Lincoln University of Missouri Athletics

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln football team pulled within seven late in the third quarter, but McKendree scored a safety and a touchdown in the final minutes to beat the Blue Tigers, 30-20, on Saturday (Oct. 24).

McKendree (3-5, 3-3 GLVC) scored on its opening drive, but Lincoln (2-5, 1-4 GLVC) kept the Bearcats off the board until the 9:02 mark of the second quarter, when a 75-yard pass made it a 14-0 ballgame. The Bearcats added another touchdown with 22 seconds left until halftime to go into the break ahead, 21-0.

The Blue Tigers dominated the third quarter, however, beginning with Ron Lunz catching a seven-yard pass from Antwon McKay, Jr. for Lincoln's first score of the afternoon. Kymani Clark caught passes of 18 and 15 yards to move the ball onto the Bearcat side of the field and a nine-yard grab by Khylin Arnett moved Lincoln into the red zone. The LU defense then ended the ensuing McKendree drive with a strip sack, as Mark Gorbatenko forced the quarterback to fumble, and Caesar Travers scooped up the ball and returned it to the Bearcat 22.

McKay connected with Shakim Atkinson, Jr. on an eight-yard pass to that set the Blue Tigers up at the 12, then ran the ball in on a keeper to pull the Blue Tigers to within 21-14. Early in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats tried a 45-yard field goal, but Julius Lowery got a hand on the ball to force it to go low and wide of the goal posts. 

Later in the quarter, Justin Hollingsworth and Michael Allen combined to sack the McKendree quarterback for a 10-yard loss, and Matt Shelton, Jr. recorded an 11-yard sack that moved the Bearcats out of field goal position, forcing another punt. The Blue Tigers were unable to capitalize, however, and a bad snap on a punt attempt led to a safety for McKendree. The Bearcats then scored on a 23-yard pass to increase their lead to 30-14.

Undeterred, Lincoln moved the ball 70 yards down the field on its final possession. McKay picked up first downs with an 11-yard throw to Atkinson, a 16-yard grab by Arnett and a 10-yard catch from Clary to reach the McKendree 25. On the final play of the game, McKay heaved the ball into the end zone, and Atkinson out-jumped a Bearcat defender to make the 25-yard catch for the final score of 30-20.

McKay completed 18 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns and led LU's rushing attack with 64 yards. Kantrell Jordan gained 35 yards on the ground and Mikelis Johnson was next with 27. Clark caught five passes for 55 yards, both team-highs, and Atkinson had 44 receiving yards. 

Gorbatenko finished with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a hurry. TJ Kelly had eight tackles while Travers and Scotty Dobbins each made seven. Hollingsworth and Dempsey Spears both had hurries while Isaiah Franklin intercepted a pass. Justin Spears and Kaliub Hopkins broke up a passes. Kalvin Moua returned two kicks for 51 yards and Jayce Laughter averaged 59.8 yards on kickoffs.

Lincoln is on the road for each of its next two games, starting next Saturday (Oct. 31) with a trip to Kirksville, Mo. to play Truman State at 1:00 p.m. CT.