BUENA VISTA, Va. (September 6, 2008) – Lincoln University of Pennsylvania freshman wide receiver Trey Thomas (Canton, GA/Woodstock) (Canton, GA/Woodstock) caught a pair of touchdown passes, but it wasn't enough to help the Lions overcome a slow start in a 55-25 loss to Southern Virginia University Saturday evening at Parry McCluer High School. (BOXSCORE)
Thomas caught a 14-yard scoring strike in the first quarter that sliced Southern Virginia's advantage to 14-7. He also added a 25-yard scoring catch late in the fourth quarter. Overall, Thomas finished the game with eight catches for 148 yards, including a 40-yard grab that help set up the Lions first scoring drive.
Sophomore business major Daron Jones (Baltimore, Md./Cardinal Gibbons HS) (Baltimore, MD/Cardinal Gibbons) recovered a fumble for the Lions in the third quarter. Lincoln's special teams scored when freshman Marcus Richardson (Ardmore, PA/Glen Mills) (Ardmore,PA/Glen Mills) picked up a blocked punt early in the fourth quarter and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown. Freshman business major Bruce-Lee Sterile (Miami, FL/North Miami Senior) was credited with the blocked punt. Senior health science major and wide receiver Steven Rudd (Philadelphia, PA/Southern) (Philadelphia, PA/Southern) caught a 4-yard touchdown pass, his second in as many weeks.
Lincoln, which was mentioned in this week's Sports Illustrated magazine, saw its overall record fall to 1-1.
“As far as we're concerned, we didn't come out to play,” Lincoln coach O.J. Abanishe said. “We didn't pick up our game until after the second half. If we put in the type of effort we did in the fourth quarter, we might've had a chance. Against a team like SVU, you can't wait until the fourth quarter to start playing.”
Backup quarterback and physical education major Aaron Thomas (Oxford, Pa./Oxford Area HS) (Oxford, PA/Oxford) came off the bench to throw a pair of touchdown tosses. Freshman criminal justice major Dwight Williams (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek) led Lincoln in rushing with 67 yards on 13 carries.
Lincoln's early mistakes allowed Southern Virginia to get off to a quick start. The Lions fell into a quick 14-point hole following a blocked punt and an interception that allowed the Knights to begin scoring drives at the Lincoln 5 and 15-yard lines, respectively. Harry Collins capped both drives with short scoring runs.
“Give all the credit to SVU, their quarterback (Luke Taylor) was awesome,” Abanishe said. “Every pass he threw was right on the money. Their offensive line did an outstanding job of protecting.”
Southern Virginia scored 28 points in the second quarter to open a 42-7 halftime advantage. Aside from the two turnovers and blocked punt, the biggest difference in the first half was third-down conversions. Lincoln was 1-for-8 on third down conversions in the opening half while SVU converted 7-of-9. Collins scored three touchdowns – all on short runs. Southern Virginia out-gained Lincoln, 282-106, in the first half.
Lincoln returns to action next Saturday when it hosts CIAA opponent Fayetteville State at Avon Grove High School starting at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for the game are available on Lincoln's website through EX-TIXX. Anyone not able to attend the game, can listen to all of the action on www.brandywineradio.com with Ryan Messick describing every second of the game.
--LU--
