JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -
Antwon McKay, Jr. threw four touchdown passes, the Blue Tiger defense recorded five sacks and two receivers each had over 100 yards as the Lincoln football team won its Homecoming game, 34-32, over Upper Iowa on Saturday (Sept. 26).
McKay completed 13 passes for 249 yards and led LU with 50 yards on the ground.
Khylin Arnett and
Ron Lunz each caught two touchdown passes, with Arnett finishing with three grabs for 117 yards and Lunz tallying 113 yards on six receptions.
Kantrell Jordan provided 47 rushing yards and a touchdown.
After Upper Iowa (1-3, 0-1 GLVC) took an early 6-0 lead, Lunz caught a 22-yard pass in the end zone to give Lincoln (2-2, 1-1 GLVC) a one-point advantage midway through the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Peacocks regained the lead on a five-yard run, but a 69-yard completion by McKay to Arnett tied the contest at 13-13. After UIU connected on a 41-yard field goal, Lincoln took the lead for good when Lunz caught a 39-yard pass from McKay late in the second quarter.
A 39-yard field goal allowed the Peacocks to close the gap to 20-19 just before halftime. With 4:57 remaining in the third quarter, though, Jordan scored on a one-yard run after the Blue Tigers recovered a blocked punt near the end zone.
Marion Slater ended UIU's next drive by forcing a fumble on a sack, and
Mark Gorbatenko recovered it to set up the Blue Tigers on Upper Iowa's side of the field. Three plays later, Arnett caught a 43-yard pass at the two, then side-stepped into the end zone to give the Blue Tigers a 34-19 advantage.
An eight-yard scramble into the end zone by Upper Iowa's quarterback capped off a long drive that pulled the Peacocks to back within eight, and a short drive set up by an interception led to another UIU touchdown with 8:35 remaining. The Peacocks went for two, but the Blue Tiger defense stopped an Upper Iowa receiver just outside the goal line to keep LU up by two points.
Upper Iowa eventually got back onto Lincoln's side of the field, but a 13-yard sack by Slater forced the Peacocks to punt with 2:01 to play. Jordan gained 13 yards on three carries to pick up a first down, but Lincoln was ultimately forced to punt with 12 ticks left on the clock. The Peacocks took over at their own 30, but a quick pass followed by several laterals was foiled by the LU defense, securing Lincoln's Homecoming victory.
Julius Lowery led the Lincoln defense with 10 tackles while Slater finished with seven takedowns, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a break-up and a forced fumble. Gorbatenko also had a pair of sacks and three total tackles for loss to go with a fumble recovery, a hurry and seven tackles.
TJ Kelly and
Jeremiah Wright finished with eight tackles apiece.
Keshun Archie also forced a fumble and made six takedowns.
Justin Spears broke up two passes and
Scotty Dobbins had a sack.
Christian Harris had the punt block and
Matt Shelton, Jr. recorded six tackles.
Kalvin Moua gained 85 yards on three kick returns,
Jayce Laughter averaged 62.7 yards on kickoffs and
Antwone Gooden averaged 33.7 yards on punts.
Lincoln travels to Bolivar, Mo. next Saturday (Oct. 3) to play Southwest Baptist at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
Â
