ST. CHARLES – Of the one hundred yards on a football field, the last one can be the most difficult to earn.
Southeast Missouri State experienced that Saturday, as the one-yard line became the location of near-disaster, disaster and triumph within the same game.
Quarterback Braylen Ragland threw for three touchdowns and provided a decisive, one-yard plunge in the fourth quarter as SEMO defeated Lindenwood 38-27 in the annual Game Ball Brawl at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles.
SEMO (3-3, 1-0 OVC) ran 74 plays from scrimmage and racked up 32 first downs, reclaiming the Game Ball Brawl trophy after Lindenwood held it the last two seasons.
The fourth quarter began with SEMO clinging to a 28-21 lead and ready to line up on offense at the Lindenwood one-yard line. That spot on the field was the location of several moments of high drama throughout the game.
In the first quarter, a slant pass from Ragland to John Anthony Jr. sent Anthony towards the end zone for a tying touchdown, but when he attempted to leap over Lindenwood defensive back Jalon Jones at the one-yard line, the ball squirted loose, and the Lions recovered in the end zone.
After replay review, it was determined that Anthony broke the plane of the goal line before fumbling, the call was overturned and the touchdown granted to SEMO.
In the third quarter, SEMO faced a third-and-goal situation at the Lindenwood one-yard line when a shotgun snap eluded the outstretched hand of Seckman alum Cole Ruble. Lindenwood senior Brayan Crawford scooped it up and raced 86 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 21.
Now facing another goal-to-go situation from the one-yard line, Southeast Missouri State used the intermission between the third and fourth quarters to discuss a play that would not result in near or actual calamity. They settled on a direct snap to Ragland, who powered into the end zone for the touchdown that provided the first two-score lead for either team.
Lindenwood (1-4, 1-1 OVC) used explosive plays to build a first half lead. Pops Battle, who was questionable to play due to a shoulder injury, faked an option pitch and scampered 50 yards down the center of the field to open the scoring.
“Pops is a warrior. I am extremely proud of him, because I know he was hurting and he battled through that,” Stugart said.
After the first Ragland-to-Anthony connection tied the game at 7, Lindenwood running back Jared Rhodes emerged through a miniscule hole at the line of scrimmage and raced 43 yards to reclaim the lead for the Lions.
But the Ragland-to-Anthony connection was just getting started for SEMO. One play after Lindenwood committed its third personal foul of the half, this one a face mask, Ragland fired a strike to Anthony on a skinny post for a 29-yard catch, run and near fumble to tie the game at 14.
Lindenwood used another explosive play, a 41-yard pass from Battle to Aiden Grote, and appeared poised to reclaim the lead, but two consecutive illegal procedure penalties knocked the Lions out of field goal range.
The Lions committed six penalties in the first half. All proved vital in either aiding SEMO scoring drives or stunting their own.
“We preached all week that the most disciplined team was going to win,” Stugart said. “Too many self-inflicted mistakes killed us today.”
SEMO grabbed its first lead just before halftime with an 11-play drive. It included nine running plays and was capped off with a Khyair Spain 4-yard burst with 27 seconds remaining. The scoring drive proved to be a harbinger for the ground and pound, ball control approach the Redhawks would employ during the second half.
Throughout the first four games, penalties had been the nemesis for Lindenwood, and they were again a factor in the first half. The kryptonite for SEMO had been turnovers, including six in a 20-17 loss to West Florida the previous week. The Redhawks avoided the turnover bug in the first half, but it bit them at an inopportune time in the third quarter.
Aided by a Lindenwood roughing the passer penalty and a defensive holding call, SEMO marched to the Lions’ one-yard line. Cole Ruble, who was returning from a hip injury suffered earlier in the season, was stuffed in the backfield on first and second down, then tried to get a head start on third down.
Ruble stepped forward, the snap was high and unattainable, and Crawford was off to the races with the ball and a convoy of Lions beside him. The costly SEMO turnover had arrived, but what Lindenwood hoped would provide a massive shift of momentum did not.
SEMO immediately responded with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that included six consecutive rushing attempts before Ragland dropped a perfect pass to Anthony along the sideline for a 23-yard touchdown strike and their third scoring connection of the game.
“That’s the hardest thing, when you think you got the momentum swing and then the air goes out,” Stugart said. “That was a pivotal part of the game. That drive took the wind out of our sails.”
The one-yard plunge by Ragland to open the fourth quarter gave SEMO a two-touchdown lead and proved too much for Lindenwood to overcome.
Where Lindenwood used several chunk plays to accrue their 380 total yards of offense, SEMO, methodically and risk-free, churned up 423 yards in six-yard clouds of dust. The Redhawks also used an advantage in special teams, using a 47-yard kickoff return and a 52-yard punt return as catalysts in the second half.
Lindenwood will try to shake off the sting of the rivalry loss when they travel to Eastern Illinois for a 2 p.m. kickoff next Saturday, Oct. 17, before returning home to Hunter Stadium for games against Chicago State on Oct. 24 and Tennessee State on Oct. 31.
It’s a disappointing loss, but the end of the day, we’re still 1-1 in conference. Our dreams aren’t shattered by this game,” Stugart said.
For a photo gallery of this game, click on the link below.
https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2026/SEMO-at-Lindenwood-10-10-26