Preview: Lock Haven Bald Eagles

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. - The Lincoln University football team kicks off the 2021 season 6 p.m. Saturday, hosting Lock Haven at Coatesville Area Senior High School. 

GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS | WATCH LISTEN TICKETS

ON THE AIR
    All five home games can be viewed on the Lincoln University Sports Network. The audio will be provided in conjunction with a partnership HSRN. Preston Steward and Kyle Turner are the two announcers for the game. 
    
SERIES HISTORY
This game marks just the second meeting between the two teams. Lock Haven claimed the only meeting, 57-13, in 2019.

    Sept. 5, 2019 - Lock Haven 57, Lincoln 13

THE LAST TIME OUT
A 31-point second quarter enabled Lock Haven to build a 45-6 halftime lead en route to the 57-13 season-opening victory. 
Eban Jackson II threw for a team-high 159 yards on 12-of-26 passing with a touchdown. Dah'mear Triplett hauled in 61 yards with three receptions and a touchdown, while Richie Goslee added 50 receiving yards. 
    
QUARTERBACK DERBY
Three players, all newcomers, are vying for the starting quarterback position for the Lions. Junior Trae Green (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro), redshirt sophomore Zeke Wilson V (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna/Norfolk State), and freshman Andrew Banks (Atlanta, Ga. /Mays) (Atlanta, Ga./Mays/Fork Union) are in a hotly-contested battle that could extend into the season. 

WHITE OUT
The game will be a WHITE OUT for Lincoln. All LU fans are encouraged to sport white shirts for the contest. 

SUPER SEVEN
Lincoln returns just seven starters from the 2019 season with just two on offense. Sophomore receiver Hunter Terrell (Washington, D.C./H.D. Woodson) and lineman Vances Russell (Washington, D.C./Eastern) are the two offensive returning starters. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Devon Cathcart (Chicago, Ill./Thornton Fractional South), junior Islam Abdul-Rabb (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport), sophomore Kyle Wilkins (Dickerson, Md./Poolesville), junior Andre Williams (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti), and junior Mike Johnson (Edgewood, Md./Edgewood)

SHARING THE LOAD
Even with four players on the two-deep, six running backs could get some carries in the opener for the Lions. Freshman Charlie Burnett (Gettysburg, Pa. /Gettysburg), sophomore Daniel Scott (Philadelphia, Pa. /Northeast), freshman Zaheer Seabrooks (Paterson, N.J. /Bethlehem Catholic), and freshman Eli Williams (Reading, Pa./Reading Senior) are listed on the two-deep, while sophomore Ahman Foster-Powell (Henrico, Va./Highland Springs) and junior Samuel Bryant (Tucker, Ga. /Tucker) could also find time in the crowded backfield. 
Of the six players battling for carries, Foster-Powell is the lone player to tote the rock for the Orange and Blue. He finished with 42 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown in 2019. 

LAST CHANCE U.
Junior defensive back Kentrell Pierce (Calumet City, Ill./Harold Richards) was one of the players featured on the final football season of the Netflix show, Last Chance U.

MILITARY ACADEMIES
Lincoln's football roster has four new players that have spent time at Military Prep Schools. Quarterback Andrew Banks (Atlanta, Ga. /Mays) and defensive lineman Darius Sterling (South Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) hail from Fork Union Military Academy, while offensive lineman Shawn Kemmerer (Columbia, Pa./Columbia) and receiver Shannon Squire (North Philadelphia, Pa. /Kensington Creative and Performing Arts) spent time at Valley Forge Military Academy.

SEEING DOUBLE
two sets of twins will line up for the Lions this season in defensive linemen Evan and Elliot Chavous, and defensive backs Roosevelt and Samuel Bryant (Tucker, Ga. /Tucker)

BOTTOM FEEDERS??
Neither team garnered much respect from the respective coaches in their conference. 
Lincoln, coming off an 0-10 season in 2019, was picked to finish last in the CIAA's North Division, while Lock Haven - which finished 2-9 in 2019 - was picked to finish last in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
    
OPENERS
Lincoln is .500 (6-6) in season openers since bringing the football program back in 2008. The Lions have lost five straight since its 29-22 win over Cheyney in 2015.
LU has played Cheyney in more season openers, nine, than any other team. The Lions are 5-4 in openers against its former HBCU rival.
    
LOCK HAVEN OPENERS
 Lock Haven is 2-9 in their last 11 season openers. The Bald Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak in season openers with the 57-13 win over Lincoln in 2019. Their only win during this recent 11-year stretch was a 31-13 home victory over West Virginia State. 

WELCOME TO COATESVILLE
Due to construction delays, the first three Lincoln University football games will be moved to Coatesville Area High School. The next home game will be 1 p.m. September 11 against 
Central State University. 

IN THE TRENCHES
Today's game could be the classic speed versus power component. Lincoln's starting offensive line of Shawn Kemmerer (Columbia, Pa./Columbia)Justin Gowan (Brooklyn, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln)Jacquez Young (Orlando, Fla. /Jones)Mohammad Smart (Macon, Ga./Jones County), and Vances Russell (Washington, D.C./Eastern) average 6-foot-3, 321 pounds. In contrast, the Bald Eagles on the defensive line average 6-foot-1, 245 pounds.

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Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world. Lincoln offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse student body of approximately 2,200 men and women in more than 35 undergraduate and graduate programs.