Complete Game Notes
Game 2: Lincoln (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) at Fort Hays State (0-2, 0-2 MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 18 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Hays, Kan.
Stadium (Capacity): Lewis Field Stadium (6,362)
Tickets: https://fhsuathletics.com/sports/2011/6/27/GEN_0627111608.aspx?id=99
Streaming - https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers/
Radio - KJLS 103.3 FM - Hays, Kan.
Audiocast - https://streamdb7web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/index.cfm?stationCallSign=KJLS
Live Stats - https://fhsuathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series - FHSU leads, 8-2

QUICK HITS 
- On Saturday, Lincoln and Fort Hays State will meet for the 11th time, with FHSU leading the series, 8-2. The Blue Tigers won two of the first three contests in the series, but Fort Hays State has since won seven in a row. The teams last played in 2019, with FHSU prevailing in Jefferson City, 66-6.

- A win for Lincoln would be its first in the first true road game of a season since 2015, when LU opened the year with a 35-32 victory in Oklahoma over Langston.

- Lincoln is seeking its first road win over a conference opponent since October 20, 2018, when the Blue Tigers, then members of the GLVC, won at William Jewell, 23-14. LU's last league road win as a member of the MIAA came in 1975, when the Blue Tigers beat Central Missouri, 20-7, in Warrensburg, Mo.

- This is Lincoln's first trip to Hays, Kan. since Oct. 20, 2012. LU is playing for its first win in Hays since beating FHSU, 21-13, in the first meeting of the series in 1980.

- 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Dwight T. Reed Stadium. The Blue Tigers first played in the venue on Sept. 25, 1971.

- The Blue Tigers enter the 2021 season with an all-time record of 261-465-25.

- 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 1-11 and an overall record of 4-18.

- 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 - Hosea Franklin was the only played in the MIAA to rush for over 1,000 yards during the 2019 regular season, and he finished the year with a Lincoln single-season record of 1,359 yards. His play culminated in Franklin earning first team all-region and All-American honorable mention status, as well as All-MIAA first team distinction.

Zamar Brake had a strong first half in Lincoln's first game of the season, throwing a pair of TD passes, including a 74-yard scoring toss that is the longest in MIAA in 2021. Chrisshun Robinson was the receiver on that pass, while Winston Ausmer also caught a touchdown pass against Washburn. Charles Johnson has 51 receiving yards.

DEFENSE - Jaylon Mosley was Lincoln's leader on the defensive side of the ball in the 2021 opener, as he made eight solo tackles and nine takedowns overall. Zyan Thomas-King broke up a pair of WU passes, and tied with Samuel Amituanai and Elliott Albert for second on the squad with five tackles.

Chris Parker and Cody Bagby each recorded four tackles against Washburn, with Parker also coming up with the first interception of the season for the Blue Tiger defense. Piere' Jones broke up a pass, and was one of five Lincoln players to record three tackles in the season-opening contest.

Amituanai and Malaefono Ale each made a tackle for loss in the opener, while Bagby and Albert each combined on another. Aeneas Tibbs additionally had a tackle for loss, giving LU four in the game, as well as four broken up passes. TeAndre Skinner, Tyler Brown and Terrion Williams each made a pair of tackles to round out Lincoln's performance on defense against Washburn.

SPECIAL TEAMS - The LU special teams will have a new look in 2021, with all three positions in the kicking game manned by new players. Clayton Winkler will serve as both the team's punter and kicker. Winkler did not attempt a field goal against Washburn, but averaged 29.0 yards on kickoffs and 36.1 yards on punts. Winkler had one punt against Washburn that went for 50 yards. Winston Ausmer is the main kick and punt returner for Lincoln, and had 80 all-purpose yards against Washburn.

FORT HAYS STATE AT A GLANCE
Chance Fuller is averaging 339 passing yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions through the season's first two games. Fuller has completed 51 passes out of 96 attempts for a .531 accuracy rate. His top targets so far have been Monterio Burchfield (13 catches) and Manny Ramsey (nine receptions), while Adrian Soto has five grabs for 127 yards and two scores. Fort Hays State has yet to record a rushing touchdown, with Tristan Tucker leading FHSU with 92 yards on 22 carries.

