September 22, 2018-In a game that saw over 1,100 yards of offense Emporia State fell 48-41 to
Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon on Jones Field at Welch Stadium.
The Hornets jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of Landon
Nault touchdowns. He scored on a three yard pass from Braxton
Marstall with 8:46 left in the quarter to cap a ten play, 88 yard drive.
Marstall was six of six on the drive for 68 yards.
Nault then capped a 12 play, 53 yard drive with a two yard touchdown run to make it 13-0 with 5:19 left in the quarter.
The Lions got on the board on the first drive of the second quarter when Nash Sutherlin scored on an with
Marstall keeping it for a one yard score to go up 20-7 with 7:41 left in the half.
Lindenwood answered with a quick five play, 78 yard drive that was jump started by a 38 yard run by Cade
Brister on second down.
Brister ended the drive with a three yard touchdown pass to
Najee Jackson to pull the Lions within 20-14 with 6:26 left in the half. After a three and out by the Hornet offense, the Lions took the lead on a 34 yard pass from
Brister to a wide open Erik
Henneman with 1:04 left in the period.
Brister gave the Lions a 28-20 lead with 9:09 left in the third quarter when he connected with Jarrett Johnson for a 24 yard touchdown pass. On the ensuing possession the Hornets were at their own 44 yard line when
Marstall tried to go deep to but his pass was deflected into the air and intercepted by the Lions Ricky McCoy. Three plays later
Brister hit Mason Bendigo for a 25 yard touchdown and gave
Lindenwood a 34-20 lead.
The Hornets responded with a 14 play, 73 yard drive, converting four third downs along the way, before
Nault scored from two yards out to pull Emporia State back within 34-27 with 2:24 left in the third. Sutherlin then raced 56 yards on the first play from scrimmage on the next drive to ignite a five play, 75 yard touchdown drive.
Brister connected with
Henneman to make it 41-27 going to the fourth quarter.
Lindenwood went up 48-27 with 10:42 left in the game when Brister scored from two yards out to cap a six play, 60 yard drive. The Hornets then closed the gap to 48-34 with 8:03 left on a six yard run by Marstall.
The Hornet defense forced a punt on the ensuing drive but the offense could not convert on a fourth down to keep the deficit at two scores with 4:38 left. The defense again forced a punt and the offense took over on their own 17 yard line. Emporia State went 83 yards in nine plays and Marstall found Tyler Harris in the endzone for a seven yard touchdown with 44 seconds remaining to pull within 48-41.
Emporia State could not recover the onside kick and Lindenwood ran out the clock for their first victory over the Hornets in school history.
Marstall broke out of a slump offensively, going 40 of 63 for 404 yards and two touchdowns while adding 38 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He connected with 11 different receivers during the game, led by Justin Brown with 11 catches for 126 yards. Harris added career highs of seven catches for 65 yards and added a touchdown. Nault had 94 all purpose yards with 14 carries for 34 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and four receptions for 60 yards and a score.
For the third week in a row Jace McDown had a career high in tackles, finishing with 13 total including 2.5 tackles for loss.
The Hornets are back on the road next week when they travel to #4 Northwest Missouri in Maryville, Mo. Kick-off from Tjeerdsma Field/Bearcat Stadium is set for 1:30 p.m.
NOTES:
Marstall had career highs in completions and attempts, breaking his previous highs of 39 completions on 61 attempts against Lindenwood last year.
Justin Brown pulled within one catch of second on the Emporia State career list. He now has 214 career receptions to trail Mitchell Foote who had 215 catches from 2013-16. The ESU record is 226 set by Jarrett Vito from 1995-98.
