The pairings for the first-round of the NAIA Football Championship Series were announced this afternoon and No. 3 Lindenwood will host No. 20 Langston next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles.

Lindenwood accomplished the second undefeated regular season in school history in 2009 with a 10-0 record. The Lions won the Heart of America Athletic Conference for the third time and won each game by an average of nearly 39 points a contest.

Lindenwood will have the advantage of playing on its home turf where it has won 17 straight games, a streak that goes back to 2006. Last season, the Lions also hosted a first-round playoff contest and defeated Lambuth by a 65-48 score. The Lions would go on and defeat Morningside in the quarterfinals and came within one play of the national championship game before falling to Carroll in the semifinals.

Langston will come to St. Charles with a 7-3 record after falling by a 37-3 score in its final regular season game against Azusa Pacific. The other Lions are led by a strong defense that is allowing just 249.2 yards a game, including a rush defense that allows only 83.5 yards a game.

Langston has some recent history of success against a HAAC Championship team. Last season, the Lions travelled to MidAmerica Nazarene and upset the Pioneers by a 20-14 score. Langston went on and fell in the quarterfinals to eventual national champion Sioux Falls by a 50-13 margin.

Lindenwood Goes Into Playoffs With Historic Offensive Attack

Lindenwood has been led in 2009 by the top offense in school history. The Lions are averaging 57.4 points a game and has scored over 50 points in eight of its ten games, and gone over the 60 mark four times.

Not only is this offense one of the best in Lindenwood history, but also one of the highest scoring teams in the history of college football. No NAIA program has ever averaged 57.4 points for an entire season and only three NCAA programs have averaged over that mark.

Highest Scoring Average – College Football History
1) St. John's (Minn.), NCAA III, 61.5 (1993)
2) Mississippi Valley State, NCAA FCS, 60.9 (1984)
3) Grand Valley State, NCAA II, 58.4 (2001)
4) Lindenwood, NAIA, 57.4 (current)
5) Army, NCAA FBS, 56.0 (1944)

The offense is led by quarterback Philip Staback, who is averaging 241.9 passing yards a game and has completed 67.9 percent of his passes. He has thrown 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions, and has ruhsed for five other touchdowns.

Denodus O'Bryant leads the running backs with 82.4 rushing yards a game. He has 10 rushing touchdowns and 17 total scores, one shy of the Lindenwood single season record. On the season, he has scored once every 4.6 times that he has been directly involved in a play. Richard Murrell is the number two back and has eight rushing touchdowns this season.

The receiving set have lots of options that would be number one receivers for many NAIA programs. Rudy Fleming leads with 40 receptions for 732 yards and seven touchdowns. Marcel Thompson has 36 receptions for 603 yards, and Matt Bramow has 33 receptions for 412 yards and seven touchdowns. Roren Thomas is a threat to both run and receive, and Matt Angell and Bryant each have three touchdown receptions.

Rounding out the offense is an experienced offensive line, led by last year's Rimington Award winner Jeff Hynes. The line has allowed just 12 sacks and are opening up holes for the Lindenwood running game which is averaging a school record 220.9 yards a game.

Lindenwood Defense Overshadowed But Tough To Score Against

The Lindenwood defense has been overshadowed in recent years by the Lions' high powered offense, but the play of this unit will likely determine how far the Lions can advance in the postseason. The Lions enter the playoffs allowing 18.5 points a game, the 18th best mark in the NAIA. That mark is even more impressive when you consider that Lindenwood's defense is on the field for nearly 37 minutes a game because of the quick strike offense. 

One of the all-around leaders on defense is Parks Peterson, who is tied for the team-high with 52 tackles, is second with 7.5 tackles for losses, and also has one interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Chris Howard also has 52 tackles, two more than senior leader Logen Wright. Another senior leader is Brandon Gould who leads the team in interceptions with three and has 46 tackles.

Lindenwood's Special Special Teams

Lindenwood's special teams are another big reason for the unbelievable numbers put up by the Lions this year. In the return game, opposing teams have to decide between kicking it short and giving Lindenwood good field position, or kicking deep and hoping Thomas and O'Bryant don't add to their six return touchdowns already this season. 

Placekicker Halley Ferrell is the top kicking in Lindenwood history and punter Nick Somes is averaging 40.0 yards and has nearly half of his kicks go inside the 20 yard line. The Lions' special teams have also blocked six kicks on the season and returned two fumbles for touchdowns.

Ticket Information
Ticket prices for the first-round game are:
$10 General Admission
$5 Faculty/Staff
$4 Students 

Tickets can be purchased on game day at Hunter Stadium. 

More information on the NAIA Football Championship Series can be found here