Lindenwood football (3-3, 2-0 OVC/Big South) used a huge second half to take down UT Martin (1-5, 1-1 OVC/Big South) 30-14 and get their first ever win over the Skyhawks in program history.
Nate Glantz threw three touchdowns to three different receivers and the Lions defense held the Skyhawk offense to just 298 yards as Lindenwood outscored UT Martin 23-7 in the second half to cruise to victory and remain perfect in conference play and at home at Hunter Stadium.
“It’s hard to win college football games in general,” head coach Jed Stugart said. “Being in this league, that’s a special win for us. That’s a really good football team, they were co-champions last year. I just sensed a type of workmanship this week, to see the guys come out and play with that kind of effort against a really good football team. We kept our foot on the gas and didn’t let them creep back in, and we finished.”
The Three Musketeers The Air Raid Trio
While they may not be riding around the field on horseback, the trio of Rico Bond, Jalen Smith and Drew Krobath were too much for the Skyhawk secondary to handle as each had three catches and hauled in a touchdown pass.
Glantz completed just 12 passes on 17 attempts but aired it out for 227 yards and three scores, hitting five different receivers and averaging 13.4 yards per pass.
The star of the game was Jalen Smith who finished with three receptions for 146 yards and a score as his three catches were all explosive plays of 42, 62 and 42 yards. It was Smith’s best game of the season by far as he has blossomed into quite the deep ball threat for Glantz after the departure of Jeff Caldwell. The touchdown by Smith was also his first career touchdown.
“It’s definitely a first for my career,” Smith said. “I’ve had a couple of long ones, but never back-to-back-to-back like that. Coach has been on me about going up and making plays, and I’ve just been trying to improve every week. It feels good to finally make those plays.”
Stugart said the sophomore’s growth has been a highlight of the season. “He’s one of those kids you almost have to remind how good he is,” Stugart said. “He’s got great humility, but he’s been taking coaching and really attacking the ball. He’s becoming one of those big-time receivers that defenses have to pay attention to.”
Bond continues to blossom into one of the best freshmen in the conference as he is second in the OVC/Big South in receptions and receiving yards and is tied with Noah Robinson of Tennessee Tech with five receiving touchdowns.
Smith said the wide receiver room takes pride in their depth. “We always say we’re a deep room,” he said. “Not just us three, everybody can play and make plays. So whenever the opportunity presents itself, we take great pride in that.”
Krowbath also keeps proving time and time again that he can be a nice weapon for Glantz as he moved the chains on several possessions and hauled in his first receiving touchdown of 2025.
Battle in the Trenches
Coming into the week all the talk had been about how good the front seven was for UT Martin and how would Lindenwood’s offensive line hold up. At the end of 60 minutes of game action, not only had the Lindenwood offensive line been dominant and not allowed any sacks or tackles for loss but the Lindenwood defensive line wreaked havoc all game long tallying three sacks and five tackles for loss.
Stugart credited his staff and the defensive unit for one of their most complete performances of the season. “Our defensive coaches do a great job putting game plans together,” he said. “That’s a really good offense and a really good quarterback that ran for a lot of yards last week. Our defense really controlled him well. They take pride in being the kind of defense that makes you earn everything, and that showed today.”
The Lindenwood defense was fantastic all game long holding the Skyhawk offense to just 298 total yards of offense and just 4.9 yards per pass and 4.8 yards per rush while also forcing a critical fumble and turnover on downs deep in Lindenwood territory.
The Lindenwood defense played a huge role in the dominant second half as UT Martin’s drive in the second half went: punt, fumble, punt and then a touchdown in garbage with many of the backups in. Excluding the late touchdown drive, the Lions defense held the Skyhawks to just 62 yards of offense in the second half.
Return of the Rushing Attack
With Steve Hall and Jared Rhodes finally healthy, the Lindenwood rushing attack finally showed signs of its 2024 self. Lindenwood rushed for 156 as a team with Glantz leading the way carrying it 11 times for 91 yards including a huge 59 yards scamper late in the fourth quarter that felt like the dagger in the heart for the Skyhawks.
“Steve Hall and Jared Rhodes have been warriors,” Stugart said. “They’ve been playing hurt, and this is the first time they’ve probably both felt their best in a while. That’s one of the better front sevens we’ll see, so we had to stay patient with the run game, but it really opened up as the game went on.”
On the scramble, tight end, Darrin Fugitt threw a massive block on a Skyhawk defender that sprung Glantz who went chugging down the sideline with no defenders in sight before finally getting tracked down and pushed out of bounds at the UT Martin 24 yard line setting up a Hall rushing touchdown later in the drive.
The touchdown for Hall capped a day in which he rushed 19 times for 55 yards including his longest run of the season on his first carry which went for 20 yards. The 19 rushes were also the most in a game for Hall who continues to work back from an ankle injury.
Rhodes got limited snaps in the game just running six times for 11 yards and hauling in one pass for five yards.
Finishing what they started
The victory symbolized a milestone moment for Stugart’s program. “A couple of years ago, we were the new kids on the block,” he said. “We were at UT Martin, and they were taking shots into the end zone at the end just to score one more time. I told our guys then, ‘There’s going to come a day where we’ll be in victory formation and take a knee.’ Today was that day.”
Smith echoed his coach’s pride in how far the Lions have come. “I’ve been here a while,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for a game like this. It definitely boosts confidence, not just for me, but for the whole team.”
The win represented Lindenwood’s growth from a scrappy newcomer to a legitimate conference contender. After controlling the second half on both sides of the ball, the Lions left no doubt about their progress or potential.
Lindenwood enters their bye week this week and gets two weeks to prepare for the top dogs and preseason favorites in the OVC/Big South, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (5-0, 2-0 OVC/Big South) on Oct. 18 with kickoff coming at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ or can be listened to locally on 89.1 KCLC.
