JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri -- Three school records were broken and two more were tied as the Lincoln football team defeated Northeastern State, 42-33, on Saturday (Nov. 9). Jacob Morris posted 314 yards of total offense and threw four touchdown passes as Lincoln won its second game overall, and first MIAA contest, of the season.Morris threw for 212 yards and added 102 more on the ground, with his four touchdown passes tying James Lang's single-game record. Morris, who broke Lincoln single-season total offense record with 187 combined first half yards, also broke LU's single-game completion percentage mark, connecting on 17 of his 23 attempts for an accuracy rating of 74%, besting Bill Swats' record of 67%. Morris now has 2,392 yards of total offense on the season, beating the 1988 record of 2,194 set by Steve Bohlken with still one game yet to go in the season.
Lincoln (2-8, 1-8 MIAA) led for most of the game, starting in the first quarter when Morris connected on a 38-yard pass to Morris Henderson to put LU ahead 7-6. Northeastern State (1-9, 1-8 MIAA) had got on the scoreboard with a 12-yard reception on the previous possession, but the RiverHawks missed the point-after try after it was moved back following a substitution infraction.
A short field goal allowed NSU to take a two-point lead into the second quarter, but it didn't take the Blue Tigers long to answer. Morris completed another long touchdown pass, this one 32 yards to Khiry Draine, and the Blue Tigers went took a 14-9 lead. After forcing the RiverHawks to punt, Lincoln padded its league on its ensuing possession, with Morris hitting Andre Borney on a 25-yard scoring pass. Northeastern State responded with a touchdown drive of its own on the next possession, and later connected on another field goal, but it was the Blue Tigers on top, 21-19, when the game entered halftime.
Northeastern State got the ball to start the second half and made its possession count, retaking the lead on a nine-yard rush. After offsides was called on a Blue Tiger, Northeastern State opted to kick the extra point, which was good. Lincoln was again called offsides, however, and the ball being moved to the half-yard line caused the RiverHawks to reconsider. NSU took the point off the board and decided to instead go for two, but the Blue Tigers stopped the RiverHawks' run attempt short of the goal line to keep the score 25-21 in favor of NSU.
Lincoln's next drive stalled and Northeastern State took over, once again driving the ball deep into LU territory. That's when the Blue Tigers made the first of two impressive stops on defense, both of which gave Lincoln big momentum boosts. After a false start penalty gave NSU a 1st-and-15 at the LU 41, the Blue Tiger defense gave up just four yards, forcing two short completions and two incompletions as the RiverHawks turned the ball over on downs.
That turned the quarter around for Lincoln, as Morris moved the ball down straight down the field, with passes of 14 and 20 yards to Draine resulting in key first downs. Morris Henderson, who finished a big day of his own with 149 rushing yards and 74 kick return yards, gave Lincoln back the lead with a four-yard run into the end zone. The Blue Tigers ended the third quarter up, 28-25, and never trailed again en route to the win.
After Northeastern State's next drive ended with a missed 52-yard field goal try, Henderson again provided a boost on offense, starting the next drive with carries for 12, seven and 16 yards. Morris again made big plays with his arm, finding Draine twice on 15-yard completions, with the second coming in the end zone on a play that put Lincoln ahead by 10.
The RiverHawks entered Lincoln territory once again on their next drive, and the Blue Tiger defense once again came up big as LU halted a chance for Northeastern State to cut into Lincoln's lead. NSU drove down to the LU 28, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the RiverHawks back to the 43. On second down, Lincoln tackled a receiver behind the line of scimmage. The LU defense then made arguably its biggest play of the game on third down, sacking NSU quarterback Thor Long, who had broken tackles and sacks all game, for an eight-yard loss.
Northeastern State was forced to punt, and the Lincoln offense put together one more scoring drive to ice its first home victory of 2013. On the opening play of the drive, Morris ran 41-yards down to the NSU 39. Two plays later, Henderson rushed for 33 yards down to the four-yard line before taking the ball in himself for his second rushing score of the afternoon.
The RiverHawks managed to score one more touchdown, adding a two-point conversion to make it a 42-33 contest, but it ended up being too little, too late. NSU tried an onside kick, but Borney caught the ball in mid-air and Lincoln was able to run out the clock. The win gave the Blue Tigers their first MIAA win since beating Nebraska-Kearney last season. As that victory came at Jefferson City High School following a weather-delay, Saturday's victory over Northeastern State was the first win for Lincoln at Dwight T. Reed Stadium since beating Avila to open the 2011 season.
Andrew Fishel also had a record-breaking day, as his six successful point after tries gave him 44 points on the season, breaking the school single-season record for points scored by a kicker of 41, set in 1964 by Gerald Walker. Fishel also tied Walker's single-season record of 29 successful point after attempts, and could break the record with one more in Lincoln's final game next week.
Timmy Dunn led the Blue Tiger defense with eight tackles while Jamell Tombah and Tyrone Moore each had seven. Darryl Blackmon made five tackles, including one for a loss, and John Rose posted one solo sack while assisting on a second with Michael Lloyd. Markuice Savage made five solo tackles and broke up two passes while John McCain and Faleoga Russell were each credited with quarterback hurries. Treston Pulley contributed six tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Other notable performances by Blue Tigers included Draine catching five passes for 96 yards, Henderson finishing with 42 yards on three receptions and Percy Turner making two grabs for 37 yard. Julio Segura also had a big day in the kicking game, averaging 36.0 yards on punts with three pinning NSU inside its 20 and 56.1 yards on kickoffs with two touchbacks.
The Blue Tigers will close out the 2013 season at home next Saturday (Nov. 16) when Lincoln hosts Southwest Baptist at 2:00 p.m. CT. That game will be Senior Day, with 17 LU seniors playing their final game at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
By Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
COURTESY LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SPORTS INFORMATION
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