Saturday, October 20, 2018

Big Runs, Tremendous Defense Lead LU to Road Win

LIBERTY, Missouri  --  The Lincoln football tallied more rushing yards than William Jewell had total yards as the Blue Tigers earned a 23-14 road win over the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 20).

Kimbo Ferguson rushed for 112 yards, Henry Ogala had both rushing and passing touchdowns and Terry Hunter added another scoring run as the Blue Tigers totaled 230 yards on the ground. The Lincoln defense had another outstanding performance, giving up just 222 total yards, including 88 on the ground and 134 through the air.

JaJuan Chambers Running Off the Field at Missouri StateWilliam Jewell (1-6, 1-4 GLVC) took advantage of good starting field position for the first score of the contest, as the Cardinals marched 49 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter on a one-yard run. Lincoln (3-5, 2-3 GLVC) matched the score midway through the second period, as Hunter's two-yard run capped off a 39-yard drive that was set by a good punt return from Hasan Muhammad-Rogers. Ogala accounted for 32 of those yards on three completions, including a 13-yard throw to Eric Brice down to the two-yard line.

Fernando Ramirez tacked on a 32-yard field goal with less than a minute until halftime to give Lincoln a 10-7 lead it would never relinquish. On LU's first drive of the second half, Brice hauled in a 17-yard pass from Ogala to give the Blue Tigers a nine-point advantage.

BOX SCORE

The two teams traded scores on the ensuing drives, with William Jewell using a 44-yard touchdown reception for its final points of the afternoon. Lincoln responded quickly, as Ogala found Blake Tibbs for a 55-yard completion down to the one-yard line, and then scored himself on a keeper to extend the LU lead back up to nine.

The LU defense controlled the game after that, allowing the Cardinals to gain just 60 yards in the fourth quarter. Lincoln limited the Cardinals to just one successful third-down conversion in nine tries, and recorded four tackles for loss, three sacks and seven quarterback hurries throughout the contest.

Saint Durassaint and JaJuan Chambers combined for eight tackles and five hurries, with each player also registering a sack. Amani Nelson, Victor Williams and Austin Harris each had four tackles apiece, and Isaiah Gray led the Blue Tigers with five takedowns. Micah Scott also had a tackle for loss while Chavon Gross broke up two passes.

Tibbs had 70 yards to lead LU's receivers, and Ogala completed 14 of his 19 pass attempts for 158 yards and the score. Ogala added 60 yards on the ground while Hunter was next with 52.

Lincoln won a conference game on the road for the first time as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and earned its first league road win since 1975.

The Blue Tigers will try for another road win next Saturday (Oct. 27) as Lincoln travels down to Rolla, Mo. for a 7:00 p.m. CT game against Missouri S&T.

Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

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