The Lincoln University football team was locked into a rugged Homecoming battle, but ultimately, fell to Chowan Saturday, 16-14, in Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.

Following a Rontay Dunbar (Brooklyn, N.Y./Freedom) fourth-quarter interception, Lincoln appeared to be in position to take the lead – trailing 16-14. The Lions drove down to the 16-yardline and appeared to be getting ready to attempt the go-ahead field goal with a tad more than two minutes remaining.

However, a questionable, late flag for intentional grounding pushed the Lions out of field goal range. The fourth down pass fell incomplete and Chowan was able to run the clock out to secure the victory.

Lincoln raced out to an early lead when Drew Stephens (Newark, N.J./Abraham Clark) hauled in a 14-yard pass from Isaiah Freeman (Chester, PA/STEM Academy) to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive on the Lions' first possession.

The defense was dominating, limited the Hawks to just 44 yards total over their first four possessions. Chowan's defense took matter into its own hands with a 73-yard fumble recovery for a score. Then, special teams enabled Chowan to have good field position. A pooch kickoff was recovered at the LU 34, and the Hawks took nine plays to score its lone offensive score of the game.

An 18-yard field goal, which capped a nine-play, 55-yard drive, put Lincoln into a two-score deficit.

The Lions appeared to have quickly cut into their deficit as Freeman connected with freshman Eli Riddick (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eramus Hall) for a 59-yard scoring strike. But, as Riddick was attempting to outrun the defenders, he dove to the pylon ahead to the trailing players. The dive was deemed unsportsmanlike conduct and the points were taken off the board.  

Four plays later, Freeman connected with Dah'mear Triplett (Elkton, Md./Elkton) with a three-yard touchdown.

Freeman finished 8-of-21 for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and was sacked four times. He finished with 66 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Amir Gerald (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson) led the way with 91 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

Stephens hauled in 76 yards on four catches and a touchdown.

Defensively, Kai Gray (Newark, N.J./Saint Peters Prep), Mike Johnson (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood) and Derrick McCoy (Bridgeton, N.J./Bridgeton) all had eight tackles. Gray had a pass break-up, Johnson finished with one tackle for loss and McCoy had two tackles for loss.

Lincoln travels to Elizabeth City State University 1 p.m. Saturday.