Photo Credit: Scott Criscione – Arch City Sports
Saint Charles, Mo – It was a tough night for Lindenwood University (LU) as they took on Fort Hays State University (FHSU) on September, 19th.
FHSU started the scoring early when Treveon Alberts threw a 40 yard bomb to receiver Andrew Flory to take an early lead then followed it up a punt block that lead to a rushing touchdown giving them a quick 13-0 lead.
After the fast start however the defense of Lindenwood, led by Connor Harris, calm things down and even had an interception in the end zone to save a touchdown (see it here), and held off the FHSU offense for the majority of the first half. The LU offense however could not get anything going as quarterback Jesse Scroggins was constantly under pressure forcing short plays and short gains as he scrambled the best he could to avoid numerous sacks.
Going into the half FHSU had a 20-0 advantage over the Lindenwood Lions.
During the 3rd quarter it was again all Fort Hays as they would put the game away by adding 10 more points making it 30-0. The touchdown coming from a 43 yard interception.
After FHSU put the game out of reach the Lions were able to move the ball after a big kickoff return by Bakari Triggs followed by an 11 yard touchdown throw from Scroggins to Tre Roby that made it 30-7 which would be the eventual final score as LU moved to 1-2 on the season, and FHSU moved to 3-0 on the year.
One bright side of the game was the fact that Lindenwood was able to stop FHSU running back Shaq Cooper who had averaged 213 yards a game rushing. LU held him to just 57 rushing yards. It was just a game where LU shut down the biggest threat, only to have others emerge.
After the game LU Coach Patrick Ross was not happy with the outcome not just because of the loss, but because of how hard he saw many of his players were playing, especially on defense with the efforts of players like Clint Koons, who led the team with 14 tackles. Though specifically mentioned was Connor Harris who’s stat line consisted of 13 total tackles, a sack, an interception, and 3 tackles for loss.
The preseason All-American Linebacker (Harris) has had eight straight games of double digit tackle. I met up with Connor Harris after the game to ask him about the team’s performance
@scottcriscione – twitter