Layke Heimerman leads Fort Hays State with 25 tackles, including 14 solo, and Jordan Starks is next with 14 total tackles. Starks and Dalton Kuhn, who has 11 tackles on the year, each have made two tackles for loss, with Kuhn having assisted on two others, and Mason Perez, Javaris Sanders and Jaqualen Brown have also made tackles for loss. Sanders has made 12 tackles while Myles Menges has 13 tackles.

Fort Hays State has yet to intercept a pass, and Brown and Will White each have broken up a pass. Kyon Clark, Landon Teel and Jhimon Preston have each forced one fumble, though all three were recovered by the opponent. Perez and Sanders have both notched a sack.

Ethan Sossen has a season-long punt of 93 yards, and has 10 kicks for 375 yards. Parker Janky has 468 yards on eight kickoffs, with one touchback. Alex Schremmer has 69 yards on six returns.

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.

Chris Brown was tabbed the MIAA Coach of the Year in both 2017 and 2018 and has coached 26 All-Americans in 10 seasons at Fort Hays State. Brown has led the Tigers to the postseason in four of the past five years with two league championships in that span. Brown is the all-time winningest coach in FHSU's history, with a 66-39 overall record.

NCAA LEADERS:  Through the first two weeks of the season, Lincoln ranks highly in NCAA DII in several statistics. The Blue Tigers are one of 45 teams who have yet to lose a fumble, and are one of 33 programs who have not allowed opponents to convert on fourth down. Lincoln receivers are averaging 18.0 yards per reception, which stands as the seventh-best mark in Division II. Lincoln is also eighth nationally in passing efficiency (187.8) and 11th in fewest turnovers (two).

INTERCEPTOR:  Chris Parker made the first pick of the year for LU, and is one of only 37 players in DII who are averaging one interception per game, making him currently first in the nation.

WHAT A RUSH: Hosea Franklin set the Lincoln standard in rushing in 2019, finishing with 1,359 yards, a new program record. Franklin is the only MIAA player who rushed for over 1,000 yards in the regular season, and he finished the season ninth in NCAA Division II in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per game (128.8). He also ended the year ranked 30th in DII in all-purpose yards per game (137.7).

ALL-AMERICAN:  Hosea Franklin's 2019 season did not go unnoticed, as rising junior was named a Don Hansen Division II All-American honorable mention. That followed Franklin being named to the Don Hansen All-Super Region 3 first team, as well as his earning All-MIAA first team honors.

FASTER THAN A LOCOMOTIVE:  While Hosea Franklin frequently had impressive performances running the ball in 2019, none was quite as special as what he achieved in the season opener. Franklin gained 251 yards against Washburn on the road in LU's first MIAA football game since 2013. That total eclipsed the former single game mark of 245 yards, set nearly 70 years earlier by the legendary Leo "The Lincoln Locomotive" Lewis.

DISCIPLINED APPROACH:  The Blue Tigers were rarely penalized in 2019, with Lincoln being flagged only 68 times on the year, the fifth-fewest in the MIAA. Thus far in 2021, Lincoln has been called for 10 penalties, ranking LU sixth in the league, while the 66 lost yards rate as the 27th-fewest in NCAA Division II.

GET DEFENSIVE:  Jaylon Mosley has recorded 11 tackles on the season, rating him third in the MIAA and 20th in NCAA Division II in total tackles. Nine of those tackles were solo, ranking Mosley second in the country in that category. Mosley also has a sack and is third in the MIAA in that statistic.

JUMP ON THE BALL:  One of the best teams at jumping on loose footballs in the country in 2019 was Lincoln. The Blue Tigers recovered 11 fumbles, and finished the year ranked fourth in the MIAA and 28th in Division II.

SPRING BALL:  Due to caution regarding COVID-19, LU did not play a football season in 2020. Lincoln did, however, play a pair of exhibition games in the spring. The Blue Tigers played NCAA Division I Nicholls State as well as Texas-Permian Basin.

OUT OF STATE:  The Blue Tigers will spend a lot of time on the road in 2021. In addition to playing more games on the road (six) than at home (five), only one of LU's away games is inside the state of Missouri. Lincoln will play Northwest Missouri on Sept. 9, but will play the remaining road games in Kansas (at Fort Hays State on Sept. 18, at Pittsburg State on Oct. 16 and Emporia State on Nov. 6), in Oklahoma (at Central Oklahoma on Oct. 2) and 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.

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.

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 is back at home on Saturday (Sept. 25) to host Northeastern State at 2:00 p.m. CDT on the 50th anniversary of Dwight T. Reed Stadium.