Senior Rameses Owens (Warrensville Hgts., Ohio/Shaker Heights Robert Morris)) rushed for two touchdowns and quarterback Vincent Espinoza (Madera, Calif./Madera (West Hills)) scrambled for a third and passed for another, all in the second half but the Lincoln University football team was unable to overcome a sloppy first half as Cheyney University took the annual "Battle of the First" game between the two teams 56-28 on Saturday at O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium in Cheyney, Pennsylvania.

The game was the season opener for both teams.

Trailing 56-0 entering the second half, the Lions started their first drive of the third quarter just 22 yards away from a touchdown after Cheyney lost the ball on downs after a forced fumble credited to the Lincoln defense.  Seven plays later Owens ran the ball in from six yards out for his first score of the day, making the score 56-6.

Cole Williams (Laurel, Md./DeMatha Catholic) intercepted a Cheyney pass attempt on the Wolves next drive, again giving the Lions good field position.  Lincoln gained just three yards on their first three plays bringing up a fourth-and-seven…deciding to go for it, Espinoza picked up the first down with a 13-yard run down to the Cheyney 17-yard line.  Two plays later, Espinoza scrambled into the end zone from 16 yards out to cut the deficit to 56-12.

In the fourth quarter, Stephan bolding recovered a fumble in Cheyney territory to again put Lincoln into a good position to score.    The Lions, starting their own 46 yard line following a penalty, needed just four plays to put the ball into the end zone.  The big play on the drive was Espinoza's 43 yard pass to Andre Price (Rialto, Calif./Jurupa Hills (Chabot)) to bring the ball down to the Cheyney nine yard line.  Owens then ran the ball in for the touchdown.  Elijah Smith (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka (Monroe College)) then made a two-point conversion to make the score 56-20 with 8:17 left in the game.

Espinoza connected with Price for the final LU touchdown of the quarter, this one going 41 yards.  He then ran in for the two point conversion to complete the Lions scoring with 2:05 left.  Cheyney then ran out the clock to secure the 56-28 victory.

Owens finished the game with two touchdowns and  78 yards rushing while Espinoza added 54 yards on the ground and one touchdown and had 11 pass completions (out of 19) for 129 yards and one touchdown.  Price led the team with seven receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. Carlos Croslin (Baltimore, Md./Frederick Douglass (Globe Tech) ) had 138 yards on kickoff returns including a 65-yard effort in the first quarter.

The Wolves scored 35 points in the opening quarter taking full advantage of several Lion miscues which allowed Cheyney to start all but one of their drives deep within Lincoln territory.   CU quarterback Dominic Trautz racked up 108 yards passing in the quarter while throwing three touchdown passes, two to receiver Brandon Joyner.  He also ran for one touchdown.

Cheyney added three more scores in the second quarter to boost their lead to 56-0 with Trautz passing for two more touchdown passes and Brandon French rushing for the third.

Trautz finished the game with 230 yards passing and five touchdowns, connecting on 15 of 20 throws. French finished with a game high 79 yards rushing.  Joyner had five receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lions return to action on Saturday, September 9, 2017 when they travel to take on Lincoln University (Missouri) in the "Battle of the Lincolns".  Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.