"We were able to get things going after kind of a sluggish start, and everyone got to see what they wanted, which was for the seniors to go out in style," said Lion head coach Patrick Ross, who saw his career record move to 32-12 with the win. "Those guys have meant so much to this program since we came here two years ago, and we really wanted to see things end well for them."

The Wildcats actually jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, with free safety Brett Wahlgren, who was outstanding all afternoon, picking up a fumble on the Lions' first play from scrimmage and rolling in from 24 yards out.

The Lions recovered with a long field goal by sophomore Zac Atterberry (48 yards), getting the kick in just before the end of the first quarter while LU still had the brisk south wind at it's back. One of the Lions' nicest drives of the season, a 13-play, 96-yd. beauty that ended with a 5-yd. pass from Kisner to junior wideout Steven Kennedy, made it 10-7 in favor of the Lions with 6:49 left before intermission.

"It was kind of a strange first half, because it seemed like neither team could really sustain much offensively until we put together that long drive in the second quarter," said Ross, whose team now owns a record of 17-3 in HAAC play over the last two seasons. "Coach Grossner had his guys ready to play, so the first half was more or less a stalemate."

The second half, though, was all Lindenwood, as Dorsey posted three touchdown runs in the third quarter to move the Lions out to a commanding 31-7 lead. His first, a three-yd. sweep at the 10:53 mark of the third, was set up by a botched snap attempt on Baker's first possession of the second half.

The next two came after lengthy drives by the LU offense. A nine-play, 77-yd. march ended with Dorsey's 23-yd. run at the 5:09 mark, and a five-play, 70-yarder wrapped up on a four-yd. bolt with 2:13 remaining before the final quarter.

The reserves took over at that point, and the rest of the game was an exercise in watching the seniors have some fun and the youngsters for LU get some clock. After a Baker fumble had set the Lions up at the Wildcat 24-yd. line, senior linebackers Dino Morales and Jake Sharp hooked up on a fake field goal attempt from the Baker five - Morales completing his first collegiate pass attempt, and Sharp making his first pass reception, for a back-breaking touchdown to make it 37-7.

"We'd been working on that fake field goal in practice for weeks, and never really had a chance to use it," said Ross. "Those two guys deserved a chance at it, and it was great to see the smiles on their faces after it worked."

The Wildcats were able to answer on their ensuing possession, with sophomore quarterback Kendall Bradley directing a five-play, 74-yd. drive ending with a touchdown pass to Barnard Pierre from six yards out. That ended the scoring for the day, with the 37-14 win giving the Lions a third-place finish in the HAAC at 7-3, after winning the conference outright last fall.

"In some ways, this will always be a 'what might have been' year, but we're proud of how this team reacted in the second half of the season to finish on a five-game winning streak," said Ross. "We lose some great football players from our senior class, but we have a nucleus returning which, if they work hard enough this spring, we think can contend for the conference championship again in 2006. Personnel losses are just part of college football, and the best programs find a way to overcome them."

12-26-1, 164 yds., 2 TD