Complete Game Notes
Game 7: Northeastern State (0-6, 0-6 MIAA) at Lincoln (0-6, 0-6 MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 19 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Jefferson City, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Dwight T. Reed Stadium (5,500)
Tickets: Adults - $15 | Children Under the Age of Six - Free  | Non-LU Students/LU Faculty & Staff - $10 | LU Students (With ID) - Free
Streaming - http://www.themiaanetwork.com
Radio - KJLU 88.9 FM - Jefferson City, Mo.
Audiocast - http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KJLU
Live Stats - https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series - Tied, 1-1

THE KICKOFF 
A pair of teams will go for their first conference win of the season on Saturday (Oct. 19) when the Lincoln football team hosts Northeastern State at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CDT for one of the centerpieces of LU's weekend-long Homecoming celebration.

It will be the second-straight home game for the Blue Tigers, who are 0-6 both overall and in league play after falling to Nebraska Kearney by a final score of 44-0 last Saturday (Oct. 12). LU held UNK to just seven points in the first quarter, but the Lopers rode a 21-point second quarter to a win over the Blue Tigers.

Northeastern State is also 0-6 both on the season and in the MIAA after losing to Washburn at home, 70-13, last Saturday. This weekend will mark just the third time that the Blue Tigers will play the RiverHawks and only the second time in Jefferson City.

QUICK HITS 
- Lincoln and Northeastern State will meet for the third time on Saturday, with the series tied at 1-1.

- The teams last met in 2013, when the Blue Tigers topped the RiverHawks, 42-33, in Jefferson City.

- The programs first played in 2012, with Northeastern State winning, 45-21, in Tahlequah, Okla.

- A victory for Lincoln would be its first against an MIAA opponent since the end of the 2013 season, when Lincoln closed the year with back-to-back home victories against Northeastern State and Southwest Baptist.

- Lincoln is seeking its first home win since Sept. 22, 2018, when the Blue Tigers defeated Southwest Baptist, 28-13.

- A win would also be the first for Lincoln in conference play since beating William Jewell, 23-14, as a member of the GLVC on Oct. 20, 2018.

- Lincoln is in the midst of 11-straight conference games to begin the 2019 campaign. The only non-conference game will be the St. Louis Heritage Football Classic against Kentucky State in the Dome at America's Center on Nov. 23.

- The Blue Tigers enter this week's game with an all-time record of 260-460-25.

- Malik Hoskins was named the interim head coach of the Blue Tigers in May 2019 and enters the week with an LU record of 0-6 and an overall record of 3-13.

- After a five-year absence, Lincoln has returned to the MIAA for its 24th season as a football-playing member. The Blue Tigers, who were an associate member of the GLVC from 2014-18, previously played in the MIAA from 1970-89 and from 2011-13. The MIAA is the fifth different conference in which the Blue Tigers have been a member, joining the Midwest Athletic Association, the Great Lakes Football Conference, the Central States Football League and the GLVC.

- This is the 89th season of Lincoln football. The Blue Tigers first fielded a team in 1920 and played every year until 1943, when Lincoln took a year off due to World War II. LU then played each season from 1944-1989. The football program was disbanded at that point, but was brought back in 2000.

BLUE TIGERS TO WATCH
OFFENSE - Hosea Franklin had the best opening week of the season by an NCAA Division II rusher, as he gained 251 yards on 20 carries, breaking the LU single-game record in the process. Franklin is averaging 132.7 yards per game and 6.4 yards per carry.

CJ Closser and Dre'Shon Alston each caught TD passes from Chancellor Johnson in his first start as Lincoln's quarterback. Tori Hicks made a pair of touchdown catches against Missouri Southern, and Franklin has made six catches for 47 yards. Rashaad Harris leads LU with 11 receptions for 65 yards while Alston is next with 64 receiving yards.

DEFENSE - The Blue Tiger defense made a huge impact in the season opener, forcing Washburn into seven turnovers. LU had three interceptions and forced and recovered four fumbles. The LU defense continued its opportunistic ways against Missouri Southern, tallying another pick and two more fumble recoveries.

Cody Alexander had a pair of interceptions in the opener and is third among the Blue Tigers with 36 tackles while Hasan Muhammad-Rogers, who has two fumble recoveries and an interception, ranks sixth with 28 total tackles. Piere' Jones has broken up three passes and has made a fumble recovery to go with 13 tackles, and Quan Mason has a trio of quarterback hurries.

Bri'on Sanders, who has forced two fumbles on the year has 39 tackles on the year while Chavon Gross, who has three picks and a forced fumble, leads the team with 44. Thomas Burton has forced two fumbles and notched 14 tackles, and Cody Bagby has a fumble recovery while Vontavious Thacker has a hurry. Thacker has 32 tackles and TeAndre Skinner has 35 takedowns.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Reagan Harrell has had 11 punts pin opponents inside their 20-yard line and four kicks travel at least 50 yards, including one which went 71 yards, and averages 38.4 yards per kick. On kickoffs, Javier Moreno is averaging 52.0 yards while, in the return game, the Blue Tigers are led by Muhammad-Rogers with 17.7 yards on kickoffs and 5.3 yards on punts.

NORTHEASTERN STATE AT A GLANCE
Northeastern State ranks at or near the bottom of the MIAA in nearly every statistic except for pass defense, as the RiverHawks allow 247.5 yards through the air per game, the seventh-fewest in the conference. Northeastern State has picked off five passes and broken up 17 others, led by Ty Nichols, who has 10 break-ups to go with 39 tackles and a forced fumble. As a team, NSU has forced six fumbles, recovering five, and has 22 total tackles for loss.

