TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The Lincoln football team renewed its rivalry with former MIAA opponent Northeastern State on Saturday (Oct. 12), but the RiverHawks got the better of the Blue Tigers, winning 55-7.

The RiverHawks started the game with the ball and marched 54 yards downfield before scoring on a run. A bad snap forced NSU to go for two, but the Blue Tigers stopped the runner short of the goal line to keep the score at 6-0. On LU's first possession, Isaiah Tate connected with Xavier Delk on a 22-yard pass before scoring on a 23-yard keeper. Mo Alwaely made the extra point to put the Blue Tigers on top, 7-6.

The rest of the game belonged to Northeastern State (1-5), however, as the RiverHawks scored two more touchdowns in the first quarter and three in the second to take control of the contest. Lincoln (1-5) tallied five tackles for loss, including two sacks, and J'Addison Brown forced a fumble which was recovered by Vez Carter. Delk caught two passes for 32 yards and Anias Camarillo had two grabs for 22 yards as Tate, who rushed for 34 yards, finished with 86 passing yards.

Jareese Howard led the LU rushing attack with 16 carries for 72 yards. On special teams, Clayton Winkler had three punts land inside the 20, including one on a 62-yard punt, and averaged 48.2 yards for the game. Alwaely averaged 54.0 yards on kickoffs.

Qwalan Miller led LU defensively with seven tackles while Jacob McGhee (who had a sack), Cory Macon (who made a tackle for loss) and Jordan Hoskins finished with six tackles apiece. Brown had Lincoln's other sack and Jeremiah Gill totaled five tackles while Renard Willis was next with four. Dontonio Moore additionally had a tackle for loss.

Lincoln returns home next Saturday (Oct. 19) to continue conference play by hosting Upper Iowa at 12:00 p.m. CDT. It will be LU's annual Think Pink game as the Blue Tigers raise awareness for cancer research.