Lindenwood Earns First Win With Blowout Over St. Thomas

ST. CHARLES, MO -- The Lindenwood University football team was able to let out a little bit of frustration, from the rough start to its season, and have a whole lot of fun, Saturday afternoon, when it picked up its first win of the season with a 64-0 blowout over St. Thomas University.

The Lions scored five touchdowns in the second quarter to turn what began as a tight game into figurative mauling.

Senior running back Cortezz Jones had two long touchdown runs in that second quarter to help spark the Lindenwood offense. On the first play of the second quarter, Jones broke free for a 51-yard touchdown. Then later, he had a 48-yard scamper for a score that along with all the extra points by kicker Logan Seibert, put the Lions up 28-0.

The biggest play of the day came a bit later, when quarterback Nate Glantz, who also had two rushing touchdowns in the game, hit wideout Jeff Caldwell for a 93-yard touchdown that made the score 35-0.

Glantz scored his second touchdown just before halftime to help send the Lions into the mid-game break with a 42-0 lead.

"Really proud of our teams effort today," Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. "We talked all week about playing a complete game. Being a team that compliments each other offensively and defensively. They responded well to that challenge."

RB Cortezz Jones had 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Lindenwood's win over St. Thomas on Saturday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

Lindenwood got the scoring going in the first quarter, when Robert Giaimo blocked a St. Thomas punt and teammate Luke Cook recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. Both teams' offenses started slow, before Jones' first long run broke the game open.

For the day, Jones finished with 152 rushing yards and the two scores. Giaimo had 66 yards and a touchdown, which came in the third quarter and gave the Lions a 58-0 lead.

Glantz threw for 228 yards and had two touchdown passes to go along with the two touchdown runs. Caldwell had five catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

It was Caldwell's second straight 100-yard receiving game (he had 99 yards in the game before that). For the season, he has 19 catches for 393 yards and three touchdowns. Caldwell in second in the Big South-OVC Football Association in receiving yards, third in catches and receiving touchdowns, and he leads the lead with a 20.7 yards per catch average.

Lindenwood's Jeff Caldwell caught five passes for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Lions' win over St. Thomas on Saturday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

The Lindenwood defense also had a big day. The Lions held St. Thomas to just 148 total yards, forced five turnovers, and posted the program's second shutout since 2015.

Linebackers Devon Edwards, Jacob Waller, and Vincent King combined for 16 tackles, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hurries. Donnie Wingate and Maika Finua both had quarterback sacks, and Jayden Patrick, who had also had three pass breakups, grabbed his first interception of the season as well.

Lindenwood's Vincent King had six tackles and a quarterback hurry in the Lions' win over St. Thomas on Saturday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)

The non-conference season is now over for Lindenwood (1-3), which will begin Big South-OVC play next week with a game at Eastern Illinois. The Panthers are also (1-3) on the year, coming off a loss to No. 15 Illinois State on Saturday.

Kickoff next Saturday, at Eastern Illinois' O'Brien Field, is set for 2 p.m.

"Now it's about being consistent week in and week out," Stugart said. "So many great performances today which was fun to see. But what was awesome is how we played like a team today. That's powerful."

2024 LINDENWOOD LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. 28 -- at Eastern Illinois* -- 2 pm
Oct. 5 -- vs. Tennessee State* -- 1 pm
Oct. 12 -- vs. Charleston Southern* -- 1 pm
Oct. 19 -- at Gardner-Webb* -- 3 pm
Oct. 26 -- vs. Western Illinois* -- 2 pm
Nov. 2 -- at Tennessee Tech* -- 1:30 pm
Nov. 9 -- vs. SEMO* -- 1 pm
Nov. 23 -- at Tennessee-Martin* -- 2 pm
* - denotes Big South-OVC Football Association game