Complete Game Notes
Game 4: Emporia State (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) at Lincoln (0-3, 0-3 MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 28 - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Jefferson City, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Dwight T. Reed Stadium (5,500)
Tickets: Adults - $10 | Children Under the Age of Six - Free | Non-LU Students/LU Faculty & Staff - $5 | 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 - Emporia State leads, 4-2

THE KICKOFF 
For the fourth-straight week, the Lincoln football team plays under the lights as the Blue Tigers host Emporia State on Saturday (Sept. 28) for a 6:00 p.m. CDT contest. It will be the fourth-straight MIAA game for both teams, each of which will attempt to end a skid on Saturday.

Lincoln played both of its first two opponents close through three quarters, but is 0-3 entering this weekend after falling to Central Oklahoma, 63-0, last Saturday (Sept. 21). Emporia State won its first game of the 2019 campaign with a 51-14 decision against Northeastern State, but has since dropped games to Pittsburg State and Nebraska Kearney and is 1-2 on the year.

Saturday night's game will air on The MIAA Network as well as on 88.9 FM KJLU with James Stanley handling the play-by-play. Fans can watch online at http://www.themiaanetwork.com and listen at http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KJLU.

QUICK HITS 
- Lincoln and Emporia State will play for the seventh time on Saturday, with ESU leading the series, 4-2. Lincoln won the first two meetings, including earning a 21-0 win over the Hornets in the 1958 Mineral Water Bowl, but ESU has won the last four, with the latest being a 52-14 victory in Jefferson City in 2013.

- A victory for Lincoln would be its first against an MIAA opponent since the end of the 2013 season, when the Blue Tigers ended the season with consecutive victories over Northeastern State and Southwest Baptist.

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

- 2019 marks the first time in the 89-year history of LU football that Lincoln will open a season with four-straight night games. Lincoln, which renovated Dwight T. Reed Stadium and added new lights in 2017, will not have a day game until Oct. 5 at Pittsburg State.

- 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 260-457-25.

- Malik Hoskins was named the interim head coach of the Blue Tigers in May 2019 and enters the week with an LU record of 0-3 and an overall record of 3-10.

- 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 147.3 yards per game and 7.2 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 four catches for 40 yards. Alston leads the Blue Tigers with seven grabs while Hicks is next with six.

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 22 tackles while Hasan Muhammad-Rogers, who has two fumble recoveries and an interception, ranks second with 23 total takedowns. Piere' Jones has broken up two passes and has a fumble recovery to go with 11 tackles, and Quan Mason has a pair of quarterback hurries.

Bri'on Sanders is leading the team with 26 total tackles and has forced two fumbles on the year, and Chavon Gross, who also has a pick, is fourth with 18 tackles. Thomas Burton has also forced two fumbles through two games, and Cody Bagby has a fumble recovery while Vontavious Thacker has a hurry. Thacker has 10 tackles while, Elliott Albert, Cecil Stallings and TeAndre Skinner are all next with nine tackles apiece.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Reagan Harrell has had six punts pin opponents inside their 20-yard line, and has had two kicks travel at least 50 yards while averaging 36.4 yards. On kickoffs, Javier Moreno is averaging 49.4 yards while, in the return game, the Blue Tigers are led by Muhammad-Rogers with 16.4 yards on kickoffs and 5.3 yards on punts.

EMPORIA STATE AT A GLANCE
Two players have spent time under center for Emporia State, as Dalton Cowan and Braden Gleason combined to complete 61.9-percent of their passes through the year's first three games. Cowan has thrown for 596 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions while Gleason is 5-for-7 with a 165.4 quarterback rating. Cowan has rushed for three scores, as has Carlos Grace, who leads Emporia State with 228 yards on the ground. 15 different Hornets have caught at least one pass, led by Cole Schumacher, who has 12 grabs for 143 yards.

The Emporia State defense is stiff against the pass, as ESU has broken up nine passes and intercepted four more while allowing only one touchdown through the air in the Hornets' first three games. Lawson Holbert has a pair of picks and two break-ups, and has made eight tackles to lead a defensive backfield that is giving up just 152.7 passing yards per contest.

Jace McDown has 35 tackles, including 22 solo, to lead the ESU defense, and Gee Stanley has four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks while Jordan Wallace is tied with Cade Harelson with three tackles for loss. Dawson Hammes also has a sack and is second on the tackling chart with 16 total takedowns.

In the kicking game, Clark Schoonover is 3-for-5 on field goals with a long of 34, and Sam Dobbins averages 57.4 yards on kickoffs with four touchbacks and four landing out of bounds. Ross Brungardt has had three punts go for 50 yards with a long of 67.

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.

Garin Higgins has led the Hornets to winning seasons in each of the past four years, including taking Emporia State to the Corsicana Bowl in 2018, which ESU won, 30-22. Higgins has taken Emporia State to the NCAA DII playoffs three times, most recently in 2016, and, in 13 years at ESU, has compiled nearly 80 victories.

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 147.3 yards per game. Franklin also leads the conference in total rushing yards (442), is second in all-purpose yards (160.7) and 11th in the league in total offense (147.3).

NATIONAL LEADERS:  Hosea Franklin is off to a hot start, ranking sixth in NCAA Division II in total rushing yards (442) and sixth in rushing yards per game (147.3). Franklin, who additionally rates 12th in all-purpose yardage (160.7), is not the only Blue Tiger high in the national rankins, as Brion Sanders is third in the country in fumbles forced (0.67) while Hasan Muhammad-Rogers and Cody Alexander are tied for second in interceptions.

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 four passes and both forced and recovered seven fumbles. The 11 takeaways lead the MIAA and are third in NCAA Division II this season. Lincoln also leads the nation in fumbles recovered and is 36th in the nation in interceptions.

TACKLING MACHINES:  In addition to creating turnovers, Lincoln also tackles well, with a few Blue Tigers ranking among the best in Division II. Bri'on Sanders is seventh in the nation with 6.7 solo tackles per game and is 76th in overall tackles while Cody Alexander, Hasan Muhammad-Rogers and Chavon Gross are 65th in solo tackles (5.0).

THE RUNDOWN:  Bolstered by an outstanding opening night by Hosea Franklin, LU currently boasts the fifth-best rushing attack in the MIAA. LU, which is also 33rd in the nation, is averaging 210.7 yards per game on the ground. Franklin's 7.3 yards per carry are 12th nationally.

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.

RETURN TO ME:  Hasan Muhammad-Rogers ended the 2018 campaign as one of the best kick returners in the GLVC, rating third in the conference and 45th nationally with 581 combined kick return yards. The senior has now become one of the MIAA's best returners, ranking fourth in the league and 33rd in DII with 201 yards.

UNDER THE LIGHTS:  For the first time in LU history, the Blue Tigers open the season with four-straight night games. Lincoln played at Washburn and hosted Missouri Southern in Thursday night games the first two weeks of 2019 and wraps up September with two Saturday night contests.

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 will also be 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 Central Missouri. The game on Sept. 5 was on Facebook Live, while information will come later this year as how to LU fans can listen to the other three contests.

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:  The Blue Tigers return to the road next week as Lincoln takes on Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kan. on Saturday (Oct. 5) at 1:00 p.m. CDT.