Lindenwood University saw its magical unbeaten football season end on Saturday afternoon in heartbreaking fashion, as 16th-ranked Hastings (Neb.) College kicked a field goal as time expired to win a first-round NAIA playoff game, 20-19.

"Our team is hurting right now, because we've conditioned ourselves to consider losing unacceptable," said Lion head coach Patrick Ross. "But you have to give credit to Hastings, because they won a tough game on the road in the playoffs, and that is difficult to do. Both teams played very hard, and they won - but that takes nothing away from the season our kids put together. We'll come back next season with the same mindset, that we're going to win every game we play."

The 5th-ranked Lions dominated the game everywhere but on the scoreboard, outgaining the Broncos in total offense by a margin of 431-243. Lindenwood held Hastings star tailback Eric Moody to 61 rushing yards on 30 carries, and received a monster game from LU's own standout tailback – Lion junior De De Dorsey racked up 195 rushing yards on 31 carries in defeat. The Lions were often their own worst enemy, recording a whopping 14 penalties for 77 yards – most of them of the alignment, motion and offsides variety.

One costly mistake will haunt the Lions throughout the off season. After Dorsey ignited the huge crowd with a 76-yard scoring run early in the second quarter, LU got the ball back after a defensive stop, and Hastings punt, in the shadow of their own goal. Leading 10-3 with a chance to jump ahead even further, Lion quarterback Emiliano Salazar fumbled on third down, with Hastings defensive lineman C.L. Lovett jumping on the loose ball in the end zone for Bronco touchdown.

Shortly after that turn of events, Moody scored on a short run after a blocked punt by Hastings, and with 3:43 left in the first half, the Broncos jumped out in front, 17-10. The Lions answered with a long drive before intermission that produced a 23-yard Jared Tatom field goal, and it was 17-13 at the half.

"We made some mistakes in the second quarter that were tough to overcome at the end of the game," said Ross. "In any game where you lose by one point on a field goal at the buzzer, there are going to be many things you can look at and say, 'That was the difference.' But we gave them seven points on the fumble, and the blocked punt set up their other touchdown, so those two plays were big."

On the first play of the second half, lightning struck for the Lions, as Salazar hooked up with junior split end George Mumphard on a 62-yard scoring strike down the left sideline. The second costly mistake that will be hard to forget in the off season came after that brilliant play. A low snap from center on the extra point blew up the PAT, and the Lion lead stood at only 19-17. That may have been the game’s biggest moment, given how events unfolded at the end.

Both defenses banged away after that, with neither side able to cash in. The Lions had the most consistent scoring threats during the third and fourth quarters, but were unable to capitalize and get the score that could have put them more comfortably ahead.

Lindenwood saw one drive die on downs at the Hastings 38 in the third stanza; Tatom missed a 36-yard field goal wide to the right with 13:44 left in the game; and, facing 4th-and-5 from the Hastings 22 with 2:44 left in regulation, Lion head coach Patrick Ross passed up the risky 39-yd. field goal attempt, and a screen pass to Dorsey fell short of the yardage needed for the first down that might’ve ended it.

"The missed opportunities to score in the fourth quarter are going to be hard to forget," said Ross. "We had already missed an extra point and a field goal in the second half, so we thought we had a better chance at getting the five yards from De De than we did at kicking a 39-yarder. Their defense made a big play."

That gave Hastings one last shot, and senior quarterback Casey Trambly made it count. Facing a season-ending 4th-and-9 from the Broncos’ 39-yd. line, Trambly found senior Daniel Woodburn for a first down in Lion territory. After he scrambled for seven on the next play, Trambly and Woodburn hooked up again, and this one was a dagger in the heart of the Lions – a 37-yarder down the right sideline to the LU seven-yd. line.

After Moody carried for a four-yard loss, the Broncos let the clock run down to 3.4 seconds left. Junior place kicker Adam Maser took over from there, drilling the 28-yd. field goal as time expired.

"It was a terrible way to lose a big football game, but we'll be a better team next season because of it," said Ross. "We have so many great players returning that this loss will be like a rock in their shoe throughout the offseason. The only way to remove it is going to be to get back here again in 2005 and make a run in the playoffs."

The Lions open next season on the road against Culver-Stockton on Sept. 3.