JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – With the temperature colder than in games past, it took both teams awhile to warm up, as LaGrange capitalized on Lincoln turnovers to defeat the Blue Tigers, 20-7, in non-conference football action Saturday at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
Lincoln (0-6) had the kind of start they wanted, taking the opening kickoff out near their own 40 after freshman O’Hara Fluellen nearly broke free. The Blue Tigers then pounded it out on the ground, converting a pair of third downs to get down inside LaGrange’s 40, but the Panthers held the Blue Tigers out from that point forcing a punt.
Both defenses were able to bend, but not break on both teams’ first drives, as LaGrange (2-3) moved the ball well against Lincoln’s defense on their first possession, but were stuffed on a third down pass just inside Blue Tiger territory to get the ball back to the Lincoln offense.
With field possession becoming a point of infuses, the Panthers got the break they needed on the next Lincoln possession.
Lincoln turned the ball over on a pitch attempt inside their own 30, which LaGrange pounced on giving them great field position. Three plays later, freshman quarterback Michael May delivered a strike to a wide open Stephen Tuck, who would rumble into the end zone giving LaGrange a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Both teams would trade possessions until another Blue Tiger turnover inside their own 30 gave LaGrange another chance, which they would cash in, this time in four plays on a May pass to the back of the end zone to Nick Langley and following Josh Stripling’s extra point, the Panthers were ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter.
The Blue Tigers turned things around in the second half, as trailing 17-0, the defense forced a three-and-out to give the offense decent field position at their own 45.
Lincoln was not to be denied on this drive, as junior quarterback Josh Goffigan took a majority of the carries and pounded for 10 yards to move Lincoln inside Panther territory.
Goffigan then threw a strike to running back Chris Willis, who made a terrific sliding catch to move the chains again and put Lincoln near the Panthers’ 30.
After a Willis run moved Lincoln to the 11, Goffigan did the rest, taking it up the gut behind the offensive line and finding a way into the end zone to trim the lead to 17-7 with 10:38 still to go in the third quarter.
The Blue Tiger defense kept the momentum going, forcing another three-and-out to give the offense another chance to keep chipping away.
Lincoln rolled all the way down to LaGrange’s 36, but then ran into some trouble, with a fumble and a penalty that setup a third-and-long, which the Panthers would hold on and the following fourth down to deny the lengthy drive that took almost six minutes.
The Blue Tigers would mount one last drive in the fourth quarter, chewing up six minutes off the clock, but again ran into trouble near the Panthers’ 30 yard line, as LaGrange came through with a big sack on a 2nd-and-five at the 26 to keep Lincoln away from anymore points.
Willis had a big game for Lincoln, rushing 12 times for 56 yards, while Goffigan tallied 26 carries for 46 yards and the one touchdown. Freshman workhorse Andre Young added 10 rushes for 38 yards to bring his season total to 288.
May had a solid game passing for the Panthers, completing 21-of-34 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns; he also added eight carries for 23 yards. Devin Billings and Tuck benefited from all the passing, as Billings tallied 48 yards on five catches, while Tuck added 59 yards on four receptions.
Lincoln will look for their first win of the season when they welcome in NAIA Peru State for homecoming next Saturday, October 10 with kickoff set for 2 p.m. CT.
Box Score (Final)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
LaGrange............ 7 10 0 3 - 20 Record: (2-3)
Lincoln University.. 0 0 7 0 - 7 Record: (0-6,0-1)
Scoring Summary:
1st 02:22 LC - Stephen Tuck 22 yd pass from Michael May (Josh Stripling kick), 3-22 0:53, LC 7 - LU 0
2nd 09:43 LC - Nick Langley 2 yd pass from Michael May (Josh Stripling kick), 4-28 1:36, LC 14 - LU 0
01:50 LC - Josh Stripling 26 yd field goal, 10-57 5:03, LC 17 - LU 0
3rd 10:38 LU - Goffigan, J. 11 yd run (Campbell, A. kick), 7-55 3:27, LC 17 - LU 7
4th 01:40 LC - Josh Stripling 30 yd field goal, 9-31 3:09, LC 20 - LU 7