CALEB RIORDAN | Reporter

The Lions are undefeated in the Great Lake Valley Conference play after a win over McKendree 45-37 on Saturday afternoon.

Both offenses jumped out to a fast start. The Bearcats struck first with an early touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. The Lions quickly responded by way of a touchdown pass from sophomore Cade Brister to sophomore Payton Rose to even the score. 

Early in the second quarter, junior Nash Sutherlin found the end zone with his feet to put the Lions up 7-14. McKendree then led a 12-play drive that ended in a touchdown to tie the score 14-14.

Brister completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to freshman Jaden Kohls, which gave the Lions the lead back. McKendree knocked in a field goal as time expired in the first half.

The action-packed half ended with a score of 17-21 in favor of the Lions. 

Both teams were able to keep up the high-scoring game into the second half.  The Lions opened the half with a 56-yard screen pass for a touchdown to Sutherlin to extend its lead. The Bearcats then returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, trimming Lindenwood’s lead.

Brister found senior Najee Jackson in the red zone for a short touchdown which helped extend the Lions lead to 24-35. The Bearcats continued to press on and scored back-to-back touchdowns to take hold of the lead for the first time near the end of the third quarter, 37-35. 

Junior backup quarterback Alex Faddoul came in and stole the lead back from the Bearcats, leading a 9-play 73-yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass to junior Glen Gibbons. Senior Ricky McCoy came up with an interception for the Lions in the fourth quarter that helped maintain the lead. Senior kicker Brett Garner knocked in a field goal that extended the lead to 37-45. 

The Lions grabbed the away win to bring its record to 2-3 and 2-0 in GLVC play. 

The Lions offense was highly productive and spread out.

Brister ended his day with 415 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air. Sutherlin had 15 carries for 70 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground added to 5 catches, 120 yards, and a touchdown through the air as well. Kohls also had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. Rose, Jackson, and Gibbons along with Kohls and Sutherlin made up five different Lions to catch a touchdown on the day. 

On the defensive side, four Lions ended with 10 or more tackles on the day. Junior Drew Seers led the way with 17 and had one tackle for a loss. 

Next, the Lions will look to stay undefeated in the GLVC as Truman State University comes to St. Charles on Saturday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. 

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