Complete Game Notes | Home Game Information
Game 7: Upper Iowa (4-3, 3-1 GLVC) at Lincoln (1-5, 0-4 GLVC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 19 - 12:00 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 Six - Free | Non-LU Students - $5 | LU Faculty, Staff & Students (With ID) - Free
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers/
Radio: KJLU 88.9 FM - Jefferson City, Mo.
Audiocast: http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/KJLU
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series: Upper Iowa leads, 1-0
 
THE KICKOFF 
The Lincoln football team is seeking to win its second-straight home game on Saturday (Oct. 19) when the Blue Tigers host Upper Iowa in a 12:00 p.m. CDT contest. This will be Lincoln's annual Think Pink game, and games are encouraged to show up to Dwight T. Reed Stadium wearing pink to help the Blue Tigers raise awareness for cancer treatment research.
 
The Blue Tigers defeated Lincoln (CA), 40-14, on Homecoming Saturday (Oct. 5) for its first win since 2019. A win would give LU back-to-back home wins for the first time since 2013. Lincoln fell in its last game, 55-7, in Tahlequah, Okla. to Northeastern State. Upper Iowa, meanwhile, has won three of its last four games and is 4-3 on the season.
 
This will be a part of a busy weekend for Lincoln, as LU's women's and men's soccer teams play in double-headers on Friday and Saturday.
 
QUICK HITS 
- This will be the second-ever meeting between Lincoln and Upper Iowa, with the Peacocks leading the series, 1-0.
 
- The only other meeting between Lincoln and Upper Iowa took place in 2009, with the Peacocks winning at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, 65-6.
 
- A victory for Lincoln would give the Blue Tiger multiple wins in a season for the first time since 2018.
 
- A Blue Tiger win would be the first for Lincoln against a conference opponent since Oct. 19, 2019, when LU beat Northeastern State, 27-9, as a member of the MIAA.
 
- Lincoln is playing for multiple home wins in a season for the first time since 2014, when the Blue Tigers beat both Quincy and Texas College.
 
- A win for the Blue Tigers would also be their first against a GLVC opponent since 2018, when Lincoln won in Liberty, Mo. against William Jewell, 23-14. That was the last season LU played as an associate member of the league.
 
- Lincoln is the only GLVC program that started the 2024 campaign with four-consecutive league games.
 
- The Blue Tigers enter this weekend with an all-time record of 262-501-25.
 
- Moses Harper was named the head coach of the Lincoln football team in 2024. He is in his first season leading the Blue Tigers and has both an overall and program record of 1-5 entering this week.
 
- Lincoln, which was a full member of the MIAA for 26 years (overall), is joining the GLVC in 2024. 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 (MWAA), the Great Lakes Football Conference (GLFC), the Central States Football League (CSFL), the GLVC and the MIAA.
 
- This is the 93rd 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 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
 
BLUE TIGERS TO WATCH
OFFENSE - Jareese Howard averages 6.2 .yards per carry and leads the Blue Tigers with 290 yards on 47 carries. Isaiah Tate and Howard both have three touchdown runs, and Tate has also thrown for 529 yards with a touchdown. As a team, LU has run for 982 yards for an average of 123.2 yards per contest.
 
LaMarco Yates and Kantrell Jordan have also run for touchdowns and DeMareus Hosey has gained 104 yards on 39 attempts. In the receiving game, Armani Turner averages 21.8 yards per reception while Darian Fletcher averages 22.5 yards per catch. Turner leads Lincoln with nine grabs for 196 yards while Hosey, who has six receptions, also has a touchdown catch.
 
DEFENSE - Lincoln has blocked four kicks, with Ke'Ron Blankumsee returning one of those blocks 74 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Hoskins leads the Blue Tigers with 43 overall tackles while Cory Macon is next with 37, and both players have made 28 solo takedowns. Jacob McGhee has a team-high 6.5 tackles for loss and Vez Carter, who has 22 total tackles, is next with 5.5 tackles for loss. Jeremiah Gill also has 22 tackles while McGhee has 21.
 
Donte Moore has two sacks and scored on a 97-yard interception return against Lincoln (CA) to go with 20 tackles on the season. Rakeim Ashford has picked off three passes and broken up three others while Renard Willis has tallied 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. As a team, Lincoln has made 42 total tackles for loss as well as 12 sacks.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS - Mo Alwaely made 10 field goals with a long of 49 yards a year ago and is 8-for-9 this season with his longest going 50 yards. On kickoffs, Alwaely is averaging 54.5 yards. In the punting game, Clayton Winkler has has 12 kicks go at least 50 yards, 13 kicks pin opponents inside the 20 and he leads the GLVC with 44.6 yards per kick.
 
Macon had a rare defensive two-point conversion after returning a blocked extra point 95-yards to the end zone against McKendree. Fletcher averages 17.9 yards on kickoff returns and Tobias Williams is averaging 22.4 yards with a long of 54. Fletcher has handled punt return duties.
 
