Complete Game Notes
Game 6: Northeastern State (0-5) at Lincoln (0-5)
Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 7 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Jefferson City, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Dwight T. Reed Stadium (5,500)
Tickets: Available online at http://lubluetigers.com/tickets | Adults - $15 | Children Under the Age of Five - Free  | Non-LU Students - $10 | 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: NSU leads, 3-2

THE KICKOFF 
The Lincoln football team is back at home to host Northeastern State this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. CDT in its annual Homecoming game. This is the first daytime game at Dwight T. Reed Stadium of the year as well as just the second day game overall for LU in 2023.

The Blue Tigers have been on the road for each of their past two weeks, with this being their first home game since Sept. 16. LU fell to Northwest Missouri two weeks ago before losing to Fort Hays State on Sept. 30. Lincoln dropped a 24-10 decision to Washburn during its last home game and is seeking its first win of the year.

Northeastern State is also playing for its first win of 2023 after falling in its own Homecoming game, 42-7, to Pittsburg State last Saturday. The RiverHawks' closest game this year was a 31-17 loss at Nebraska Kearney, and NSU has been shut out in three of its five contests.

QUICK HITS 
- This is a relatively new series, as the first meeting took place in 2012. NSU won that game in Tahlequah, Okla., and leads the all-time series, 3-2.

- The Blue Tigers won the second and third meetings in this series, but Northeastern State ended up winning the 2021 match-up in overtime, 49-48. All three of those games were played in Jefferson City. The last time these teams met was in 2022, as the RiverHawks beat the Blue Tigers in Tahlequah, 38-10

- A victory on Saturday would be the first for Lincoln since defeating Northeastern State, 27-9, on Oct. 19, 2019. It would also be LU's first Homecoming win since that 2019 victory over NSU.

- This is the first non-conference Homecoming game for Lincoln since 2014, when the Blue Tigers cruised to a 62-6 victory against Texas College.

- After spending the past two weeks on the road, Lincoln will be home for most of October. The Blue Tigers play three of their four games this month at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, starting with Saturday's Homecoming game and concluding with a Thursday night showdown against Eastern New Mexcio on Oct. 26.

- The Blue Tigers enter this weekend with an all-time record of 261-490-25.

- 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 0-16.

- 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 - Xzavier Vaughn has been responsible for four touchdowns this season, including an 85-yard scoring run in the opener at Emporia State. Vaughn, who has thrown for 564 yards with three touchdowns, is LU's leading rusher with 619 yards on the ground, followed by Omar Allen (135 yards) and LaMarco Yates (131). Yates is averaging 43.7 yards per game, the team-high. Aderias Ealy is enjoying a stellar start to the season with a pair of touchdown receptions and 17 total catches for 289 yards, an average of 17.0 yards per grab. Ealy and Winston Ausmer, who is next on the receiving list with 13 receptions, each have gained over 50 yards on single catches. Ausmer also has a receiving score and 145 total yards on the year. LU's other leading receivers include Israel Tate, Damon Bell and Charles Johnson.

DEFENSE - Ian Hackney, one of four players on the LU defense with a sack, leads the Blue Tigers with 40.0 tackles while Elijah Juarez has 35.0 with two tackles for loss. David Kinard, Isiah McKenzie and Jesse Brown are the other Blue Tigers with a full sack credit while Adrian Hopper, who has made 23 tackles, joins Donte Moore, Kaden Mondy and Woodens PierreLouis with 0.5 sacks apiece. Moore has a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss, and Michael Harrison (20.0 tackles) and TJ Jasper (24.0) are tied with Juarez with two pass breakups each. Cory Macon has a forced fumble and 25 tackles on the year while Bryan Coley has made 34 tackles, including 18 solo.

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 60.9 yards with a touchback. Clayton Winkler is averaging 36.9 yards per punt with nine kicks landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line and seven resulting in a fair catch. Winston Ausmer leads the Blue Tigers with a 36.5 average on kickoff returns, highlighted by a 50-yard return against Missouri Western, while the other primary kick returner is Aderias Ealy.

