Complete Game Notes
Game 9: Lincoln (0-8, 0-8 MIAA) at Emporia State (5-4, 5-4 MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 6 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Emporia, Kan.
Stadium (Capacity): Welch Stadium (7,000)
Tickets: https://emporiastatetickets.universitytickets.com/
Streaming: https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers/
Radio: KFFX 104.9 FM - Emporia, Kan.
Audiocast: https://streema.com/radios/KFFX
Live Stats: https://esuhornets.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series: ESU leads, 5-2

THE KICKOFF 
The Lincoln football team plays on the road for the final time in 2021 on Saturday (Nov. 6) as the Blue Tigers travel to Emporia, Kan. to challenge Emporia State in a 1:00 p.m. CT contest. This will be Lincoln's first trip to Welch Stadium since 2012.

This will be the sixth road game of the season for Lincoln, which did not have consecutive home games this year for the first time since the 2005 campaign. The Blue Tigers are coming off a 77-35 home loss to Central Missouri last Saturday (Oct. 30), and are seeking their first win of 2021.

Emporia State is 5-4 on the season, but has played every opponent tough. The Hornets have a one-point loss to Missouri Western and a two-point loss to Pittsburg State, and their other two losses were each by seven points. Emporia State won at Fort Hays State, 15-12, last Saturday, and ESU is seeking its third-straight victory this week.

QUICK HITS 
- This will be the eighth meeting between Lincoln and Emporia State, with the Hornets leading the series, 5-2. LU won its first two games against ESU, including a 21-0 victory over the Hornets in the 1958 Mineral Water Bowl.

- Emporia State has won the last five games in the series, including beating the Blue Tigers in Jefferson City, 50-7, in 2019. The last time Lincoln played in Emporia, Kan., the Hornets won, 37-26, in 2012.

- A victory for Lincoln would be its first road win against an MIAA opponent since beating Central Missouri, 20-7, in Warrensburg, Mo. in 1975.

- Lincoln is seeking its first road win, and its first league road win, since beating William Jewell, 23-14, as a GLVC program on Oct. 20, 2018.

- A victory on Saturday would be the first for Lincoln in 2021, and the first for LU since defeating Northeastern State, 27-9, on Oct. 19, 2019.

- The Blue Tigers are seeking their first win outside the state of Missouri since opening their 2018 campaign with a victory over Lane in Memphis, Tenn.

- The Blue Tigers enter this weekend with an all-time record of 261-472-25.

- Malik Hoskins was named the interim head coach of the Blue Tigers in May of 2019, and was promoted to the full-time position at the end of that year. He enters the week with an LU record of 1-18 and an overall record of 4-25.

- Lincoln is in second-consecutive year, and its 25th overall as a football-playing member of the MIAA. 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 90th 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 - Zamar Brake turned in a record-setting performance against Northeastern State, passing for 454 yards and four touchdowns, both of which are new single-game standards at Lincoln. Brake is averaging 196.8 yards per game and has thrown 13 touchdown passes with four interceptions on the year.

Hosea Franklin, a 2019 Don Hansen Division II All-American honorable mention, has scored six touchdowns on the year while gaining 599 yards. Tori Hicks is also having a big season, rushing for 326 yards and three scores. Winston Ausmer leads the receiving corps with 29 grabs for 449 yards and five scores, while Charles Johnson has 13 catches, including three touchdown grabs. Chrisshun Robinson has 15 receptions, and Aderias Ealy has caught 12 passes.

DEFENSE - Elliott Albert is having a fantastic year, as he leads Lincoln with 71 total tackles, has made 3.5 tackles for loss, and has two interceptions, a fumble recovery and six broken-up passes. Chris Parker and Piere' Jones each have an interception, while Cody Bagby has made 38 tackles, forced a fumble and totaled a team-high 7.0 tackles for loss. TeAndre Skinner, meanwhile, has a sack, has blocked a kick and has made 56 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss.

Jaylon Mosley has 31 solo tackles and 56 total takedowns on the year, and Samuel Amituanai has three tackles for loss and has joined with Terrion Williams for a sack. Zyan Thomas-King has broken up three passes and made 31 tackles, and Charles Robertson has made 26 tackles, including 19 solo. Both Amituanai and LaMarr Spencer have 26 total tackles. As a team, LU has made 32 tackles for loss and has broken up 17 passes.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Winston Ausmer is the main returner, averaging 8.0 yards on punt returns and 12.0 yards on kick returns. Tori Hicks averages 17.1 yards on kick returns, while Brandon Mackey, Jr. is next with 13.0 yards per return. Clayton Winkler is Lincoln's kicker, and averages 44.6 yards on kickoffs. On punts, Winkler is averaging 36.8 yards, with seven kicks traveling at least 50 yards and five resulting in a fair catch.

EMPORIA STATE AT A GLANCE
Braden Gleason averages over 300 passing yards per game and has thrown 22 touchdown passes against only six interceptions. Gleason has done a tremendous job of spreading the ball around, as 10 different Emporia State players have at least 19 receptions on the year, including Tyler Kahmann, who has caught four touchdown passes. Dexton Swinehart leads ESU with 36 receptions, followed by Cole Schumacher, who has a team-leading 361 yards on 34 catches. The Hornets have four players rotating as their running backs, with Canaan Brooks leading the team with 629 yards and seven scores.

