JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -
Antwon McKay, Jr. threw two touchdown passes,
Kantrell Jordan and
Leonard Butler IV each had rushing scores and the Blue Tiger defense forced three turnovers as the Lincoln football team began its 2026 season with a 27-11 victory over Central Methodist on Saturday night (Aug. 29).
During the opening quarter,
Christian Harris blocked a Central Methodist punt and
Isaiah Franklin recovered the ball at the CMU 11 to set up Lincoln's first touchdown, as Butler raced into the end zone on the first play of the ensuing drive. In the second period,
Shakim Atkinson, Jr. caught a 32-yard pass in the end zone. McKay finished the day with 13 completions for 230 yards while Atkinson had three grabs for 76 yards.
A fumble on a punt attempt early in the opening stanza allowed the Eagles to record a safety, and CMU later kicked a 21-yard field goal early in the second quarter, putting the score at 14-5 in favor of the Blue Tigers heading into halftime. Midway through the third quarter,
Mark Gorbatenko sacked the CMU quarterback, forced a fumble and recovered the ball at the opposing 34 to set up Lincoln's next score. After a three-yard gain by Butler, McKay found
Ron Lunz wide open in the end zone for a 31-yard scoring pass, increasing the LU lead to 20-5.
Facing a 15-point deficit with 9:37 remaining in the game, Central Methodist brought in a new quarterback, who immediately completed a 51-yard pass for CMU's only touchdown of the game. The Eagles went for two, but Lincoln knocked down a pass attempt in the end zone to keep the score at 20-11. Later in the quarter, a 30-yard run put the Eagles just outside the red zone, and Central Methodist later advanced to the LU eight-yard line.
Dempsey Spears, however, made a leaping interception in the end zone to keep the Eagles off the board.
That was as close as Central Methodist would get to rallying. On Lincoln's first play of the next drive, Jordan raced 61 yards to set the Blue Tigers up in the red zone. One play later, Jordan broke two tackles on a 19-yard scamper into the end zone, sealing the season-opening victory for the Blue Tigers. Jordan led LU with 91 yards on the ground while Butler rushed for 50 and
Nicolas Johnson was next with 29.
Keshun Archie also had a forced fumble and a recovery, and broke up two passes to go with four tackles.
TJ Kelly led the Lincoln defense with 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, and Gorbatenko had five takedowns, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a hurry. Lincoln had 11 total tackles for loss and five sacks, including one by
Julius Lowery, who made four total tackles.
Jeremiah Wright notched a pair of hurries and made seven tackles, and
Dempsey Spears added six tackles, including 1.5 for a loss.
Scotty Dobbins also had six tackles and one tackle for loss, and Franklin and
Justin Hollingsworth each had five takedowns.
Justin Spears recorded a tackle for loss while
Landon Sims had a hurry and Madox Jones broke up a pass.
Antwone Gooden averaged 49.0 yards punting.
Jayce Laughter averaged 66.5 yards on kickoffs, with four touchbacks, and also gained 19 yards on a fake punt that resulted in a first down. Lunz added 79 receiving yards and Travis Reeves tallied two receptions.
The win marks the second-straight season that the Blue Tigers have opened a campaign with a win. Lincoln began 2025 with a 2-0 record and will try to repeat the feat when LU hosts Langston on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:00 p.m. CDT.
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