Hawks run out of time, possessions in effort to upset Lions on road

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — The Quincy University football team needed one more second to have a chance at a monumental upset.

Time finally ran out.

After trading miscues with Lindenwood for much of the second half — six of the first eight drives ended in a turnover and the teams combined for 10 turnovers overall — the Hawks pulled within five points when Eugene Witherspoon hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 remaining in regulation.

With just one timeout in its pocket going into Lindenwood’s final possession, Quincy nearly forced a turnover on downs with one second left. However, Lindenwood was able to kneel on the final play after a fourth-down illegal blocking penalty made things interesting and survived with a 33-28 victory in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at Hunter Stadium.

“Our kids played their tails off,” QU coach Gary Bass said. “We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We have to find a way to make plays, but we’re close against a good team on the road. We need that signature road win, and it will happen.”

The Hawks (3-3, 1-1 GLVC) put themselves in position to win despite the mistakes.

They answered the Lions opening scoring drive with Witherspoon hauling in a 41-yard touchdown pass from Tionne Harris. Taylor Temple’s touchdown run midway through the second quarter tied the game at 14, but Quincy allowed the Lions’ Spencer Redd to return the ensuing kick 97 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.

Lindenwood (4-2, 2-0 GLVC) took a 21-14 lead to the locker room.

“That kickoff return is going to sit with me for a while,” said Bass, who argued with officials about overlooked block-in-the-back penalties on the play.

Two first-half fumbles hurt just as much as the first one led to an 11-play, 79-yard scoring drive for the Lions.

“Guys were running hard and trying to get extra yards,” Bass said. “I appreciate that. As a coach, that’s a thing you love to see. But sometimes you have to make sure you’re protecting the ball better. We just can’t have those two fumbles.”

Nor can they afford to give the ball away after taking it away.

Lindenwood turned the ball over on each of its four possessions in the third quarter and ran just 13 plays, but the Hawks turned only one of those miscues into points. Temple capped an eight-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21, but the three other third-quarter possessions ended with two turnovers and a missed field goal.

The Lions scored after two Hawks punts in the fourth quarter to take the lead for good.

Tremayne Lee and Temple combined for 132 yards rushing on 33 carries for the Hawks, while Witherspoon caught five passes for 132 yards. Harris completed 20 of 34 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Linebacker Peyten Chappel led the QU defense with eight tackles, a forced fumble, an interception and a half-sack. Lindenwood safety Kai Ross had three interceptions, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.