THE BASICS
Game #4: Lincoln (PA) (0-3) at St. Augustine's University (0-3)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 23 - 5:00 p.m.
Location:  Lincoln University, Pa.
Stadium (Capacity):  Lions Stadium (2,600)
Live Video/Stats – http://www.lulions.com/sports/2014/9/6/GEN_0906142618.aspx
Series – St. Augustine's leads the series

TICKET PRICES

Ticket prices are $25 for reserved seats (Section F); $15 for general admission and $10 for visiting students, military personnel, senior citizens and youth ages 5-12 years old. Children under 5 years old admitted free. 

THE OPENING KICK

Saturday's game will be the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) opener for both teams.
Both teams are seeking their first win as the Lions opened their season with a 56-28 loss at Cheyney University, a 49-19 loss at Lincoln (Mo.) and a 48-10 loss at Alderson-Broaddus last weekend.   The Falcons opened the season with a 49-0 loss at Catawba; a 41-14 loss at Carson-Newman and a 66-20 home loss last weekend to Bowie State
The Lions are seeking their first conference win since a 20-10 win over Shaw University on September 26, 2015, a stretch of 20 consecutive losses.  The Shaw win is Lincoln's only CIAA win over the past four seasons.

LAST MEETING

Lincoln's Elijah Smith (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka (Monroe College)) became the first Lions player since the program was revived to take a kickoff return all the way back for a touchdown, running 88-yards in the first quarter for the score while Jason Epps (Bowie, MD/Bowie High School) threw for 338 yards and two touchdown passes in the Lions 35-31 loss to the Falcons in Raleigh, North Carolina last year.

Smith's touchdown tied the game at 7-7 before the Falcons added two straight scores to lead 21-7.  As the first half wound down, Andre Price (Rialto, Calif./Jurupa Hills (Chabot)) caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Epps to pull the lions within eight 21-13 at halftime.

On Lincoln's first drive of the second half, Epps found Price for a 23-yard reception, setting the stage for Stephen Scott (Baltimore City, Maryland/Bethel College)'s one-yard touchdown run, making the score 21-19.  This was as close as Lincoln would get as the two teams exchanged touchdown for the rest of the half.
 
LAST TIME OUT…

Last Saturday's game looked promising for the young Lincoln University football squad through the first ten minutes of action against Alderson-Broaddus University as they held a lead for the first time this season.  However the Battlers ran off 41 unanswered points to hand the Lions their third straight defeat of 2017, 48-10 in Philippi, West Virginia.

Lions Quarterback Vincent Espinoza (Madera, Calif./Madera (West Hills)) threw for 189 yards on 14 completions in 28 attempts, including one touchdown pass.  Backup QB Justin White (Ozone Park, N.Y./Grand Street) added 74 yards for a team total of 263.   Rameses Owens (Warrensville Hgts., Ohio/Shaker Heights Robert Morris)) rushed for 58 yards to lead the Lincoln running game while Elijah Smith (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka (Monroe College)) led the receiving corps with six catches for 57 yards.  Andre Price (Rialto, Calif./Jurupa Hills (Chabot)) had 82 yards receiving on four catches and Carlos Croslin (Baltimore, Md./Frederick Douglass (Globe Tech) ) added 73 on three caught passes including one touchdown.
 
Defensively, Rob Thomas led the team with 13 tackles.  Solomon Bassett (Fort Worth, Texas/Boswell) had three sacks and eight total tackles, four of them for losses.  Cole Williams (Laurel, Md./DeMatha Catholic) recorded his second interception of the season.
 
The Battlers totaled 379 yards rushing led by Jamil Collison-Cofie's 154 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.  Conor McWilliams threw for 173 yards.
 
The Battlers needed just 1:17 to put points on the board taking the opening kickoff and driving 65 yards for a touchdown, a 32-yard scamper by Collison-Cofie.  Lincoln however showed some resilience as they came right back and drove 65-yards for the game tying score, their first first quarter points of the season.     Espinoza connected with Croslin for a 33 yard touchdown pass and Cody Waddell (Elkton, Md./Northeast) added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7
 
The Lions defense went to work on the Battlers next possession as Bassett got his first sack of the game and forced a fumble which the Lions recovered at the Battlers 37 yard line.  Espinoza found Trey McCollum (Burlington, N.C./Western Alamance) and Smith for catches to six and 10 yards respectively and coupled with an AB penalty gave Lincoln a first-and-goal from the four yard line.  Another AB penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal but the drive was halted when Espinoza took a nine yard loss on second down.  An incomplete pass followed before Waddell kicked a 27-yardfield goal to give Lincoln a 10-7 lead, their first lead at any point this season.  It was also the Lions first field goal of the season.
 
AB came back with two quick score in the final five minutes of the first quarter, taking a 21-10 lead as the quarter ended and starting their run of 41 unanswered points.  The Battlers added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to lead 35-10 at halftime.
 
