GAME NOTES

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. — Lincoln (3-6) concludes its second season since the reinstatement of the football program by taking on Saint Paul's College (3-5) at 1 p.m at Parkview High School in South Hill, Va.

Lincoln hopes to end the season positively by picking up a fourth win, which would be the most the program has had since a 4-3-1 campaign in 1954. During that span, Lincoln had two two-win seasons (1957, 1959), four one-win seasons (1955, 1956, 1958, 2008) and a winless season (1960). The Lions, though, have dropped four straight contests, last winning at Livingstone College Sept. 26, a 10-0 victory.

Last week, Lincoln scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns but lost 34-14.With each strike the Lions offered, Virginia State countered.

D'Ante Smith (Bowie. MD, Riverdale Baptist) reached the end zone in the middle of the fourth quarter last week on a 20-yard touchdown run. It was his second touchdown run of the year and his first since the season opener against Cheyney, also a 20-yard scamper. The sophomore back from Maryland figured to play a large role in this offense in 2009, but he missed one game because of a death in the family and missed another with a bad hamstring. Of his 386 yards this year, 114 came against Livingstone College on Sept. 26

Brandon McElwee (Gloucester City, NJ, Gloucester City Junior and Senior) had 13 stops against Elizabeth City State to bring his total to 74, trailing only Brucelee Sterile (Miami, FL, North Miami Beach) with 80. The two have been in the race for most stops all season, and McElwee closed the gap significantly when Sterile had eight tackles against Virginia State. McElwee had 4.5 tackles for loss last week. His 13.5 in 2009 lead Sterile by 2.5.

Senior back/wide receiver Trey Thomas (Canton, GA, Woodstock) had six receptions for 66 yards to up his totals to 46 and 576, respectively. He is the only Lincoln player to run (1), pass (1) and catch (3) touchdowns this year. Those three touchdown grabs are second for Lincoln. He is also the only Lincoln player to eclipse 100 yards receiving in a game when he had 108 against Southern Virginia.

The offense was led by Laquan Williams (Philadelphia, PA, Bartram). The true freshman quarterback led Lincoln on two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter as LU attempted to mount a comeback last week against Virginia State. He finished 14 of 18 for 132 yards with two interceptions. While the line itself is not overly impressive, he accomplished this against the nation's No. 2 pass defense. He also gave Lincoln its first points early in the fourth quarter on a quarterback keeper from one yard out.

St. Paul's enters the season finale having dropped its last two games. Last week, Elizabeth City won at Lawrenceville, VA, 38-12. In the previous week, Bowie State hosted SPC and pitched a 14-0 shutout. The Tigers average just 10.9 points per game and have been shutout three times. The running game has been a strong point, accruing 138.4 yards per game, but the passing game has been anemic, contributing just 76 yards each Saturday. Defensively, SPC allows less than 280 yards per game, and opponents have yet to surpass the 1,000-yard mark on the ground (906). Last week, Emory Addison had 4 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown, one of two touchdown passes for Alwan Lee. He threw for 81 yards.

Lincoln is 20-4 all-time against St. Paul's, the second most wins against any school next to the 24 victories over Howard. Last season, Lincoln scored the lone first quarter points on a 17-yard run by Smith. Saint Paul's scored 23 consecutive points before Lincoln attempted a second-half rally. Smith had a 29-yard touchdown reception and Kareem Dennis (Philadelphia, PA/Lincoln) (Philadelphia, PA/Lincoln) had a 45-yard touchdown pass to Andre Crier (Lake Ridge, VA/Woodbridge) with 14:50 remaining. However, Lincoln could not find the points to either tie the game or take the lead, losing 23-20 in the home finale.