GREELEY, Colo.—James Neal kicked a 21-yard field goal as time expired, and Lindenwood stunned Northern Colorado 22-20 on Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
The Lions trailed 20-19 after Dave Eden put Northern Colorado ahead with a 25-yard field goal with 1:10 left. But Lindenwood’s Andrew Helmick returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Northern Colorado 48. Helmick then caught a 28-yard pass from John Uribe to move the Lions to the 2 and set up Neal’s kick.
Neal also had field goals of 22 and 30 yards for Lindenwood, an NAIA team from St. Charles, Mo., that is transitioning to Division II after this season. The win was Lindenwood’s fourth straight in a season opener, and the Lions’ first over a Division 1-AA team since 1998.
Uribe finished 27 of 36 for 294 yards, and was 5 of 5 for 45 yards on the game-winning drive.
Lindenwood took its first lead of the game, 19-14, on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Uribe to Denodus O’Bryant with 11:03 left. Northern Colorado closed the gap to 19-17 on Eden’s 35-yard field goal, and Bears backup quarterback Dylan Orms, who was 5 of 10 for 65 yards, engineered a 72-yard drive to set up Eden’s final field goal.
The Bears drove 65 yards on the opening possession, capping it with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Seth Lobato to David Deans on a fourth-and-2 play. Lindenwood then put together two impressive drives, but settled for Neal field goals to get the Lions within 7-6.
The Lions had a costly fumble by Blayr Jimmerson early in the second quarter. Northern Colorado turned it into a 9-yard touchdown run by Quintin Hildreth with 10:29 left in the half to go up 14-6.
Lindenwood began its next possession at midfield and drove 47 yards in five plays to make it 14-13. Therman McGowan dove in from the 1 to complete the drive.