UPPER IOWA AT A GLANCE
Darryl Overstreet, Jr. has completed 126 passes for 1,377 yards with 10 touchdowns against five interceptions to lead the Peacocks this season. Upper Iowa also runs the ball well, as the duo of Jayden Mitchell (585 yards) and RJ Wells (349) have combined to help UIU rush for 1,103 yards and 13 touchdowns. In the receiving game, Mante Morrow has caught 26 passes for 372 yards and four TDs while Cam Williams averages 25.9 yards per reception and Koda Gates-Bridges has a team-high 28 grabs for 240 yards.
 
Upper Iowa has a disruptive defense that has intercepted 10 passes, broken up 24 others, forced four fumbles and blocked six kicks while also recording 12 sacks as well as 29 tackles for loss. Zacarius Murray has broken up five passes and joins Tyler Owen and Ben Kamara, who has four break-ups, with two interceptions apiece. The top tacklers are Michael Mulherin and Trevor Thompson with 40 total takedowns each, followed by Avery Dixon, who has has 34 tackles, 27 of which have been solo. Baxter Bohr has notched 3.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and five quarterback hurries.
 
Five different players have punted for Upper Iowa this year, with Wells averaging 43 yards per kick. UIU is 3-for-4 on field goals with a long of 41 yards, and Nathan Behne and Henry Vakerics have each attempted two field goals, with Behne a perfect 2-for-2. Behne handles kickoff duties and averages 60.3 yards per kick.
 
THE COACHES
Moses Harper was named the head coach of the Blue Tigers in January and is in his first season leading the LU football program. Harper is no stranger to Missouri as he graduated from Central Methodist and has worked at both William Jewell and Missouri Western. Most recently he was the passing game coordinator and receivers coach at Nebraska Kearney, a former rival of the Blue Tigers in the MIAA.
 
Jason Hoskins is in his fourth full season as the head coach at Upper Iowa after being elevated to the position following the 2019 campaign. Hoskins, who entered the seasons with five victories as UIU's head coach, already has guided the Peacocks to four wins this season, with Upper Iowa currently second in the GLVC standings. In an odd coincidence, Hoskins is the fourth opposing coach for the Blue Tigers in seven games this season with the first name of Jason.
 
MOVING THEM BACKWARDS:  Lincoln has 42 total tackles for loss, with nine of those coming in the opener against Quincy and one resulting in a safety. Nationally, the Blue Tigers rank 38th in Division II in tackles for loss as well as fifth in the GLVC. Jacob McGhee has 6.5 tackles for loss on the year and individually ranks 80th in the country while Vez Carter is next with 5.5 TFL.
 
MACON IT HAPPEN:  Lincoln's defense was led by Cory Macon in the season-opener, as the senior led the Blue Tigers with nine total tackles, six of which were solo efforts. In the home opener vs. McKendree, Macon returned a blocked kick 95 yards to give LU a defensive two-point conversion. For the season, he is second among the Blue Tigers with 37 total tackles including 28 solo efforts, the 47th-most in the country.
 
THEY ARE SPECIAL:  The Blue Tigers have made their presence known on special teams, including blocking four kicks, the second-most in the GLVC and the ninth-most in the country. Mo Alwaely's .889 field goal percentage is the eighth-best in the nation, and he also ranks 16th in the country in field goals made. Clayton Winkler, meanwhile, is sixth in the nation with a 44.6 punting average.
 
BALL SECURITY:  Lincoln has only lost a pair of fumbles, the 15th-fewest in Division II. LU ranks 41st in turnover margin (+0.5), is 49th in turnovers gained (10) and 40th in turnovers lost (seven).
 
OTHER NATIONAL NOTES: Rakeim Ashford is 15th in the nation in interceptions per game (0.5) and 53rd in passes defended (1.0). Jordan Hoskins is 47th in solo tackles (28) and 19th in fumbles forced (0.33).
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  After a big performance against William Jewell, Ke'Ron Blankumsee was named the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 23. Blankumsee blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt by the Cardinals and, later in the game, scooped up the ball after another block and ran it back 74 yards for a Lincoln touchdown. With the honor, Blankumsee becomes the first Lincoln player to be named GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week since kicker Alex Templeton earned the distinction in 2016.
 
KICKING IT:  Clayton Winkler had a big day in LU's season opener, punting for 370 yards while averaging 46.3 yards per attempt, both of which led the GLVC through the first week of the season. Winkler currently leads the GLVC with 44.8 yards per punt, an average that also ranks sixth in NCAA Division II. Winkler's success has also led to Lincoln to ranking third in the league and 68th in the country in net punting average (36.0).
 
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 2024 season. The season ticket package also includes parking passes for all six of Lincoln's home games.
 
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 2024. 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:  All 11 of Lincoln's games in 2024 will stream online on the GLVC Sports Network at https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers. 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:  Lincoln is on the road for its next two games, starting on Saturday (Oct. 26), as the Blue Tigers travel to Rolla, Mo. to play Missouri S&T at 1:00 p.m. CDT.