Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lindenwood’s quarterback gives OBU lots to consider
One of the first things Jed Stugart did after taking over as head football coach at Lindenwood three years ago was recruit a quarterback.
Stugart said he saw something in Fort Zumwalt North’s Cade Brister that others did not.
“I didn’t know Cade,” Stugart said of Brister, who led his high school team to a Class 5A Missouri state championship while playing with a torn ACL in 2016. “But I told one of my coaches, this is the first kid we’ve got to get.”
Brister, 6-0, 200 pounds, has been everything Stugart thought he could be and more, leading Lindenwood to its first NCAA Division II playoff game today against Ouachita Baptist University.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Cliff Harris Stadium.
Lindenwood (8-3, 7-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference) eked into the playoffs by winning its final seven games. Brister led the way, passing for 3,301 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for 445 yards and another 5 touchdowns.
Brister and the Lions have the full attention of Ouachita Coach Todd Knight, whose team (11-0) is making its third consecutive playoff appearance and has won 28 of its past 29 games.
“He can flat-out throw the football,” Knight said. “He’s mobile, he’s accurate, he’s a good player.”
The only quarterback
Ouachita played this season who matches up with Brister statistically is Oklahoma Baptist’s Preston Haire, who was named the Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week.
OBU held Haire to 258 passing yards and 1 touchdown and intercepted a pass in a 42-14 victory in Week 7.
Haire finished the season with 3,104 yards and 26 touchdowns, 10 fewer than Brister, but he also was a threat to run with 542 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Knight said Brister is mobile, like Haire, and has a big arm, like Henderson State’s Richard Stammetti.
“He does both so well,” Knight said of Brister. “That’s what makes him so dangerous.”
Brister has an arsenal of skill players, led by wide receiver Payton Rose (53-1,075, 15 TDs) and running back Nash Sutherlin, who averages 124.0 yards per game in all-purpose yards.
“These guys are their own people,” said Knight, not wanting to compare Lindenwood to Oklahoma Baptist or any other GAC team. “You don’t get that many touchdown passes without being pretty darn good. They know how to get open, and he knows how to put in there.”
Stugart is in his third season at Lindenwood after seven years at Sioux Falls, S.D., where he transitioned the program from NAIA to Division II and advanced to the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.
Ouachita will be the third GAC team Stugart has coached against in the playoffs. He lost in Arkadelphia to Henderson State 23-15 in 2015, then made it to the second round in 2016 before falling to Harding 27-24 in overtime in South Dakota.
One thing that stands out about Ouachita, Stugart said, is that it does whatever it takes to win.
Stugart pointed to OBU’s top-ranked success rate on third-down conversions, quarterback Brayden Brazeal’s 75.5% completions, Brockton Brown’s ability to score (22 touchdowns) in or out of the Wildcat formation, and Allie Freeman’s big-play presence at receiver and in the return game.
“Confidence is a big weapon with football teams,” Stugart said. “They have that expect-to-win mentality.”