Complete Game Notes
Game 9: Eastern New Mexico (3-5) at Lincoln (0-8)
Date/Time: Thursday, Oct. 26 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Jefferson City, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Dwight T. Reed Stadium (5,500)
Tickets: Available online at http://lubluetigers.com/tickets | Adults - $10 | Children Under the Age of Five - Free | Non-LU Students - $5 | LU Faculty, Staff & Students (With ID) - Free
Streaming: https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers/
Radio: KJLU 88.9 FM - Jefferson City, Mo.
Audiocast: http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KJLU
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series: First Meeting

THE KICKOFF 
For the fifth time in 2023 the Lincoln football team will play under the lights as the Blue Tigers host Eastern New Mexico on Thursday (Oct. 26) in a 7:00 p.m. CDT contest. It will be the third evening game at Dwight T. Reed Stadium this season and the second Thursday night game of the year for LU, which opened the season with a night game at Emporia State on Thursday, Aug. 31.

This will be the second game in six days for both teams. The Blue Tigers hosted Missouri Southern on Saturday (Oct. 21), falling by a final score of 63-5. Eastern New Mexico has dropped five-straight, including dropping a 35-14 decision at home to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.

At 5:00 p.m. CDT, a Trunk or Treat, co-sponsored by Lincoln, the LU Campus Activities Board and the Boys and Girls Club, will be held at The LINC. At halftime, raffles will be held for memorabilia signed by Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

QUICK HITS 
- This will be the first-ever meeting between Lincoln and Eastern New Mexico, an NCAA Division II member of the Lone Star Conference located in Portales, N.M.

- This is the first regular season game for Lincoln against an opponent non currently a member of the MIAA since hosting McKendree in the final game of 2017, back when the Blue Tigers were a member of the GLVC.

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

- This is the latest in a season that Lincoln has ever hosted a night game, and also the latest in the season that LU has ever played a game on a Thursday.

- A win would be LU's first in a night game since beating Southwest Baptist at home, 28-13, in 2018.

- The Blue Tigers play three of their four games this month at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, starting with the Oct. 7 Homecoming game and concluding with this Thursday night's showdown against Eastern New Mexcio on Oct. 26. The Oct. 14 contest at Central Oklahoma was LU's lone road game of the month.

- The Blue Tigers enter this weekend with an all-time record of 261-493-25.

- Jermaine Gales was named the head coach of the Lincoln football team in 2021. In his second season leading the Blue Tigers, Gales enters the week with both an overall record and a record at LU of 0-19.

- For the first time since 2010, Lincoln will play a season as an independent. Lincoln, which played in the MIAA for 26 years (overall), is joining the GLVC in 2024-25. The Blue Tigers, who were an associate member of the GLVC from 2014-18, have played in five different conferences in their 92-year history: the Midwest Athletic Association, the Great Lakes Football Conference, the Central States Football League, the GLVC and the MIAA.

- This is the 92nd 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. Lincoln did not play a full schedule in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

BLUE TIGERS TO WATCH
OFFENSE - LaMarco Yates leads the Blue Tigers with 224 rushing yards and 37.3 yards per game while Blayden Brown averages a team-high 11.0 yards per carry. Omar Allen has rushed for 221 yards while Xzavier Vaughn 215 yards on the ground, including 85 on a touchdown run on LU's first offensive play of the season. Vaughn has completed 107 passes for 1,090 yards and six touchdowns. Aderias Ealy has been his top target with 32 catches, more than twice as many as Nathan Valencia's 13 receptions. Ealy has scored three touchdowns and has 432 receiving yards while Valencia is next with 155 yards. The other Blue Tigers with touchdown receptions include Dawan Lomax, Winston Ausmer and Jermarri Watson.

DEFENSE - Ian Hackney, who has two tackles for loss and a sack, leads Lincoln with 52 tackles on the season. Adrian Hopper has a team-high three tackles for loss and 37 tackles on the year while TJ Jasper has broken up four passes and recorded 38 total takedowns. Bryant Coley, meanwhile, has 47 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception. Ke'Ron Blankumsee also has picked off a pass this season. Cory Macon, who has both forced and recovered a fumble, has made 38 tackles on the year, and Elijah Juarez has recorded 46, including two for a loss. JayDan Trotter notched a safety against Missouri Southern, David Kinard has three hurries, Jordan Batts has blocked a kick, Donte Moore has 2.5 TFL and Zenin Hall has 1.5 tackles for loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Mo Alwaely successfully made the longest field goal by a Blue Tiger since 2018 when he connected on a 43-yard attempt in Lincoln's season-opening game at Emporia State. Alwaely's kickoffs have been very sharp, as he is averaging 56.8 yards with four touchbacks. Clayton Winkler is averaging 36.9 yards per punt with 15 kicks landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line and nine resulting in calling for a fair catch. The other primary kick returners are Aderias Ealy, who has 157 return yards, and Omar Allen, who averages 4.0 yards on punt returns.

