Photo by David Snyder
Jayden Patrick knew it was coming.
The Lindenwood coaching staff alerted the senior cornerback there was a high probability that Appalachian State would try to take a shot at the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.
It came, and Patrick was in perfect position to turn and intercept the pass, but he stepped on the back of App State wide receiver Dalton Stroman’s shoe, fell to the turf, and watched Stroman catch the ball and trot into the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown 18 seconds into the game.
“We talk about moving on to the next play and not holding onto those things,” Lindenwood coach Jed Stugart said. “He knew they were going to come back at him.”
The Mountaineers did come back at Patrick during their next possession, and Stroman beat him on a slick, stutter-and-go move. Trailing him by several yards, Patrick caught Stroman before he reached the goal line and knocked the ball out of his grasp and through the back of the end zone.
The hustle play resulted in a touchback and possession for Lindenwood, but it provided much more.
“Probably, single-handedly the biggest play of the game,” Stugart said. “Our sideline just changed. You could see that feeling of hope and energy. It gave us that extra boost.”
Effort and resiliency were signatures for Lindenwood in a hard-fought, 20-13 loss last Saturday to FBS opponent App State, which entered the game as a 31.5-point favorite.
Lindenwood (0-2, 0-0) will hope to put its stamp on the start of its conference season when it travels to Charleston Southern (0-2, 0-0) to kick off Ohio Valley Conference-Big South play at 3 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be shown on ESPN-Plus.
For Stugart, the effort shown by Patrick on that play served as a teaching tool during film study.
“A lot of coaching moments in that. We use it like crazy in showing a kid that could have been down on himself but bounces back and makes that kind of pivotal play,” he said.
Patrick’s hustle play ignited an outstanding performance by the Lions’ defense, which forced four turnovers and held an explosive Appalachian State offense to two field goals after the first quarter.
“I’m real proud of Coach (Eric) Inama and his defensive staff for putting together a really good gameplan and following that gameplan,” Stugart said. “They drill pursuit to the football, and we saw guys flying to the football.”
Eric Gant had an interception while Patrick, Zach Lewis and Sanjay Strickland forced fumbles, all recovered by pursuing Lions. Strickland led the way with 13 tackles and a sack and was named OVC-Big South Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
Effort, hustle and relentless pursuit were points of emphasis during an intense week of practice after a lackluster 35-13 loss to St. Thomas in Week 1.
“We learned a lot of valuable lessons, and a lot of that was challenging our effort, our preparation, practicing with a purpose and not just going through plays. We really challenged our team big time last week,” Stugart said. “We wanted to see effort and how we handled adversity and the environment, and our guys really rose to the occasion.”
In front of a rowdy crowd of nearly 35 thousand fans, the Lindenwood offense had to battle its share of adversity thanks to an App State defensive front that sacked quarterback Nate Glantz eight times.
“That is one salty defense,” Stugart said. “I think App State is going to be very good this year because of how their defense plays. They are very active up front and they fly to the football.”
Trailing 14-0 midway through the second half, Glantz led the Lions on a rugged eight play, 54-yard touchdown drive after the previous two possessions had yielded a total of negative-19 yards. Glantz found freshman Rico Bond for a 26-yard completion to get into the red zone, a place where Lindenwood exited with points only once in five trips during Week 1.
Three tough runs by Glantz culminated in a one-yard quarterback plunge and placed the halftime score at 14-6.
“Nate’s a warrior. He was out there playing banged up and he just keeps coming,” Stugart said. “I was proud of our offense’s resilience. I was proud of how they faced adversity and still battled.”
App State embarked on 12-play and 11-play drives in the second half, but both only resulted in field goals. Both the Lindenwood defense and offense improved dramatically in red zone efficiency after struggling mightily in that area against St. Thomas.
“Our goal was, ‘Let’s make the red zone a priority both offensively and defensively and let’s hold them to field goals and that will give us a chance,’ and that’s exactly what they did,” Stugart said.
The second red zone chance for Lindenwood turned into one of the longest 24-yard touchdown passes in recent memory. After consecutive App State sacks, the Lions faced a fourth-and-14 situation. Glantz escaped pressure by whirling back toward the App State logo at midfield, then darted sideways. Just before reaching the sideline, he launched a prayer into the end zone that Bond wrestled away from a defender to cut the deficit to 20-13.
“By the time Nate wiggled his way out of that and got free, it was a 50-yard throw,” Stugart said.
The highlight-reel play encapsulated a brilliant day for Bond, who led the Lions with seven catches for 102 yards and earned OVC-Big South Freshman-of-the-Week honors.
Lindenwood recovered the ensuing onside kick and had the ball inside Mountaineers’ territory with a chance to pull off the kind of upset that App State made famous, but a final, fourth down pass attempt by Glantz was intercepted.
“We had the ball in our hands with a chance to go down and tie or try to win the game, and we just couldn’t finish that drive,” Stugart said.
Stugart complimented the Lions’ exponential improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, but wants to see how the team responds after giving App State all it could handle.
“Our team wasn’t satisfied. They were frustrated after the game, and I was really encouraged by that. There was disappointment that we didn’t execute in a lot of areas.”
He added, “Now the question is ‘How do our kids respond? Do we feel good about ourselves because we competed well in an FBS game or do we get back to basics, stay humble and go back to work? We made a big jump from Week 1 to Week 2 but there’s still a lot we have to get hammered out.”
Injury Notes:
Lindenwood running back Steve Hall, a member of the Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List, left the game against App State after one carry due to an ankle injury. Stugart said it was a preventative measure and a coach’s decision not to reinsert him into the game. “He’s going to be back,” Stugart said.
On Charleston Southern:
The Buccaneers lost at FBS school Coastal Carolina 13-0 in Week 2. Senior punter Gilbert Brown was named OVC-Big South co-Special Teams Player of the Week after dropping four punts inside the 20-yard line including an NCAA-best 82-yard punt. Lindenwood is 1-1 in two meetings with Charleston Southern, losing to the Buccaneers 24-10 in 2023 and winning 29-14 last season.