News Room
 
Posted by Bill Sorrell - Sun, Nov 23, 2008 - [ Football ]

  ST. CHARLES, Mo.--When Josh Garza was introduced prior to Lambuth's NAIA playoff game against Lindenwood on Saturday, the 5-11 Lambuth quarterback did a standing back flip.
    "I've been doing that for years," said Garza, who later would flip the switch on the Eagels' "Daytona Package" offense, their fastest.
    Combining with freshman quarterback Adam Wiese, Garza led Lambuth's offense to 704 yards on 108 plays in a 65-48 loss to the Lions at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.
    "It worked," said Lambuth coach Hugh Freeze. "I bet our receivers ran 20 miles today."
    Senior wide receiver Landon Talley, who leads the nation in touchdown receptions, had a school-record 19 receptions for 248 yards and four touchdowns. Shane Smith caught eight passes for 120 yards.
    Generating 513 yards passing, Garza completed 22 of 38 passes for 266 yards and Wiese 18 of 33 for 247.
    Garza and Wiese also led Lambuth's 191-yard ground attack with Garza gaining 84 yards on 17 attempts and Wiese 45 on eight.
    The offensive fireworks in Lambuth's first playoff appearance since 2003 was one of  the best in school history.
    But it is Lindenwood who will play in the second round. The Lions (10-1) scored two touchdowns with less than two minutes left to put down a furious Eagle comeback.
    Trailing 51-27 with 12:41 to play, Wiese threw two touchdown passes, first to Brandon Okechukwu for 25 yards with 10:53 left and to Talley for 28 yards with 4:41 left. Sandwich a 1-yard touchdown run by B.A. Davis and Lambuth was within 51-48.
    Taking over on the Lambuth 30 after an unsuccessful onside kick, the Lions' Dario Camacho ran for a 22-yard touchdown to put the game away, 58-48.
    Billy Ray Uren  then intercepted Wiese at the Lambuth 28 and returned it for a touchdown with 1:14 left to secure the Lions' 19th home win in 22 games and 10th straight victory this season.
    "That thing got scary in the fourth quarter," said Lindendwood coach Patrick Ross. "Coach Freeze did a great job. His team didn't let us relax the whole game. No. 7 (Talley) was awesome. No. 96 (Cedrick Fisher) is a beast."
     An offside penalty on the Eagles' second onside kick in the fourth quarter " was a back-breaker" said Freeze. 
    What hurt the Eagles (8-4) were turnovers. Lindenwood intercepted Lambuth quarterbacks five times. Lambuth also lost a fumble in the first quarter when the Eagles were on the Lions' 2-yard line.
    Lindenwood took a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Kisner, who was named the offensive player of the game, to Brent Hodgkiss.
    The Lions' Brandon Gould then intercepted Garza at the Lambuth 49 with 4:31 left in the first quarter. Kisner then fired an 8-yard touchdown pass to Brian Williams for a 14-0 lead with 4:03 left.
    After Garza threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Talley and the Eagles were within 14-6,  Lambuth's special teams' defense broke down on the kickoff.
    The Lions' Mike Bunton returned the kickoff 55 yards for a touchdown and a 20-6 lead.
    "We dug ourselves into a hole," said Freeze. "You can't do that."
    However, the furious rally proved to Freeze, "They fought their guts out. We're never going to quit, we're not going to blink."
    Okechukwu  said, "I"m disappointed because we could have won. We beat ourselves."
    Kisner completed 25 of 32 passes for 352 yards. He threw five touchdowns and was intercepted once. Rudy Fleming caught eight passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns while Marcel Thompson caught four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
    The No. 7 Lions entered the game with a total offense that ranked eighth, averaging 453 yards per game. No. 16 Lambuth's offense entered with an average of 468.8 yards per game and ranked fourth.
    "They had so many weapons they remind me a lot of us," said Lambuth senior wide receiver Jonathan Abel.
    In the second quarter both teams scored 20 points. Garza fired a 33-yard touchdown pass to Talley and after Ryan Nanney's first of six straight PAT conversions, the Eagles were within 20-13 with 8:04 left.
    Trailing 27-13 after Kisner threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Thompson, Garza hit Talley again, an 11-yard touchdown pass that pulled the Eagles to within 27-20 with 2:26 left.
    The drive began when Jonathan Baptist intercepted Kisner, the only interception he would throw. Baptist returned it 20 yards.
    A 29-yard play from Kisner to Fleming fueled the Lions' next touchdown. Fleming caught a 7-yard pass from Kisner with 44 seconds left in the first half. Lindenwood led 34-20.
    "At halftime we had those boys right where we wanted them," said Talley. "We're going to win this game."
    But Lindenwood took its largest lead of the game, 48-20, in the  third quarter. Kisner threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Fleming with 13:20 left and LeMarien Parson scored on a
 1-yard run with 1:56 left.
    What ignited Lambuth's comeback was a 41-yard touchdown pass from Wiese to Jesse Ferrell with 42 seconds left in the third.
    The Eagles were within 48-27 when Lindenwood kicker Halley Ferrell made a 26-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 51-27.
     Talley recovered the onside kick that led to the Eagles pulling within 51-41.
    Lambuth's Johnathan Holston blocked Ferrell's 32-yard field goal attempt. Baptist recovered.
    Wiese's 27-yard pass to Smith put the Eagles on the Lions' 20 before the Eagle touchdown that made it a three-point game.
    "We can do this. That is what everybody thought," said Wiese. "We knew we were capable."
    The Eagles had been working the whole week on a 5-wide set, trying to spread the field to open up holes. "We knew there were going to be some holes in their defense. We had to find them," said Talley.
    After Talley's career-day, Wiese called him the "best pure football player" he's been around. "He's a great playmaker."
    Talley and offensive lineman Bryce King were named to the Mid-South Conference all-conference team.
    Said  Freeze, "I'm so proud of Landon Talley. He had to have the heart of a champion today."
    Everyone gave their best effort in the second half said Okechukwu.
    Leading Lambuth's defensive efforts were Rashad Taylor who had 10 tackles and seven tackles each by Mid-South all-conference linebacker Jason Ware, Dominique Bowman and Holston. Fisher, who also was named all-conference, had five tackles.
    Sophomore wide receiver Seth Day said, "We can play on this level. You are capable of doing a lot more than your minds tell you you can."
    The loss puts a "fire in our hearts" and "is a tool of motivation" for next season said Okechukwu.
    Said Talley, "This will be give the young guys experience when it comes to playoffs. They will know what it is like to be ready."
    Abel, a captain, looked for positives in the setback.
    "I don't have any regrets. The guys didn't give up. That's all you can ask. I was thinking how far we've come in the last four years in our program. I can't be sad because we gave it our all. We left it all on the field," said Abel, who received the NAIA's Champion of Character certificate at the end of the game.