It was a game the Lincoln Blue Tigers feel they should have won last year.
Lincoln will get its rematch against the Quincy Hawks on Homecoming today at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
Quincy won 7-3 in last year's offensive struggle.
"Last year is last year," Lincoln coach Steven Smith said. "This year is different. We've got come out here and play our game, don't turn the ball over like we did last year."
Lincoln kicked a field goal in the second quarter. Quincy scored a touchdown in the third quarter.
Toward the end of the third, Lincoln was inside the Quincy 5-yard line, but the Blue Tigers fumbled the ball short of the goal line, and the Hawks recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchback.
"We've got to make sure we don't fumble this year, throw an interception or anything that's going to put us behind the eight ball," Smith said. "We've got to make sure we do exactly what we're supposed to do, because just like against Indy, when we make the mistakes, it hurts us."
Lincoln (2-3, 1-1 GLVC) is coming off a 41-17 loss last Saturday on the road to No. 22 Indianapolis.
The Blue Tigers were plagued by first-half mistakes in that contest. The Greyhounds returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and two Lincoln fumbles near midfield and a missed field-goal attempt led to an additional 10 points for Indianapolis.
By the time Lincoln scored late in the second quarter, Indianapolis already had a 31-7 lead going into halftime.
"We were just way too hyper the first half," Smith said. "I saw that coming before I got them out of the locker room, and I tried to calm them down, but it just wasn't enough."
The second half was a bit of a different story, as the Blue Tigers were able to match the Greyhounds on the scoreboard with 10 points each.
"We focused on what we were doing and we were able to capitalize on that touchdown going into the half," Smith said.
Quincy (1-4, 0-1 GLVC) is coming off its fourth straight home game, which was a 48-14 loss last Saturday to McKendree to open conference play.
In their only road game, the Hawks lost 49-0 to Indiana State in their season opener.
Quincy's offense is led by Tionne Harris, a freshman quarterback who has thrown for 618 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions. Harris is also second on the team with 279 yards rushing and six touchdowns.
However, Harris struggled last week, throwing for 46 yards and an interception to go with 29 yards rushing.
"We've got to be playing like we played against Southwest Baptist," Smith said. "Stay consistent and efficient in what we're doing."
The Hawks made an adjustment to their spread offense last week. Junior running back Chris Brinson has been the team's rushing leader with 342 yards, but senior Theo Hopkins was moved from cornerback to running back. He had nine carries for 130 yards and a touchdown against McKendree.
Hopkins is listed as Quincy's starter at running back today, with freshman Darries Rainey as his backup.
The Hawks are averaging 16.2 points per game and allowing an average of 37.6. The Blue Tigers are at 17.2 and 26.0, respectively, through five games.
Smith said Quincy will use a 4-3 defense, but added the Hawks will transition to a three-man front at times. No matter the formation, the Blue Tigers will have to keep their eye on Quincy senior Cody Leonard.
Leonard, a linebacker who was all-GLVC first team last year, leads the Hawks with 69 tackles. No other player has more than 30 tackles for Quincy.
"He makes a lot of plays," Smith said. "He's a veteran linebacker, he has a nose for the ball. He knows how to get east and west on the ball, and if he needs to go north and south, he does."
Leonard also has 7 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.
The Hawks are allowing an average of 407.4 yards per game, including 548 yards against McKendree for an average of 7.7 yards per play.
"They're fast up front, but they're smaller than they were last year," Smith said.
Smith said practice was better with each passing day for Lincoln following last Saturday's loss.
"We need to be consistent and efficient, and last week were not consistent," he said. "We have to be consistent this week."
Defensively, Smith said the Blue Tigers need to shore up their tackling after last week's performance.
"That's our biggest thing on defense, we've just got to tackle and compete for the ball when it's in the air," he said. "If we do that, I think we come out with a win."
III
Quincy lead the all-time series 3-1 against Lincoln. The Blue Tigers won the first matchup 42-13 in 2014, but the Hawks have won the past three meetings by an average of 11.7 points. A win today would put Lincoln back at the .500 mark. The Blue Tigers last had a 3-3 start in 2003, when they dropped their first three contests before reeling off a three-game win streak. Lincoln last won on Homecoming in 2014, when the Blue Tigers routed Texas College 62-6. Smith said running back Hosea Franklin (knee) had surgery Thursday and is out for at least the next two weeks. Kimbo Ferguson is slated to start at running back for the Blue Tigers. He had 20 carries for 127 yards last week against Indianapolis.