Lincoln Blue Tigers Beat Texas College, 62-6, on Homecoming

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri  --  Morris Henderson ran for four touchdowns, Owen Jordan threw for three more and the Lincoln football team racked up 600 yards of offense in a 62-6 win over Texas College on Saturday (Oct. 18).

Saturday was Homecoming for Lincoln, and the Blue Tigers gave a packed Dwight T. Reed Stadium a lot to cheer for, starting with a 66-yard touchdown run by Henderson on the second play of the game. Henderson later scored from 42 yards out following an interception by Reggie McMillan, the first of four on the day by LU. In the first quarter alone, Henderson gained 119 yards and the two scores on just five carries.

The game briefly turned into a defensive tussle after that point, but Henderson changed that with just under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter with a 38-yard run down to the Texas College 28. Owen Jordan then hit Delvon Rouser for a nine-yard completion before finding Bryson Winfrey for a 19-yard touchdown. The drive came after Lincoln's defense forced the Steers to turn the ball over on downs deep at the LU 34 and took just three plays.

Kerry Roby put the Blue Tigers back on the scoreboard with 2:54 left in the half, intercepting a Texas College pass at the TC 40 and making several players miss while running all the way into the end zone. Robert Daniels had previously returned a pick for a score against St. Joseph's on Oct. 11, giving Lincoln a pick-six in two consecutive weeks.

Lincoln (2-5) would score again on its next drive, with Henderson finding the end zone for the third time on the afternoon on a five-yard run. That drive was set up by Jordan completions of 22-yards to Henderson and 20-yards to Khiry Draine and gave the Blue Tigers a 35-0 lead entering halftime.

Texas College (0-8) would get on the board for the only time on its opening drive of the second half on a drive that was ultimately kept alive by a pass interference call on Lincoln on a fourth-down incompletion. After receiving that new life, TC hit back-to-back passes of 13-yards and nine-yards, with the latter coming in the end zone. The Steers decided to go for two, but Lawrence Cayou stopped Texas College's quarterback on a keeper short of the goal-line to keep it a 35-6 game.

It didn't take long for Lincoln to answer, though, as Henderson scored his fourth and final touchdown of the day on a 21-yard scamper on the Blue Tigers' ensuing drive. The touchdown was the first of the season in a third quarter by the Blue Tigers, and was set up by an 18-yard reception by Henderson and an 11-yard catch by Draine.

Daniels ended the Steers' drive with an interception that gave LU the ball at the TC 45. A 20-yard run by Henderson moved the ball down to the LU 20, and on the next play, Jordan made it a 48-6 ballgame on a throw to Draine. Henderson finished his day with 222 yards rushing and 46 yards receiving for 268 all-purpose yards. Draine led the receiving corps with five catches for 76 yards while Winfrey had three receptions for 40 yards.

The Blue Tigers added two more scores in the fourth quarter, with the first set-up by Austin Chiagorom's first career interception. After three rushes by Mustafa Rosenetted 19 yards, Jordan connected with Vanzell Richardson on a 66-yard completion for a score. Jordan ended his day with 17 completions to eight different receivers for 261 yards and the three scores. Dennis Vinson replaced Jordan late in the fourth quarter, with his only completion going 22 yards to Christopher Willis for Lincoln's ninth touchdown of the contest.

The 62 points were the most scored by a Blue Tiger team since 1964, when Lincoln scored 73 in a shutout of Missouri S&T. Lincoln also hung 62 points against St. Mary's in 1963, with that amount being the fourth-most points scored by a Lincoln team in a single game. The 56-point margin of victory is the largest for Lincoln since that 1963 win over St. Mary's. The victory also gives Lincoln its second Homecoming win in the past three years, as the Blue Tigers also picked up a 34-27 Homecoming win over Nebraska-Kearney in 2012.

Davon Walls led the Lincoln defense with six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries, a sack and a forced fumble. Kareem Joyner also had six tackles to go with 1.5 tackles for loss while Treston Pulley added five takedowns, 1.5 TFL and a broken-up pass. Daniels and Stephen Marsh each added five tackles while McMillan, Roby and Jeremy Rives all finished with four. William Coleman posted a team-best two sacks while Derrick Nash and Eric Howard both had tackles for loss.

Julio Segura averaged 40.2 yards on four punts, three of which pinned the Steers inside their own 20. Segura also averaged 60.3 yards on 10 kickoffs. Andrew Fisheltacked on eight extra points, tying Gerald Walker's LU single-game record. Willis ran 23 yards on a punt return, Lincoln's only special teams return of the afternoon.

Up next for the Blue Tigers are their two longest road trips of the season. Lincoln will close out October at Indianapolis next Saturday (Oct. 25), with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT.



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