NORTHEASTERN STATE AT A GLANCE
Ben Ward and Grant Elerick have split time under center for the RiverHawks, with each player appearing in four games. Ward has thrown for 178 yards and a touchdown but has four interceptions while Elerick has thrown for 164 yards and three interceptions. Blake May leads the rushing attack with 44.5 yards per game and 178 overall, and Sawyer Jones, who has completed seven passes, is the team's leader in yards per carry (5.0). Drew Elerick was the recipient of the touchdown pass, and Will Bergner has a team-high 11 receptions for 111 yards while Avery Payne has caught nine passes for 100 yards.

Makarios Brown has a team-high 15 solo tackles and 21.0 overall while Dalton Crumbly leads Northeastern State with 22 total tackles. Amarion Partee, who has broken up four passes, has 20.0 tackles on the year, and Chris Lee has 19 takedowns, including 3.0 for loss. Gabe Brown has 2.8 tackles for loss, Blake Corn has a sack and Lee and Jarveon Williams have each forced fumbles. Johnny Jean has 14.0 tackles and LaKedrick Holmes has 12.0 for an NSU squad that averages 4.25 points per game while allowing 41.8.

Tyler Crawford handles most of the kicking duties and has made one of his two field goal attempts, with the good kick going 39 yards. On kickoffs, Crawford averages a booming 62.5 yards with one touchback, while in the punting game, he averages 43.8 yards with five going at least 50 yards and five pinning opponents inside their own 20.

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.

JJ Eckert is in his fifth season leading Northeastern State, his alma mater. Eckert was the head coach at Kilgore from 2007-2018, leading the Rangers to three SWJCFC titles and two NJCAA Region 14 crowns. Eckert went 72-53 as the head coach at Kilgore and took the program to five bowl games. Eckert is 3-35 as the head coach at Northeastern State and 88-96 overall.

NO FOUL, NO FOUL:  Lincoln has not been called for many penalties this season, with LU being on the receiving end of 33 penalties for 254 yards. LU has been penalized and average of 50.8 yards per contest, the 39th-fewest in Division II, and in terms of total penalty yardage, Lincoln is 46th in DII. The Blue Tigers' average 6.6 flags per game, a total that ranks as the 64th-fewest in the country.

RISING EALY:  Aderias Ealy has been electrifying, averaging 57.8 receiving yards per game on 17 total catches. Ealy's 289 total receiving yards lead the team, and he is averaging 17.0 yards per catch, a number boosted by by several big plays. Ealy, who had his first 100-yard receiving day of the year against Washburn, had a 54-yard touchdown catch in that contest to go with a 13-yard scoring grab against Missouri Western. In the latter game, he had six catches for 95 yards.

BALANCING ACT:  Lincoln has run a balanced offensive attack in 2023, averaging nearly as many yards on the ground (636) as through the air (687). The Blue Tigers have converted 28 first downs on rushing playings as well as 25 on passes, and LU has attempted 135 throwing plays compared to 157 rushing attempts. Lincoln has scored three of its TDs through the air versus one on the ground, and LU averages 137.4 passing yards per game as well as 98.6 rushing yards.

CLAY-MORE:  Clayton Winkler has had a great season as Lincoln's punter, averaging 37.6 yards per kick, the 71st-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 had a 60-yard kick against Washburn, and nine of his kicks have pinned opponents inside the 20.

TACKLING DIVISION II:  Out of 191 qualifying ranked players, four Blue Tigers are among the best in NCAA Division II in tackling. Ian Hackney ranks 37th in the nation with 8.0 tackles per game. Elijah Juarez, who averages 7.0 tackles per game, is 101st in Division II while Bryant Coley is close behind with 6.8 takedowns per game, ranking him 116th in the nation. Cory Macon is also on the list with 6.2 tackles per contest.

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 travel to Edmond, Okla. to play Central Oklahoma on Saturday (Oct. 14). Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CDT.