JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - It was just a seven-point game at halftime, but Southwest Baptist pulled away in the third quarter to hand the Lincoln football team a 50-21 loss on Saturday (Oct. 4).

Jaylen Thomas scored on a 69-yard run and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass while completing 17 passes for 245 yards. He also led the Blue Tigers with 73 rushing yards, followed by JaDarrius Thomas with 52 and Jareese Howard with 40. Kantrell Jordan gained 34 yards on the ground while Jalen Thomas added 11 yards on three carries.

On the first offensive play of the game, the Blue Tigers dropped a backwards pass and Southwest Baptist (3-2, 2-1 GLVC) scooped up the ball and scored on a nine-yard return. The LU defense shut out the Bearcat offense during the first quarter, and Jaylen Thomas tied the game early in the second on his long touchdown run. SBU responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive of its own to take a 14-7 lead over Lincoln (2-3, 0-3 GLVC).

On the ensuing drive, Israel Tate caught a 44-yard pass to bring the Blue Tigers into the red zone. Howard capped the possession two plays later with a 19-yard touchdown run, tying the game back up at 14. Lincoln forced a punt on SBU's next possession, but the Blue Tigers had to punt the ball back to the Bearcats. SBU tried to pick up a first down on a 4th-and-10 at the LU 38, but the Blue Tiger defense got the stop.

With 1:13 remaining until halftime, Southwest Baptist took over at its own 12, but received some good fortune that allowed the Bearcats to take back the lead. A pass that bounced off the hands of the intended receiver took a fluke bounce forward and was caught by another SBU player, who raced into the end zone to give Southwest Baptist a 21-14 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Bearcats scored a pair of quick touchdowns, including one on a pick-six, but Lincoln tried to rally with a scoring drive of its own. Jaylen Thomas completed passes of 15 and 16 yards before connecting with Jaden Holloway in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Tate ended the game with 72 receiving yards and Holloway finished with 71 while Marcus Harris had a team-high 85 yards on four receptions.

That was as close as the Blue Tigers would come to making a comeback, as Southwest Baptist scored 19 points during the third period and kept Lincoln off the board in the fourth. Lincoln ran for 210 yards and had 245 passing yards for 455 yards of total offense.

Chris Gonzalez led LU with 2.5 tackles for loss and matched Michael Allen with seven total takedowns. Devayne Johnson had a solo sack and Allen and Jordan Hoskins combined for another sack. Yasir Talib-Harrison, Renard Willis, Ryan Reese, Vijay Jones and Osten Patterson each recorded a tackle for loss while Justin Hollingsworth and Ke'Ron Blankumsee each broke up passes. Leroy Tellis and Andrew Sourinhaphong, meanwhile, finished with six tackles apiece.

Lincoln remains at home to host Northeastern State in a non-conference game next Saturday (Oct. 11). Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CDT.