Jalen Smith and Rico Bond each found the end zone against the Leathernecks. Bond is tied for the Association lead with his six receiving scores, while Smith’s 635 yards rank third.
Sanjay Strickland picked up eight more tackles on Saturday, improving his team-leading total to 80, which is also the fourth-most stops in the Association. The Lions held the Leathernecks to just 175 yards passing, their second-lowest total of the season. Eric Gant played a big part in that with three pass break ups. He is tied for the Association lead with 10 on the year. Jacob Waller and Jaymason Willingham each picked up a sack in the contest.
A win on Saturday would secure a winning record at home for the fifth time in six seasons. The Lions have had three or more wins inside Hunter Stadium in each of those above .500 years, including a 5-1 mark in 2019.
Lindenwood will close out the regular season next week in matchup with SEMO for the Game Ball Brawl in Cape Girardeau, The Lions defeated the Redhawks 24-12 last season when they were ranked No. 6.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
13: The Black and Gold will honor 13 seniors before the game on Senior Day. They are Mason Brown, Chris Camy, Devon Edwards, Eric Gant, Robert Giaimo, Nate Glantz, Gavin Hulet, Kobe McClendon, Tajay Passmore, Jayden Patrick, Nelson Pipes, Sanjay Strickland and Jaymason Willingham
5.5: The Lions averaged 5.5 yards per carry against the Leathernecks and finished the day with 183 yards on the ground, just missing their second straight 200-yard rushing game. The effort was led by Steve Hall who had a season-high 148 rushing yards.
2: Lindenwood held Western Illinois to just 2-13 on third downs in last Saturday’s game, the fewest third down conversions against the defensive unit so far this season. On the year, teams are converting at a 39.8 precent clip, which ranks seventh in the Association.
3: Rico Bond was named the Big South-OVC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season as announced by the conference on Monday. He is one of three freshmen in the conference to win the award multiple times