There&#8217;s no question MidAmerica Nazarene will have a strong running attack. The question is, which running back should the Pioneers&#8217; opponents try to stop?</p><p>MidAmerica, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA preseason coaches poll, used its ground game to roll past No. 9 Lindenwood (Mo.) 26-16 at Pioneer Stadium in Olathe.</p><p>Lindenwood is the defending Heart of America Conference champion, making the season-opening victory all the sweeter for the Pioneers.</p><p>&#8220;We prepared ourselves mentally all summer for this,&#8221; running back Patrick Ealy said. &#8220;This is the championship game. Today we came in here hyped and ready to go.&#8221;</p><p>Ealy and Kendall Addison combined for 232 yards on the ground on 36 carries.</p><p>Ealy was the first to find the end zone. He scored on a 7-yard run up the middle midway through the second quarter, then scored again on a 1-yard run later in the half. Ealy finished with 121 yards on 20 carries.</p><p>Addison, meanwhile, gained a big chunk of his yardage on a 48-yard touchdown run. He finished with 111 yards on 16 carries.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just glad they are on our side,&#8221; MidAmerica coach Jed Stugart said of the running backs. &#8220;That is a one-two punch if those guys stay healthy. Then with our quarterback coming in, he&#8217;s still learning and he&#8217;s only going to get better.&#8221;</p><p>In all, the Pioneers rolled up 480 yards in total offense. Quarterback Stinson Dean, a transfer from Central Missouri, completed 25 of 33 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>Dean found much of his success on screen passes.</p><p>&#8220;We like to use them when they aren&#8217;t expecting the screen,&#8221; Stugart said. &#8220;We did a pretty good job with them today.&#8221;</p><p>Even with the strong offensive performance, the game wasn&#8217;t wrapped up until late. Lindenwood, trailing by as many as 23 points in the second half, didn&#8217;t go quietly.</p><p>Led by quarterback Ben Kisner, a William Chrisman graduate, the Lions orchestrated a no-huddle offense that got them back to within 10 points, 26-16, in the final five minutes.</p><p>The Lions got the ball into Pioneer territory when a Kisner pass was intercepted by Edward Hawkins with 4 minutes, 37 seconds left in the game.</p><p>That interception ended any realistic comeback hopes the Lions had.</p><p>&#8220;Ed&#8217;s interception slowed that momentum down,&#8221; Stugart said. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t have an answer for what they were doing. We got a pick and it slowed everything down. Turnovers were key because we were having a hard time with the offense.&#8221;</p><p>Kisner finished the game 22 for 42 for 263 yards and a touchdown.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">OTHER GAMES </span></strong><br /> &#8226;<strong>AT PITTSBURG STATE 38, CHADRON STATE 31:</strong> Mark Smith tossed three touchdown passes and ran 61 yards for the go-ahead score for the No. 14 Gorillas. </p><p>&#8226;<strong>AT EMPORIA STATE 27, AUGUSTANA (S.D.) STATE 14:</strong> The Hornets turned two Augustana turnovers into touchdowns in improving their record to 2-0. Seville Ko of Belton and Zach Rampy of Blue Valley both rushed for touchdowns.</p><p></div>