Marauders drop home opener to Lincoln, 26-21

WILBERFORCE, Ohio - The Central State Marauders fell to Lincoln in Saturday's home opener, 26-21.


Neither team was effective on offense in the first half as the only score came by way of special teams when CSU returner Brandon Brock took a 54-yard punt in for the score with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.


On a bad snap for CSU while in punt formation, LU recovered the ball on the CSU 18-yard line. LU scored two played later on a 17-yard Amir Gerald run. The Lions claimed momentum in the third quarter thanks to the hands of Dah'Mear Triplett, who hauled in touchdown passes of 12 yards and 30 yards to give LU a 20-7 lead by the early stages of the fourth quarter. The Marauders responded at the 13:16 mark of the fourth quarter when receiver Twon Hines took a short pass from Brandon Kyles for a 64-yard touchdown to narrow the margin to six.


LU came back with an 18 play, 75 yard drive that drained 11:53 off the clock. Aided by a pass interference call on a fourth down attempt at the end of the drive, LU eventually punched the ball in on a Andrew Banks run to go up 26-14 with 1:23 left in the game.


CSU scored on its next possession, going 60 yards in just six plays. With 14 seconds left, CSU was unable to come up with an onside kick attempt and went on to lose by five.


 

TOP PERFORMERS

Twon Hines (CSU) - 9 receptions, 144 yards, 1 touchdown
Kailen Abrams (CSU) - 11 tackles, 1 sack, three tackles for a loss
Jalil Lenore (CSU) - 13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss


Dah'Mear Triplett (LU) - 4 receptions, 96 yards, 2 touchdowns
Mike Johnson (LU) - 7 tackles, 1 sack, two tackles for a loss



NEXT GAME

Central State travels to play at Bluefield State next Saturday at 12 pm in Bluefield, West Virginia.


 

QUOTES FROM COACH KEVIN PORTER

"I thought our players did a good job of staying focused and playing to the final whistle, but we have to be better in all phases of the game. LU came ready to play and did an excellent job upfront throughout the ballgame. We will learn from this and continue to improve."


"We need to play more physical and put pressure on our opponents. I don't think we did a great job of creating turnover opportunities today and it made the difference."


"While I thought we did some good things on both sides of the football, we have to do a better job of being the more physical team moving forward. We will get back to work and be ready for our upcoming road trip to West Virginia."
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

CSU was unable to go 2-0 to start the season. The last time the Marauders began a season 2-0 was 1995.


Twon Hines, who transferred to CSU last spring, has recorded back-to-back 100 yard receiving games. 


The Marauders totaled 18:42 of possession time compared to LU's 41:18.


Kailen Abrams, who was converted from linebacker to defensive end, led all players with three tackles for a loss.


After committing 15 penalties in the opening week, CSU was called for just four penalties on Saturday.


CSU provided free shirts to the first 200 fans in attendance.