Photo by David Snyder
The Lindenwood football team needed a spark.
The Lions were reeling after Charleston Southern scored three touchdowns in its first three possessions and drove deep into Lindenwood territory on their fourth, with the intention of quickly putting the game out of reach.
“We were down 21 points before anyone even broke a sweat,” Lindenwood coach Jed Stugart said. “We have young faces on our team and sometimes we’re looking around to see, ‘Who’s going to be the spark? Who’s going to make a play?’”
That person was sophomore defensive end Jesse Smith.
Midway through the second quarter, the Buccaneers ran a bubble screen that was destined for big yardage, but Smith raced from his defensive end position, made a diving tackle and limited the play to a two-yard gain.
“You think it’s just one play, but it was such a great play and it injected energy into our defense,” Stugart said. “I felt that was a turning point.”
Smith’s hustle play was the catalyst for eight successive stops on defense and allowed quarterback Nate Glantz to lead the offense to 35 unanswered points as Lindenwood earned a thrilling 35-28 come-from-behind victory over Charleston Southern Saturday in the Ohio Valley-Big South conference opener for both teams.
Lindenwood (1-2, 1-0), which played its first three games on the road, will play its first home game of the season against Stony Brook (NY) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles.
Charleston Southern (0-3, 0-1) scored a total of three points in losses to Vanderbilt and Coastal Carolina to begin the season but looked like the Greatest Show on Turf in the first quarter against Lindenwood.
Quarterback Zolten Campbell completed his first seven passes, the Buccaneers were 6-for-6 on third downs, and after three explosive plays of over 38 yards, Charleston Southern pillaged its way to a 21-0 lead.
“Sometimes, we fall in these habits saying, ‘We didn’t start fast or we didn’t do this,’ and some of those things are true, but you have to give credit to a physical, feisty, well-coached football team that was ready to go and got on us early,” Stugart said.
The Lindenwood offense had three consecutive 3-and-outs and the Buccaneers again cruised deep into Lions territory, but Smith and the defense refused to walk the plank.
“(Smith) pursued the bubble screen, retraced, hustled and made a great effort play,” Stugart said. “Defensively, I feel like that’s where the change in momentum started.”
Smith’s effort play and an offensive holding penalty forced the first Charleston Southern punt of the day, which landed in the end zone for a touchback.
It set up a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that also changed the fortunes for the Lindenwood offense. On third-and-7, Glantz hit East St. Louis alum Rico Bond for 13 yards. On third-and-11, he found Jalen Smith for 16 yards. Then, Glantz powered into the end zone from eight yards away to slice the deficit to 21-7 at halftime.
“We settled down and were finally able to put a drive together,” Stugart said. “When we put points on the board in the second quarter, I felt energy injected in our sideline and we took some momentum into halftime.”
At halftime, Stugart challenged the defense to keep getting stops and challenged the offense to maintain its rhythm.
Both happened.
An interception by Sam Owens gave the ball to the Lindenwood offense midway through the third quarter, and Glantz finished a 6-play, 61-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.
A 31-yard punt return by Christopher Bennett Jr. gave the Lions great field position early in the fourth quarter, and Glantz capitalized by pinballing into the end zone from seven yards away for his third rushing touchdown to tie the score at 21.
Often, it seemed like Glantz simply willed the offense to first downs and touchdowns with grit, determination and a refusal to be denied.
“He’s a competitor. That’s just who he is. He’s going to get first downs. He’s going to dive headfirst in the end zone. He’s completely ignored me for two years to slide or run out-of-bounds,” Stugart said. “He leads by example and our guys rally around that.”
Midway through the fourth quarter, Charleston Southern drove to the Lindenwood 10-yard line, but the Lions’ red zone defense, which struggled mightily in a Week 1 loss to St. Thomas, forced a field goal attempt that missed wide. It was the eighth consecutive drive the Buccaneers did not score after peppering the Lions with three haymakers early in the game.
“The three explosive plays were all technique and missed tackles, they weren’t schematic issues. We got back to the basic stuff we’re supposed to do,” Stugart said. “And we got tired of it. (The defense) came out with a passion to say, ‘We have to get back to playing with great effort.’”
Linebacker Jacob Waller led the defense with 17 tackles, 13 solo, and earned OVC-Big South Defensive Player of the Week honors. Defensive back Eric Gant added 11 tackles and a pass break up, and St. Mary’s alum Kobe McClendon contributed six tackles from his defensive line position.
Lindenwood took the lead when Glantz found Bond for a 12-yard touchdown strike to conclude a seven-play, 80-yard drive. The Lions recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and a one-yard plunge by Ladue alum Jared Rhodes gave Lindenwood a 35-21 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Charleston Southern scored a late touchdown but a final, onside kick attempt was unsuccessful.
“It was a great football game if you’re a fan – a lot of excitement – and I’m glad we were able to escape out of there with a win,” Stugart said.
For Lindenwood, which also trailed Appalachian State 14-0 in the first quarter before rallying late in a 20-13 loss in Week 2, starting faster will be a point of emphasis when the Lions face Stony Brook on Saturday.
“In our history, we’ve tended to be cardiac kids, comeback kids. I’d like to get out of that,” Stugart said. “I’d like to be a team that starts faster so I don’t have to have this amount of stress in the first quarter all the time, but I’ve learned not to give up. These kids don’t give up, they’re going to continue to fight.”
He added, “I was really proud of our team’s resilience.”
On Stony Brook:
Running back Roland Dempster was a finalist last season for the Walter Payton Award– the Heisman Trophy of FCS football. He has 310 yards rushing, is averaging 5.3 yds per carry and has not been tackled for a loss this season.
Quarterback Chris Zellous went 21-of-28 for 260 yards and 3 TDs in a 41-18 win over Fordham last week.
Wide Receiver MarQeese Dietz had 6 receptions for 120 yds and 1 TD vs. Fordham last week.
Something to watch for:
The Seawolves defense has recorded only two sacks this season; Lindenwood quarterback Nate Glantz has been sacked 12 times in three games.