Emporia State has picked off nine passes and forced seven fumbles while posting 70 tackles for loss, including 22 sacks. Cade Harelson has broken up seven passes, made nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, with the latter stat a team-high. Jordan Williams leads the Hornets with 11.5 tackles for loss, and has four sacks as well as two hurries and two forced fumbles. Harelson is tied with Dawson Hammes, the reigning MIAA Defensive Player of the Week, with 72 tackles on the season, with Hammes also contributing 9.5 tackles for loss.

Billy Ross, Jr. returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown against Missouri Western and averages 8.4 yards on punt returns for 2021. Ross, who averages 17.9 yars on kickoff returns, and Swinehart (18.6 yards) are the main returners on kicks. Ross Bunghardt averages 44.6 yards on punts, with 15 traveling at least 50 yards, while Sam Dobbins is averaging 58.2 yards on kickoffs.

THE COACHES
Malik Hoskins is in his second season as the head coach of the Lincoln football team. Hoskins was elevated to the position of interim head coach prior to the 2019 season after spending two seasons serving as Lincoln's offensive coordinator. In his first year as the head coach, he led the team's return to the MIAA, culminating with a 27-9 win over Northeastern State on Homecoming. After the 2019 season, Hoskins was named the full-time head coach of the Blue Tigers. Hoskins also was the interim coach at Lane in 2015.

Garin Higgins has led the Hornets to winning seasons in four of the past five 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 over 80 victories.

BROKEN RECORDS:  Lincoln enjoyed its best passing performance ever against Northeastern State, as quarterback Zamar Brake threw for 454 yards and four scores. The yardage breaks team and individual single-game records, which stood at 445 and 424, respectively, entering the season. The four touchdown passes also tied the single-game record. Additionally, Lincoln ran 92 plays on offense, tying the team single-game record.

PACING THE NCAA:  Zamar Brake became the first Lincoln freshman quarterback in decades to throw for at least 1,000 years in a season halfway through the 2021 campaign, and his numbers are stacking up well in the NCAA Division II ratings. For the season, Brake currently is 14th nationally in yards per completion (14.6), 66th in the country in passing efficiency (133.6) and 77th nationally in total offense (208.9).

NCAA LEADERS:  Entering the ninth week of the season, Lincoln is ranked highly in NCAA DII in several statistics. With just five interceptions thrown on the year, Lincoln is tied for 25th in the nation. The Blue Tigers are 37th in passing yards per completion (13.9), 69th in possession time (30:21) and 83rd in team passing efficiency (130.6).

FOR THE WIN-STON:  Winston Ausmer has been one of the MIAA's best receivers, catching 29 passes for 449 yards and four scores. Ausmer, who is currently 10th in the MIAA in touchdown grabs, ranks 18th in the league in passes caught per game (3.6), as well as 14th in the conference in receiving yards per contest (56.1).

WHAT A RUSH: Hosea Franklin set the Lincoln standard in rushing in 2019, finishing with 1,359 yards, a new program record. Franklin earned first team All-MIAA and all-region honors for the year, as well an All-American honorable mention award.

BRAVO CHARLIE:  When Charles Johnson gets the football, he is a hard man to tackle. Johnson, who has three touchdown receptions on the year, is averaging 28.3 yards per catch, the most of any receiver in the MIAA. Johnson's 368 receiving yards are the most on the team, and he enters the week averaging 52.6 yards per contest.

DOES IT ALL:  Tori Hicks has made plays as a runner, a receiver and as a kick returner, and he even serves as one of Lincoln's back-up quarterbacks. Hicks, who rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns against Central Missouri, is averaging 112.9 all-purpose yards per contest, rating him fifth in the MIAA in that category.

OUT OF STATE:  The Blue Tigers will spend a lot of time on the road in 2021. LU is scheduled to play five games on the road this year, and none in the state of Missouri. Lincoln will play three games in Kansas (at Fort Hays State on Sept. 18, at Pittsburg State on Oct. 16 and at Emporia State on Nov. 6), one contest in Oklahoma (at Central Oklahoma on Oct. 2) and one game in Nebraska (at Nebraska Kearney on Oct. 23).

TICKETS:  For the first time ever, fans can purchase their tickets to Lincoln's home football games online. Head to http://lubluetigers.com/tickets to purchase both season and individual game tickets for the 2021 season.

JOIN THE TEAM BEHIND THE TEAM:  The Blue Tiger Athletics Club is a great way to engage with other LU fans while supporting Lincoln student-athletes. Every dollar raised by the club goes towards scholarships for students, improving campus facilities and purchasing and maintaining equipment. To join the BTAC, or to learn more about the club, please visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/BTAC.

LU PLAYS ON KJLU:  Veteran play-by-play announcer James Stanley returns to the airwaves to provide Lincoln fans the action on the field in 2021. Stanley will call all five of LU's home games, and fans can listen to him live on 88.9 FM KJLU. Those not in the Jefferson City area can also listen to the games on KJLU's website, http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KJLU.

...AND ONLINE:  All 10 of Lincoln's games will also stream online at www.themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers.

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 home to play Missouri Western on Saturday (Nov. 13) at 11:00 a.m. CST in their final game of 2021.