LEBANON, Ill. - In its highest-scoring game of the season, the Lincoln football team nearly rallied from a 28-point deficit, but McKendree ended up winning in a shootout, 54-48, on Saturday (Oct. 25).

The Bearcats scored four touchdowns in the opening quarter, but the Blue Tigers proved resilient, beginning with Will King III scoring a one-yard touchdown on LU's first drive of the second period. Jalen Thomas rushed for 35 yards on that possession to get the Blue Tigers into scoring position and averaged 4.7 yards per carry for the afternoon. 

Lincoln (2-6, 0-5 GLVC) cut its deficit in half later in the quarter when the Blue Tigers forced a fumble and Jeremiah Gill scooped up the ball and scooted 84 yards for a touchdown. McKendree (4-4, 4-2 GLVC) took back the momentum during the remainder of the quarter, however, kicking a field goal and tacking on another touchdown to take a 38-14 advantage into halftime.

The third quarter belonged to the Blue Tigers, starting on their opening possession, which ended in a three-yard touchdown run by King. On the first play of the second half, Jareese Howard ran 56 yards to put LU in the red zone. Howard finished the day with 94 rushing yards and 15 receiving yards.

After McKendree took advantage of a long kick return to score another touchdown, Jadarrius Thomas got LU back on the board with an eight-yard touchdown run that made the score 45-28. Armani Turner caught a 45-yard pass to get Lincoln onto the Bearcat half of the field and Israel Tate had a pair of 13-yard receptions to set up the rushing touchdown. Later on in the third, Marcus Harris caught a 44-yard pass for another Blue Tiger touchdown, part of an afternoon in which he had seven receptions for 175 yards.

McKendree managed to record a rare defensive two-point conversion after the last touchdown of the third quarter, sending the game into the fourth with the Bearcats ahead, 47-34. Early in the final period, the Bearcats scored on a 61-yard run for their final points of the afternoon. Undeterred, Lincoln got right back in the end zone on its next possession, with Jadarrius Thomas rushing 41 yards for a long touchdown carry of his own.

With LU facing a 54-41 deficit with just over six minutes remaining, Isaiah Franklin intercepted a pass in the end zone and raced 96 yards downfield before being tackled at the four-yard line. Jaden Holloway then caught a pass from Jaylen Thomas to score Lincoln's seventh touchdown of the day. Jaylen Thomas completed 27 passes for 417 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Holloway caught seven passes for 63 yards. Tate, meanwhile, finished with six grabs for 84 yards.

Leroy Tellis ended McKendree's next possession by breaking up a pass, and the Blue Tigers took over at their own 32-yard line facing a six-point deficit with 3:16 remaining. A facemask penalty called against the Bearcats led to a first down at the 50, and a catch-and-run by Holloway advanced LU down to the 38. Harris later caught a pass to move Lincoln into the red zone, but a sack ended up pushing the Blue Tigers backwards. The Blue Tigers would eventually reach the McKendree 13-yard line, but a pair of broken-up passes allowed the Bearcats to escape with the victory.

Nate Harden, who broke up two passes, led LU with eight tackles, Gill finished with seven and Qwalan Miller provided five. Tellis finished with a team-high three pass break-ups while Jamarion Darough, Ke'Ron Blankumsee and Desean Logan-Russell each had one. Dontonio Moore forced a fumble while Andrew Sourinhaphong recorded three tackles. On special team, Max Roth averaged 46.5 yards on punts with a long of 58 yards and Luka Sari averaged 58.8 yards on kickoffs.

The Blue Tigers are back in Jefferson City, Mo. on Saturday (Nov. 1) for their annual Homecoming game. Lincoln plays Truman State in Dwight T. Reed Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CDT.