Survive and advance.

At some point in a championship run, a team has to reach down and pull out a close win or two - especially in a league as balanced as the 2004 Heart of America Athletic Conference, where upsets have already become the norm by the end of September.

Satruday was one of those days for the Lions. In a very physical, hard-hitting football game on both sides, Lindenwood moved to 4-0 on the season with a 20-12 road win over Central Methodist in Fayette, Mo..

"It was a great win for us, because we really had to battle on the road against a quality team," said Lion head coach Patrick Ross. "Central Methodist came to play, and their defense is just tough. We were very proud of how our defense answered the challenge and shut them down."

The Lions were in control for most of the game, but couldn’t put away the Eagles until the fourth quarter. Lindenwood won the battle of those two outstanding defenses, holding CMU to 77 yards in total offense for the game. The Lions managed 308 yards of total offense, well off their season average, but put together three scoring drives that were the difference.

The last drive, coming in the fourth quarter, was a nine-play, 65-yd. march early in the fourth quarter, which culminated with junior tailback Derron Parquet’s second TD of the day, a one-yard dive which made it 20-12.

Parquet was the game’s leading rusher with 119 yards on 31 tough carries, against an Eagle defense that came into the game with the top points-against scoring average in the NAIA. Sophomore flanker Steven Kennedy enjoyed his second consecutive standout performance, hauling in seven aerials for 143 yards, including an 11-yd. TD in the second quarter. In the last two games, the big sophomore from Daytona Beach has grabbed 15 passes for 272 yards and three TD's.

Defensively, the Lions totally stifled the Eagles, behind the stellar play of junior linebacker Dino Morales (two QB sacks, two TFL’s, eight total tackles) and junior defensive end Mike Sullivan (one QB sack, 1.5 TFL’s, 7.5 total tackles). Sophomore defensive tackle David Gladney also posted his biggest game of the season with 2.5 QB sacks and 1.5 TFL's.

"We awarded our game ball for the week to our entire defensive unit on Sunday," said Coach Ross. "It was a great effort for the whole group, from the guys up front, to the backers, to the secondary."

Central Methodist was able to complete only one of 11 pass attempts, converted on zero of 13 third down attempts, and managed just 30 rushing yards on their final 44 carries.

Next week, the Lions will be at home against HAAC rival Missouri Valley, in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.