Complete Game Notes
Game 4: Lincoln (0-3, 0-3 GLVC) at Southwest Baptist (1-2, 0-1 GLVC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 28 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Bolivar, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Plaster Stadium (3,000)
Tickets: Available at www.SBUBearcats.com
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers
Live Stats: https://www.sbubearcats.com/sidearmstats/football
Series: Southwest Baptist leads, 9-2
 
THE KICKOFF 
Seeking its first win of the season, the Lincoln football team travels to Bolivar, Mo. to take on an old rival in LU's fourth conference game of the season. Lincoln plays Southwest Baptist at 1:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday (Sept. 28) in a match-up of teams who used to play each other regularly as MIAA rivals and who renew that rivalry now as GLVC members.
 
The Blue Tigers played their last two contests at home, most recently falling to William Jewell by a final score of 48-20 last Saturday (Sept. 21). LU is playing just its second road game of 2024, with the only other game away from home happening in Quincy, Ill. in the season-opener.
 
Southwest Baptist is 1-2 on the season but 0-1 in GLVC play after falling at home to Upper Iowa, 21-7, on Saturday. The Bearcats dropped their first game on the road to Black Hills State but defeated Oklahoma Panhandle, 42-10, on Sept. 14.
 
QUICK HITS 
- This will be the 12th meeting between Southwest Baptist and Lincoln. The Bearcats lead the all-time series, 9-2.
 
- The teams last met on Sept. 22, 2018, when Lincoln beat the Bearcats in Jefferson City, 28-13, as a football-only member of the GLVC.
 
- A victory for Lincoln would be its first over a GLVC opponent since beating William Jewell, 23-14, in Liberty, Mo. on Oct. 20, 2018.
 
- A victory for Lincoln would also be its first road win against a conference opponent since that victory against William Jewell on Oct. 20, 2018. That was also LU's most recent road victory.
 
- LU is additionally seeking its first win against a team from the state of Missouri since defeating William Jewell, 23-14, in 2018.
 
- A victory on Saturday would be the first for Lincoln since defeating Northeastern State, 27-9, in Jefferson City on Oct. 19, 2019.
 
- Lincoln is the only GLVC program that has started the 2024 campaign with four-consecutive league games.
 
- The Blue Tigers enter this weekend with an all-time record of 261-499-25.
 
- 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 0-3 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 - Lincoln has broken some big plays during its first three contests, including scoring on three plays of longer than 50 yards vs. McKendree on Sept. 14. Jareese Howard averages 6.9 yards per carry with a longest rush of 86 yards. Quarterback Isaiah Tate has a rushing touchdown to go with 328 passing yards while Armani Turner leads the Blue Tigers with 148 receiving yards.
 
Howard has rushed for 152 yards and a score and DeMareus Hosey and LaMarco Yates have been the other main backs in Lincoln's rushing attack. Yates also has a rushing touchdown and he and Darian Fletcher have each caught two passes. Max Rodriguez also has two grabs while both Tobias Williams and Hosey have three receptions.
 
DEFENSE - Lincoln has blocked three kicks, with Ke'Ron Blankumsee returning one of those blocks 74 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Hoskins leads the Blue Tigers with 28 overall tackles and 21 solo takedowns while Blankumsee has blocked a kick and broken up three passes. Cory Macon is next on the tackling chart with 21 tackles and Vez Carter has 5.5 tackles for loss, with both players tallying a blocked kick as well.
 
Rakeim Ashford, who has 11 tackles, leads LU with two interceptions. Carter has 16 tackles and Donte Moore, who has three tackles for loss as well as two sacks, is next with 12 tackles. Lincoln has 26 total tackles for loss an five sacks on the season, with 14 different Blue Tigers recording at least half of a tackle for loss.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS - Mo Alwaely made 10 field goals with a long of 49 yards a year ago and is a perfect 4-for-4 this season with his longest going 43 yards. On kickoffs, Alwaely is averaging 56.3 yards. Clayton Winkler, meanwhile, averages 46.5 yards on punts with eight of his 16 kicks going at least 50 yards and a long of 68 yards.
 
