The Lincoln Blue Tigers have lost some games this season.
But that doesn't compare to the loss the football program has gone through during the past 18 months.
Since May 2013, three players with Lincoln ties have lost their lives. The tragedies haven't been easy for anyone involved.
"That's rough," Lincoln head coach Mike Jones said Thursday. "As a coach, you see these young men lose their lives so young. They had everything in front of them, and their life is taken from them."
Gabriel Soto, who would have celebrated Senior Day today at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, was the first to die tragically. While visiting friends in May of 2013, Soto was shot and killed in east Los Angeles.
It didn't stop there.
Joe Jackson-Parks, a freshman from Chicago, died last November from injuries sustained in a car accident. Most recently, Darryl Blackmon, who played for the Blue Tigers last season, died last Saturday, also in a car accident.
Members of the team found out about Blackmon's death immediately following Lincoln's 17-14 loss at Central Washington.
"You have an emotional game, and then you find out one of your former teammates has been killed in a car accident - it's really tough," Jones said. "We've got a lot of new guys, so a lot of those guys don't know him. But the guys that did know him - it hit them pretty hard."
In an effort to honor their fallen teammates, Lincoln has two different shirts players wear every Friday.
One is blue, worn for home games, with Sotto's No. 33 on the back. The other is grey, worn for away games, with Jackson-Park's No. 65. Both shirts also have the Lincoln creed written on the back.
Last season, Jones started selecting a player each week to wear No. 33 in honor of Soto. Julio Segura will get the honor for today's game. The offensive line started a similar tradition five weeks ago to honor Jackson-Parks.
Jones said the team would decide the best way to honor Blackmon in the near future.