On a record-setting day at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, the Lincoln football team finally came up with an elusive victory.
The Blue Tigers notched their first Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association win of the season, dropping Northeastern State by a 42-33 score.
The win improved Lincoln to 2-8 overall and dropped the RiverHawks to 1-9 overall and 1-8 in league play.
The Blue Tigers rode a stellar day by quarterback Jacob Morris to the victory.
The junior signal-caller completed 17-of-23 passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns. That helped him reach a number of significant milestones.
Morris broke the Lincoln single-season offense record with 2,392 yards, topping the mark of 2,194 set in 1988 by Steve Bohlken. He also set the single-game record for completion percentage by hitting on 17-of-23 passes (74 percent), topping the 67 percent recorded by Bill Swats in 1982, and tied the single-game record with four passing touchdowns.
But he wasn't the only Blue Tiger to make his way into the record book.
Andrew Fishel broke the season record for points by a kicker with 42, topping the mark of 41 recorded by Gerald Walker in 1964, and Fishel also tied the record for PATs in a game with six.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, as the lead changed hands five times.
After Northeastern State got a touchdown to open the scoring, Morris threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Morris Henderson with 5:42 left in the opening quarter.
The RiverHawks then hit a field goal to take a 9-7 lead into the second quarter.
The Blue Tigers responded with a pair of touchdowns to go up 21-9, the first on a 32-yard pass from Morris to Khiry Draine at the 14:02 mark, then a 25-yard strike from Morris to Andre Borney with 7:27 left before halftime.
But Northeastern State got a touchdown a field goal, the last with :57 left before intermission, to get to within 21-19 at halftime.
The RiverHawks then took the lead with a touchdown just three minutes into the second half, going up 25-21.
But a 4-yard touchdown run by Henderson with 2:29 left in the third put Lincoln back on top 28-25.
The Blue Tigers then got two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put it away. The first was another hookup between Morris and Draine, this one from 15 yards out at the 11:02 mark, and the second a 4-yard run by Henderson with 3:37 remaining.
The RiverHawks got the game's final score with 1:49 left, but Borney recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Blue Tigers ran out the clock.
In addition to his big passing day, Morris also ran for 102 yards on 14 carries. Henderson led all ballcarriers with 149 yards on 21 carries.
The Blue Tigers held a slim 464-455 edge in total yardage. The teams combined for a whopping 55 first downs - 32 for Northeastern State and 23 for Lincoln. The RiverHawks picked up seven first downs on Lincoln penalties, as the Blue Tigers had 10 penalties for 112 yards.
Neither team had a turnover in the contest.
The Blue Tigers will close out their season at 2 p.m. Saturday when they host Southwest Baptist for Senior Day.
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