Box Score SALISBURY, N.C. – Doug Cook (Dania Beach, FL/University School of Nova SE University) threw for a career-high 463 yards and five touchdowns, but the Lincoln University football team couldn't rally from a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes as the Lions dropped a tough 48-44 decision to Livingstone College at Alumni Memorial Stadium in a CIAA contest on Saturday afternoon.
 
It didn't take long for the Lions (0-4 overall, 0-1 CIAA), who amassed 547 total yards of offense, to get on the scoreboard as Cook, who was 39-of-70 passing, completed a 70-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Falucon to give Lincoln a 7-0 lead with 13:09 remaining in the first quarter.
 
The Blue Bears (1-3 overall, 1-0 CIAA), who finished with 490 total yards, scored 28 unanswered points to grab a 28-7 advantage, but the Lions trimmed the margin to 28-14 when Kester Lewis (Bowie, Md./Grady HS) caught a 1-yard pass from Cook with 5:03 left in the first half.
 
A Kyle Jaski (Escondido, Calif./Kenwood HS) 22-yard field goal right before half cut the Livingstone advantage to 35-17.
 
In the second half, the Lions, who were battling key injuries offensively and defensively, went to work on the Blue Bears defense as Lincoln scored 21 unanswered points to grab a 38-35 lead.
 
Lewis caught his second touchdown pass of the day on a 3-yard reception from Cook with 12:25 remaining in the quarter and Kasey Gable scored on a 1-yard run to cut the deficit to 35-30 with 4:55 left. Cook connected with Philip Jean-Juste (Miami, Fla. /North Miami Beach HS) on a 30-yard touchdown strike to complete a 10-play, 60-yard drive to give Lincoln its second lead of the afternoon at the end of the third quarter.
 
However, Drew Powell connected with Jalen Hendricks with 9:36 remaining to give Livingstone the lead for good at 41-38. Carl James caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Powell with 4:33 left to give the Blue Bears a 48-38 lead.
 
The Lions tried to mount one more final comeback in the last four minutes.
 
Jean-Juste caught his second touchdown pass – a 6-yard pass from Cook – with 1:30 remaining to trim the margin to 48-44.
 
On its next possession, Livingstone was forced to punt the football with 11 seconds remaining, but the Lions were unable to score the game-winning touchdown.
Jean-Juste finished with a career-high 16 catches for 121 yards. Matt Coston had eight receptions for 91 yards and Lewis added 94 yards on seven catches. Gerald Swain (Burlington Township, N.J./Burlington Township HS) had 39 yards on 16 carries to lead the ground game.
 
Defensively, Xavier Freeman (Linden, N.J./Linden HS) recorded 10 total tackles, including nine solo stops. Tim Green (Fanwood, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS) finished with nine tackles, including three for a loss of 13 yards. He also added one pass break-up and one sack.
 
The 44 points Lincoln scored was the most since 1946 when the Lions defeated Cheyney, 72-13. The two teams combined for 92 points, the most in Lincoln University football history.
 
The Lions return home on Saturday, Sept. 29 as Lincoln takes on Johnson C. Smith in the Inaugural Hall of Fame game. Kickoff is 1 p.m., and the 2012 Class will be introduced at halftime of the game.