Lincoln held the Battlers to just a field goal in the third quarter but was unable to add any points to their side of the scoreboard.  The Lions had an opportunity, in the waning minutes of the quarter as Price caught a 43 yard pass from Espinoza and two plays later Zion McFarland (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) added an eight yard catch to bring the Lions into the red zone on the AB 12-yard line.  Lincoln got as close as the three-yard line but the drive came to a halt when the Lions decided to go for the first down on fourth down and Espinoza was sacked, giving the Battlers the ball on downs.  AB added another field goal and a touchdown to round out the scoring.
 
LIONS TO WATCH
Offense – Wide receiver Andre Price (Rialto, Calif./Jurupa Hills (Chabot)) is currently ranked second in the CIAA in receiving yards per game (86.7) and yards per catch (20.0).  Price leads the team with 13 catches (tied for 4^th in the CIAA).  Quarterback Vincent Espinoza (Madera, Calif./Madera (West Hills)) has completed 33 of 65 passes for 500 total yards with five touchdowns with no interceptions.  His five touchdown passes and 1667. Yards per game rank fourth in the CIAA.  Running Back Rameses Owens (Warrensville Hgts., Ohio/Shaker Heights Robert Morris)) netted 161 yards rushing the first three games as a Lion while scoring two touchdowns. His 53.7 yards per game average is eighth best in the CIAA.
Defense – Junior linebacker Deion Miller (Sayreville, N.J./Jersey Coast Academy), a Second Team All-CIAA honoree last season, recorded a career-high 18 tackles in the loss at Lincoln (Mo.) on 9/9.  His performance earned him the CIAA Defensive Back of the Week award as well as the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week Award.  He currently leads the CIAA in tackles per game (11.3) and is ranked amongst the top ten nationally amongst D-II players. Freshman Rob Thomas reached double figures in tackles in each of the last two games in is sixth in the CIAA in tackles/game (9.3). The Lions have forced seven fumbles in first three games, recovering four. 
Special Teams – Carlos Croslin (Baltimore, Md./Frederick Douglass (Globe Tech) ) returned 11 kickoffs for a total of 209 yards, including a 65 yard run vs. Cheyney.  Deontae Brockington (Randallstown, Md./Baltimore City College HS) is averaging 24.8 yards per kickoff return.  Cody Waddell (Elkton, Md./Northeast), Lincoln's primary punter is averaging 36.8 yards per punt. Waddell is averaging 45.6 yard on kickoffs.

FALCONS TO WATCH

Offense – Sam Boyd is tied for fourth in the CIAA in receptions with 13 while Lenwood Joyner leads the Falcons in yards per catch (14.7).  Running back Josh Glisson is averaging 91.7 yards per game (fifth best in the CIAA).  Quarterback D.J. Johnson threw for 104 yards and one touchdown against Bowie.
Defense - Linebacker James Hickman had a game-high 12 tackles in his last game (vs. Bowie) and is tied for second in the CIAA in tackles per game, averaging 10.3.  Defensive back Ahmek Henry is third on the team in total tackles.
Special Teams - Punter Jake Ford leads the CIAA in punting average (41.5).  He has landed ten punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

THE COACHES

Reginald Byarse, Jr. was named the interim head coach of the Lions on May 1, 2017. Byarse, 29, has the distinction of being the youngest head coach of an NCAA Division II football program this season.  No stranger to the Lincoln football program, Byarse spent the last season as the Lions' Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach where he coordinated and managed all aspects of special teams position/positions assignment. Lincoln's punt return unit was one of only six Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) schools to average over ten yards per return in the 2016 season.   Byarse also was heavily involved in opponent evaluation and development of defensive game plans and assists with the administrative functions of the program. He spent the previous six seasons working at the high school level in various capacities. He graduated from Cincinnati in 2011.  

Tim Chavous is in his second full season as Saint Augustine's University head football coach. He was officially named head coach on Feb. 19, 2016. Chavous coached the Falcons for eight games on an interim basis in the 2015 season. He guided the Falcons to their only victory of the season, a 31-24 win over crosstown rival Shaw University on Nov. 7, 2015. In 2016, the Falcons added two more wins as Chavous continued to build a solid foundation for a winning program. The Falcons are already successful in the classroom and the community. Twelve football student-athletes earned scholar-athlete status after maintaining a 3.0 cumulative grade point average or higher in the 2016-17 season. During the 2017 Honors Convocation on campus, three (3) football student-athletes made the President's List, twelve (12) were named to the Provost's List and eleven (11) were on the Dean's List.
 
CIAA PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

Lincoln University is picked to finish sixth in the Northern Division this season by the conference's head football coaches.  The Lions were also picked to have the 12th-best team in the CIAA this season.  Saint Augustine's University was picked to finish third in the Southern Division this season by the conference's head coaches. The Falcons are predicted to have the eighth-best team in the CIAA.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE LIONS

Lincoln takes to the road again on September 30, 2017 when they travel to play Winston-Salem State University. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.