ST. CHARLES, MO – After quickly falling behind in their previous two games, the Lindenwood football team hoped to squash their trend of slow starts when they faced Stony Brook on Saturday.
Linebacker Sanjay Strickland brought the hammer.
Strickland’s punishing hit on the third play from scrimmage set the tone for a dominant first half, and the Lions weathered a furious Seawolves’ comeback attempt as Lindenwood defeated Stony Brook 30-27 in the home opener at Harlan C. Hunter Stadium.
Lindenwood (2-2; 1-0), which got 353 yards of total offense and three touchdowns from senior quarterback Nate Glantz, played in front of an enthusiastic crowd of supporters after three consecutive road games.
“It was fun to be back home, the atmosphere, the energy. It seemed like forever,” Lindenwood coach Jed Stugart said.
The Lions will return to the role of road warriors when they travel to Miami, OH (0-3) for the Redhawks homecoming game at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN-Plus.
The string of three road games taught the Lions many lessons, including that they needed to start faster as Lindenwood was outscored 28-0 during first quarters.
On the third play from scrimmage, Strickland shed a block from his linebacker position and delivered a punishing hit on Stony Brook senior running back Roland Dempster, a Walter Payton Award finalist last season.
“We talked about setting the tone and starting fast, and Sanjay set a tone for our defense with that hit,” Stugart said.
On the very next play, Lindenwood defensive end Tajay Passmore sacked Stony Brook quarterback Chris Zellous, forced a fumble and Strickland recovered. Glantz quickly found redshirt freshman Rico Bond along the right sideline for a 30-yard touchdown and the Lions led 7-0 less than two minutes into the contest.
The quick start was the springboard for an explosive first half which saw Lindenwood score touchdowns on four of its five possessions. After a 14-play Stony Brook drive that resulted in a field goal, Glantz led the Lions on a 90-yard drive that included a spectacular, contested catch by sophomore Jalen Smith along the right sideline that placed Lindenwood at the one-yard line.
“It looked like he was going to get squeezed out of bounds and he fought against that pressure, ducked up, dove underneath and made the catch,” Stugart said.
Smith, who caught one pass in each of the first two games and dropped his first attempt in Week 3, has emerged as a trusted target who will outduel defensive backs along the boundary.
“The first game (against St. Thomas), he could have been combative for balls and he was letting corners squeeze him out of bounds to where he felt like he was out of the play. He took coaching, ‘No man, you have to go be combative,’” Stugart said. “That catch (Saturday) on the one-yard line was spectacular. It’s fun to see these guys taking coaching and responding because they care, and they want to be the best for their team.”
Steve Hall, returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him two games, scored his first rushing touchdown of the season to give Lindenwood a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
On the Lions next drive, Glantz escaped pressure and raced up the middle for a 51-yard gain that placed the Lions on the Stony Brook eight-yard line. Upset that he was caught from behind, Glantz took it upon himself to power through defenders and into the end zone two plays later, and Lindenwood led 21-3.
“The team feeds off (Glantz). He puts his head down and runs over (opponents) because he wants that touchdown. You can hear the sidelines say, ‘That’s my quarterback. That’s my quarterback,’ and Nate thrives on that. He just wants to win,” Stugart said.
The senior signal-caller went 20-of-29 for 249 yards and two scores through the air and rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground, earning OVC-Big South Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors.
Facing a fourth-and-3 late in the first half, Glantz took a deep shot to Bond and connected on a 34-yard touchdown that gave Lindenwood a commanding 27-3 halftime lead.
Bond caught eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns and earned OVC-Big South Freshman-of the-Week honors for the second time in four weeks. The East St. Louis alum has showed rapid improvement after a forgettable season opener in which he and Glantz were not on the same page.
“He played like a freshman Week 1,” Stugart said. “And it’s not just Rico, this is a lot of freshmen. When they get in their first game, they think, ‘In high school, I could improvise,’ or maybe they had to improvise, but in college, the quarterback is counting on you to be where you’re supposed to be.”
Stugart continued, “After Week 1, Rico was challenged by his coaches, and guys can take it two ways; they can get into their feelings, think the coach is against me and start moping around, but Rico likes to be coached, and he’s seen the fruits of his labor.”
In the previous three games, Lindenwood played with the lead for a total of 4 minutes 23 seconds and that lack of experience showed in the second half. A conservative approach slowed the Lions momentum and the Seawolves began to mount a furious comeback.
“We got a little bit passive in the third quarter, even us coaches. We realized we were almost playing to run the clock out and we were playing on our heels,” Stugart said.
Three Stony Brook touchdowns and three two-point conversions cut the 24-point deficit to three with 4:23 remaining and the Seawolves still holding all three timeouts.
“When a team gets down like that, they have a chance to throw in the towel, but they came back hot – fighting, scratching, clawing – and I give a lot of credit to them,” Stugart said of Stony Brook.
It set up a crucial drive for Lindenwood with the Stony Brook offense pacing the sidelines yearning for one, final opportunity to complete the improbable comeback.
“Sometimes when that momentum shifts, then you see the character of your football team,” Stugart said. “The reason why I’m always optimistic about this team – we’ve seen that they have fight when their backs are against the wall.”
A 14-yard run by Jared Rhodes and 11-yard swing pass to Christopher Bennett earned first downs before the Lions faced a third-and-11 from the Stony Brook 44-yard line with just over two minutes remaining.
Glantz knew his trusted freshman receiver would be open, exactly where he expected him to be.
“It could have been tempting to run the ball, get the clock rolling, but we knew we were going to run the play for Rico down the seam to get that first down. We think it’s a high percentage play, but it’s a gutsy call,” Stugart said.
Glantz zipped a pass to Bond between the hash marks for a 14-yard completion, and all that was left was to line up in victory formation.
“I’m really proud of our guys to win a game like that. In the end, we made the plays we needed to.”
Game Notes: Lindenwood redshirt junior Jared Rhodes ran for 85 yards on 12 carries, five yards off his career high set against William Jewell in 2022. His excellent day included a 48-yard burst that set up the only score of the second half for the Lions, a 31-yard field goal by freshman Will Graham – his first successful field goal of the season.
On Miami, OH – The Redhawks (0-3) lost at Wisconsin and Rutgers before dropping a 41-38 heartbreaker at home to UNLV last week in a game which Miami led 38-24 heading into the fourth quarter. Kenny Tracy gained 104 yards rushing and caught six passes for 84 yards and two TDs.
For a full photo gallery of this game, go to: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2025/Lindenwood-2025/Stony-Brook-at-Lindenwood-9-20-25
For more Lindenwood football stories, visit: https://metrosportsstl.com/category/lindenwood/