The Lincoln Blue Tigers began the home schedule with a win.
They'd like to finish it in the same fashion.
Lincoln aims to snap a six-game losing streak - and win its first Great Lakes Valley Conference game in three years - today when it hosts the William Jewell Cardinals on Senior Day at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
"We're very close," Lincoln coach Steven Smith said. "I think we're teetering right there on the edge. We're right there, we just have to finish it."
Today's game will be the final GLVC matchup this season for William Jewell (1-8, 1-5 GLVC). The Cardinals are coming off a 42-3 loss against fifth-ranked Indianapolis.
William Jewell's only win came last month in a 45-28 decision against Quincy.
The Cardinals have struggled defensively this season and have been unable to hold opponents to less than 24 points in a game. William Jewell allows a league-worst 42.6 points per game, which ranks 156th out of 168 NCAA Division II teams.
Lincoln (1-7, 0-5 GLVC), meanwhile, has the league's lowest scoring average at 13.1 points per game, ranking 160th in NCAA Division II.
"We have to be disciplined and do our part," Smith said. "Any given Saturday, any given team can win.
"When it comes down to it, the team that executes the most will get it done."
William Jewell's offense is led by redshirt-senior quarterback Brad Strauss, who has completed 60 percent of his passes (194-of-323) for 2,139 yards. He has thrown for 10 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Strauss also leads William Jewell with 455 yards rushing and another four scores.
"They're a spread offense, they're going to throw the ball well and he's going to be on the move," Smith said. "They're going to move him out of the pocket and different things like that.
"They'll give him a chance to get the receivers open. We just have to be able to put pressure on the quarterback."
The Cardinals have a balanced wide receiver corps with four players tallying at least 200 yards through the air. Sophomore Keelon Vann leads the team with 352 yards receiving and senior running back Trejuan Mask has nearly as many receiving yards (333) as he does rushing yards (362).
William Jewell averages 20.7 points per game, while Lincoln has allowed an average of 30.6 points.
"Defensively, we have to make sure we fill our gaps and make tackles," Smith said. "We have to tackle. That's one thing that has hurt us over the last few games, we're not finishing our tackles."
The Cardinals' defense is led by redshirt-junior linebacker Quayde Bauman, who helped North Andrew to an 8-man state championship his senior year of high school. Bauman has a team-high 84 tackles this season, twice as many as any other William Jewell defender, to go with 12.5 tackles for loss.
Smith said the Cardinals run a 3-3 defense.
"They're fast up front, but they're small," he said. "We've got to make sure that we take advantage of our size and be able to do the different things we need to do to make sure we're successful."
Lincoln dropped its sixth straight game last Saturday with a 36-12 loss at McKendree, but the Blue Tigers saw some offensive numbers on the rise.
Lincoln gained 194 yards rushing, its second-highest total of the season. Freshman Travis Martin led the team with 123 yards rushing, becoming the second Blue Tiger this season to surpass 100 yards on the ground in a single game.
"I thought we did some good things," Smith said. "(Martin) ran hard. A couple times he got behind his pads and was punishing people. That needs to be a little bit more consistent."
The Blue Tigers also forced a season-high three turnovers last week, including a 47-yard fumble recovery by Cody Alexander for Lincoln's first defensive touchdown this season.
Now that his team is through the tough portion of the GLVC schedule, Smith feels his team is getting closer to turning the corner.
"We just focus on what we have to get done and continue to execute every time we step on the field," he said.
III
William Jewell leads the all-time series 3-0 against Lincoln. The Cardinals won last year's meeting 48-17 in Liberty, while the other two matchups were decided by single digits. Lincoln has blocked seven kicks this season - including four punts - which ties for third in NCAA Division II. Lincoln will honor its 14 seniors today for Senior Day.