EASTERN NEW MEXICO AT A GLANCE
Eastern New Mexico boasts a very strong rushing attack, averaging 243.5 yards on the ground per game with 20 touchdowns and an average of 4.7 yards per carry. The Greyhounds throw for an average of 104.3 yards per game and have 11 passing scores on 50 total completions. Defensively, ENMU has been strong against the pass, with opponents averaging just 6.0 yards per catch while tallying 138.6 yards per game. Conversely, the ENMU has been susceptible to the run, allowing opponents to score 21 rushing touchdowns and average 230.3 yards.

Elijah Zeh leads the Greyhounds with 642 rushing yards and has six touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Quarterback Mario Sanchez has scored seven TDs on the ground and has completed 49 passes for 11 scores and 793 yards. Sanchez has not yet has a pass picked off in 2023. Andre Jones is the top receiver with 23 grabs for 424 yards and five touchdowns, while Ja'Calvin Newsom is next with 11 receptions and four scores.

Eric Williams has a team-high 47 tackles with eight going for a loss, and Kevin McCracken has 5.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks. Talon Sanders has broken up five passes, Trey Cain (36 tackles) and James Apsey (3.0 TFL) each have blocked kicks, and Micah Lewis has broken up three passes.

Kaden Bell is 3-for-5 on field goals with a long of 37, but has had one kick blocked. Robert Nora, who has 401 kick return yards, has one kickoff return for a touchdown.

THE COACHES
Jermaine Gales is now in his second season as the head coach of the Blue Tigers after beginning Lincoln's rebuild in 2022. Gales is no stranger to developing programs, as he was part of a staff at Bluefield State that went 4-3 in its first football season in 40 years in 2021. Gales has more than 20 years of experience as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels, and has helped programs like Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mars Hill and North Carolina Central achieve winning seasons.

Kelly Lee is in the first year of his second stint as the head coach at Eastern New Mexico and led the Greyhounds to wins in each of their first games of 2023. Lee is 24-17 in four overall seasons leading ENMU. He has coached 50 all-conference honorees and three All-Americans, and led the Greyhounds to a win over Southern Arkansas in the 2019 Heritage Bowl.

NO FOUL, NO FOUL:  Lincoln has not been called for many penalties this season, with LU being on the receiving end of 50 penalties for 372 yards. LU has been penalized an average of 46.5 yards per contest, the 24th-fewest in Division II, and in terms of total penalty yardage, Lincoln is 27th in DII. The Blue Tigers' average 6.3 flags per game, a total that ranks as the 63rd-fewest in the country.

THE FOURTH IS WITH US:  The Blue Tigers have been sharp on fourth down conversion attempts on both sides of the ball. Lincoln is converting its offensive fourth down tries at a .556 clip, the 43rd-best in NCAA Division II midway through the 2023 season. On defense, LU has allowed teams to convert at a .500 clip, the 84th-best in Division II.

TACKLING DIVISION II:  Out of 197 qualifying ranked players, two Blue Tigers are among the best in NCAA Division II in tackling. Ian Hackney ranks 21st in the nation with 8.7 tackles per game. Elijah Juarez, who averages 6.4 tackles per game, is 154th in Division II. Juarez also ranks 88th in the nation in solo tackles with and average of 4.3 solo takedowns per game.

CLAY-MORE:  Clayton Winkler has had a great season as Lincoln's punter, averaging 37.3 yards per kick, the 76th-best in NCAA Division II. LU is playing as an independent this season, but if it were still in the MIAA, Winkler's average would make him the conference's fifth-best punter. He has a season-long punt of 71 yards and 15 of his kicks have pinned opponents inside the 20.

CREATING PLAYS:  Lincoln has made quite a few special plays on defense and on special teams over its past two games. In that span, Lincoln has picked off two passes, recorded a safety, blocked a kick, recovered an onside kick, broken up nine passes, recovered a pair of fumbles and recorded five tackles for loss.

SAFETY DANCE:  On the final play of Lincoln's home game against Missouri Southern, JayDan Trotter tackled MSSU's running back in the end zone for LU's first safety of the season. It was also Lincoln's first safety since Nov. 13, 2021, when TeAndre Skinner recorded a safety for LU's first points in a home loss to Missouri Western.

TICKETS:  Like in the past two years, 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 2023 season. The season ticket package also includes parking passes for all six of Lincoln's home games.

THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE DWIGHT:  For the first time since 2018, when Lincoln played football in the GLVC, the Blue Tigers will play a non-MIAA opponent when LU hosts Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 26. That Thursday night showdown under the lights at Dwight T. Reed Stadium will pit Lincoln against a non-MIAA or GLVC team, LU's first such game since a Nov. 3, 2018 game at Tarleton State.

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 become a member of 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 2023. Stanley will call all six 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:  While the Blue Tigers are competing as an independent team in 2023, all 11 of Lincoln's games will still stream online at www.themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers. The six home games will include a simulcast of the KJLU broadcast, while the five road games will be called by the home team's radio broadcasting crew. All-season viewing packages are now available.

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 go on the road for the final time in 2023 on Saturday, Nov. 4, traveling to Kearney, Neb. to play Nebraska Kearney at 12:00 p.m. CDT.