Ashton Antwine leads the NSU defense with 40 tackles and has two interceptions to go with three tackles for loss. Elijah Wallace and J'Quille Washington each have made three tackles for loss, with Wallace recording 30 tackles and one of NSU's three sacks. Courtland Clark has 37 tackles while Lane Yoder is next with 33, and Clark has tallied two break-ups, two interceptions, a pair of fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Starting quarterback Jacob Medrano is completing 60.2-percent of his passes for 557 yards and three scores with four interceptions. Jake Pruitt has thrown two touchdown passes and two picks while both Boo McKnight and Quez Allen have also completed passes this season. Allen has rushed for 136 yards while Kevin Jackson leads the ground attack with 254 and two touchdowns. The top receiver is Mark Wheeland with 19 grabs for 224 yards.

Brady Ellsworth is 3-for-4 on field goals with a long of 39 yards, and averages 45.9 yards on kickoffs. Tim Davis has had 18 punts result in a fair catch with seven landing in the 20 and five going at least 50 yards.

THE COACHES
Malik Hoskins was elevated to the position of interim head coach after spending the past two seasons serving as Lincoln's offensive coordinator. This is Hoskins' second stint as an interim head coach, as he held that title at Lane in 2015. Before coming to Lincoln, Hoskins coached at Bacone, where he worked with six offensive players who earned some form of all-conference recognition. In 2018, Hoskins was selected to attend the NCAA/NFL Coaches Academy due to his commitment to player development.

J.J. Eckert was a four-year letterwinner at Northeastern State and is in his first season coaching his alma mater. From 2007-2018 Eckert served as Kilgore College's head coach, winning 72 games and three Southwest Junior College Football Conference Championships.

BROKEN RECORD:  Hosea Franklin started 2019 on a record-breaking note by rushing for 251 yards against Washburn on Sept. 5. That total broke a nearly 50-year-old record, surpassing the 245 yards gained by Leo "The Lincoln Locomotive" Lewis in the early 1940s. Franklin averaged 12.6 yards per carry, the third-most by any NCAA DII player during the first week of the season.

LET'S BE FRANK: No running back in the MIAA is off to a hotter start than Hosea Franklin, as the sophomore leads the conference with 132.7 yards per game. Franklin, the only MIAA running back averaging over 100 yards per game, also leads the conference in total rushing yards (796) and ranks third in all-purpose yards (140.5).

NATIONAL LEADERS:  Hosea Franklin is off to a hot start, ranking third in Division II in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per game (132.7). Franklin, who additionally rates 20th nationally in all-purpose yardage (140.5), is not the only Blue Tiger high in the NCAA DII rankings, as Chavon Gross is 14th in solo tackles (6.2, an average that leads the MIAA) and is 20th in interceptions (three), while Cody Alexander leads NCAA DII in fumbles recovered (three).

TAKE ME AWAY:  Opportunistic would be the best way to describe the Lincoln defense's performance thus far in 2019, as the Blue Tigers have picked off six passes and both forced and recovered 10 fumbles. The 16 takeaways lead the MIAA and are seventh in NCAA Division II this season, and Lincoln is third nationally in fumbles recovered.

TACKLING MACHINES:  In addition to creating turnovers, Lincoln also tackles well, with a few Blue Tigers ranking among the best in Division II. Chavon Gross is 14th in the nation with 6.2 solo tackles per game while Cody Alexander and Bri'on Sanders (4.8 each) are tied for 52nd nationally and second in the MIAA.

THE RUNDOWN:  Bolstered by an outstanding opening night by Hosea Franklin, LU currently boasts the fourth-best rushing attack in the MIAA. LU, which is also 38th in the nation, is averaging 196.5 yards per game on the ground. Franklin's 6.9 yards per carry are 18th nationally.

HOMECOMING:  Saturday will be Lincoln's annual Homecoming game, and LU will play for its first win in this contest since 2014, when Lincoln beat Texas College, 62-6. Lincoln's last MIAA win in a Homecoming game came in 2012, when the Blue Tigers defeated Nebraska Kearney, 34-27.

UNDER THE LIGHTS:  For the first time in LU history, the Blue Tigers opened the season with four-straight night games. With two Thursday night contests and a pair of Saturday night games to begin the year, last week's daytime match marks the longest into a season that LU will have played its first day game.

ALL-CONFERENCE:  Lincoln returns a pair of players who earned All-GLVC recognition for their stellar play in 2018. Hasan Muhammed-Rogers, a playmaker who also helped the Blue Tigers on both offense and special teams, was an All-GLVC second team selection at defensive back, as he had 57 tackles while breaking up three passes. Chavon Gross, meanwhile, was named to the all-league team as an honorable mention at defensive back after breaking up 10 passes, notching 4.5 tackles for loss and 40 total takedowns.

ON THE AIR:  Blue Tiger football is back on KJLU, as all six of Lincoln's home games will be broadcast this year. LU fans can also listen to four of the Blue Tigers' five road games online, as Lincoln play-by-play announcer James Stanley will provide an audiocast for the games at Washburn, Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri and at Central Missouri. The road games will be audiocast through Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/BlueTigerAthletics.

IT'S A CLASSIC:  Tickets are now on sale for the St. Louis Heritage Football Classic, a game at the Dome at America's Center between Lincoln and Kentucky State. Visit www.lubluetigers.com/shfc2019 to reserve your seats for the Nov. 23 match-up of HBCUs.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  LU fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.

UP NEXT:  Lincoln closes the month of October on the road next Saturday (Oct. 26) as LU travels to Maryville, Mo. to play Northwest Missouri at 2:00 p.m. CT.