On Saturday, Nov. 23rd, the Lindenwood football team played their final game of the season against their OVC rivals the UT Martin Skyhawks, falling short 33-26, in overtime.
The game featured a passionate crowd of UT Martin students and fans, along with energized Lindenwood alumni in the opposing stands supporting the Lions. The Lions won the coin toss and elected to kickoff to begin the game. From there, the Skyhawks started the game off first on offense, but could not get past Lindenwood’s defense and had to punt. Once the Lions got the ball back, junior quarterback Nate Glantz was able to deliver a 40-yard strike to sophomore tight end Darrin Fugitt. On the next play Glantz was able to complete a 21-yard pass to junior wide receiver Jeff Caldwell to put Lindenwood on the board. The extra point attempt, however, hit the up-right and did not go in so the Lions only got six points from the touchdown, but still had the lead.
As the Skyhawks started their next drive, graduate quarterback Kinkead Dent attempted a near 50-yard bomb, but the pass was picked off by junior defensive back Jayden Patrick. The Lions, however, were not able to score on that drive. However, Lindenwood played a firm defense for the rest of the quarter, as junior defensive lineman Tajay Passmore forced a fumble for the second turnover of the quarter. All throughout the quarter, UT Martin was held to only 27 yards. The first quarter concluded with the Lions still on top 6-0.
The Lions had the ball as the second quarter began. Three minutes and twenty into the quarter, after a 13-play 90-yard drive, Lindenwood increased their lead to 13-0, from a two-yard rushing touchdown by Glantz. The Skyhawks eventually got on the board, with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Kinkhead to senior wide receiver Trevonte Rucker. In the final seconds of the first half, the Lions made their way to their red zone. However, as Lindenwood was aiming for a touchdown rather than a field goal, no timeouts, and unable to stop the clock in general, the Lions were unable to finish the half with a score.
Entering the second half, junior kicker Logan Seibert was able to give Lindenwood the first score of the half with a 50-yard field goal, putting the Lions up 16-7. Later on, Rucker got his second touchdown of the game, allowing the Skyhawks to be down by only three, at least for the moment. During UT Martin’s PAT attempt, freshman defensive end Mason Burke was able to block the kick, allowing sophomore defensive back Tre Bell to finish with a scoop-and-score defensive two-point-conversion, a rare play in football. That allowed the Lions to cut back on the lead gap decrease, being up 18-13. An uncommon football score too. With 1:45 left in the third quarter, senior running back Patrick Smith delivered a 22-yard touchdown run for the Skyhawks, giving UT Martin their first lead of the game, at 20-18.
4:15 into the fourth quarter, the Skyhawks increased their lead with a two-yard run from redshirt senior running back Glover Cook. Both teams continued to exchange stops as the clock continued to wind down. Eventually, with 32 seconds left in the game, sophomore running back Jared Rhodes was able to capitalize with a 13-yard touchdown run, topped off with a reception from Caldwell once again, this time in the end zone for a successful two-point attempt, tying the game up 26-26. With four seconds left of regulation, the Skyhawks tried a 49-yard field goal, to try to seal the deal, but the kick came short, hitting the right upright, ascertaining the game was headed to overtime.
For overtime, the Lions once again won the coin toss, and again chose to start off on defense. As the Skyhawks started the OT off on offense, they made their way to the one-yard line. After a pass to redshirt sophomore tight end Tyler Dostin, UT Martin regained the lead. The Lions were unable to score on their possession in overtime, narrowly losing 33-26, and concluding Lindenwood’s regular season record at 5-7, improving from their 2023 record of 3-7.
