LIBERTY, Mo. - It was a streak that was long overdue to be snapped. Forty-three years long, to be exact.
The Lincoln Blue Tigers scored on four consecutive possessions Saturday, while the defense made two late stops to beat the William Jewell Cardinals 23-14 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
The win is the Blue Tigers' first conference road win since 1975, when Lincoln won at Central Missouri in the season finale in its sixth season in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Lincoln finished with 230 yards rushing, one week after totaling just 12 net yards on the ground against Truman State.
William Jewell scored the game's first touchdown for its only lead of the day. Ty Boles' 1-yard run gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with 3:07 to play in the first quarter.
On Lincoln's ensuing possession, Fernando Ramirez had a 28-yard field-goal attempt blocked early in the second quarter. After that drive, William Jewell began to struggle shutting down the Blue Tiger offense.
Taking advantage of a possession that started on the William Jewell 39, Terry Hunter capped an 8-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Ramirez made the extra point to tie the game at 7 with 5:33 left in the first half.
The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs at the Lincoln 34, giving the Blue Tigers one last possession before halftime. Three rushing plays of 10 yards or more helped set up a 32-yard field-goal try for Ramirez, which he made with :20 left to give Lincoln a 10-7 lead at halftime.
The Blue Tiger defense forced a three-and-out to open the second half and the offense followed with an 11-play, 67-yard scoring drive. Henry Ogala threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Eric Brice, but the extra-point attempt was blocked. Lincoln led 16-7 with 7:21 left in the third quarter.
William Jewell answered quickly. Just 2:17 later, Will Schneider completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Keelon Vann. That score made it a one-possession game again at 16-14.
Lincoln's fourth scoring possession was set up by a 55-yard pass to Blake Tibbs on third-and-4, placing the ball at the William Jewell 1-yard line. After back-to-back rushes for no gain, Ogala scored on a 1-yard keeper on third-and-goal, making the score 23-14 with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter.
William Jewell punted on its next two possession in the fourth quarter, then missed a 24-yard field-goal attempt with 5:54 left in the game. On their next possession, the Cardinals moved the ball down to the Lincoln 30, but turned it over on downs with 1:18 to play.
Lincoln was able to take a knee and run out the clock.
Running back Kimbo Ferguson surpassed 100 yards rushing for the third time in four games. He finished with 31 carries for 112 yards. Ogala and Hunter added 60 and 52 yards rushing, respectively.
The Blue Tigers had a season-high 388 yards of total offense. Ogala completed 14-of-19 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown. Tibbs was his leading receiver with four catches for 70 yards.
Isaiah Gray led the Lincoln defense with five total tackles. Amani Nelson, Edwin Durassaint, Victor Williams and Hasan Muhammad-Rogers each had three solo stops.
Durassaint and JaJuan Chambers both had sacks for the B;ue Tigers.
The Blue Tigers held William Jewell (1-6, 1-4 GLVC) to 233 yards of total offense.
Lincoln (3-5, 2-3 GLVC) plays next Saturday at Missouri S&T (6-2, 3-1 GLVC). Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Rolla.