Macon had a rare defensive two-point conversion after returning a blocked extra point 95-yards to the end zone against McKendree. Fletcher averages 23.3 yards on kickoff returns and Tobias Williams is averaging 22.0 yards with a long of 54. Fletcher has handled punt return duties.
 
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST AT A GLANCE
The Bearcats have used three quarterbacks in 2024 with Drew Boxwell leading the team with 473 yards and five touchdowns. Collin Sutton has thrown for 271 yards and a touchdown while Casey Rooney is 0-4 on pass attempts. Both Sutton and Rooney have thrown interceptions.
 
Regan Wilson has caught 12 passes for 213 yards and a score, Jordan Kent leads SBU with three touchdowns on 10 receptions and Kamau Ransom has 12 grabs for two touchdowns and 109 yards. Jobe Smith paces Southwest Baptist's ground attack with 175 yards on 34 carries and also has SBU's lone rushing score of the season.
 
Jed Brandon and Kellen Curtis each have 16 tackles, with Brandon also owning 1.5 tackles for loss, and four other players have 11 tackles apiece, including Levi Korir, who has broken up a team-high four passes. Ricky Woodhouse and Jake Landers each have three tackles for loss while Caleb Sander, who has 2.5 tackles for loss, leads SBU with 1.5 sacks. Kaliel Boyd has the only interception of the year for Southwest Baptist.
 
Korir and Landers have each forced fumbles, with both Landers and Woodhouse making fumble recoveries, and Jalonie Moses has broken up a pair of passes. Jahaad Fort and Omari Oggs are among the Bearcats with 11 tackles while Joshua Koranda has nine takedowns.
 
Logan Turner is 0-4 on field goal attempts while Conner Greninger averages 59.4 yards on kickoffs. Joey Chiavetta is averaging 40.9 yards on punts with a long of 61. Calvin Griffin, Jr. averages 33.2 yards on kick returns.
 
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.
 
Robert Clardy is in his 10th season as the coach of the Bearcats and his 18th year overall at Southwest Baptist. In that time he has coached 11 players to All-American honors and led SBU to its first-ever victory over a ranked opponent with a 20-17 victory over #21 Truman State in 2023.
 
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.
 
MOVING THEM BACKWARDS:  Lincoln has 26 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 19th in Division II in tackles for loss as well as third in the GLVC. Vez Carter has 5.5 tackles for loss on the year and individually ranks 27th in the country and third in the league.
 
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 21 total tackles including 17 solo efforts, the 24th-most in the country.
 
THEY ARE SPECIAL:  The Blue Tigers have made their presence known on special teams, including blocking three kicks, the most in the GLVC and the third-most in the country. Mo Alwaely is one of just 21 kickers in Division who has not missed a field goal try and his four field goals rank him 18th nationally. Clayton Winkler, meanwhile, is fifth in the nation with a 46.5 punting average.
 
TURN ON THE JETS:  When Armani Turner catches the ball, he makes it count, averaging 21.1 yards per reception. Turner, who leads Lincoln with seven catches and 148 yards, ranks 21st in DII in yards per reception.
 
OTHER NATIONAL NOTES:  Jordan Hoskins ranks 22nd nationally in total tackles (9.3) and fifth in solo tackles (7.0). Rakeim Ashford is 17th in the nation in interceptions per game (0.7).
 
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 46.5 yards per punt, an average that also ranks fifth in NCAA Division II. Winkler's success has also led to Lincoln to ranking first in the league and 48th in the country in net punting average (37.0).
 
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 (MO) hosts Lincoln (CA) on Saturday (Oct. 5) in the Blue Tigers' annual Homecoming Game, with kickoff set for 2:00 p.m. CDT.