BATESVILLE, Ark. – The Lyon College football team drove down inside Southwestern Assemblies of God territory in its final drive of the game but the Lions came up with a big defensive stand as the Scots came up short in their home opener, 27-20, on Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Stadium.
The Scots dropped to 0-2 overall and in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while SAGU improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SAC.
SAGU drove down the field and scored on a 12-yard pass from Jordan Barlow to Blayne Rowe to take a 7-0 lead in its first possession of the game before the Scots responded back with a score of their own during their first possession. A 27-yard strike from Isaiah Bradford (pictured) to Jeremiah Bigham sparked a big drive for the Scots. Later in the possession, Bradford connected with Dylan Wyatt for a 12-yard completion before finding J.D. Horn for a 24-yard pass that put the Scots inside SAGU territory. Bradley Dee took a pair of hand-offs down to the SAGU one-yard line before Bradford capped the drive off with a one-yard rush to tie the game at 7-7.
SAGU regained the lead with a one-yard run by Zarious Keyes to open up the second quarter before the Scots tied the game during their final drive of the period. After a pair of short runs by Dee, Bradford hit DeVante White for a 15-yard completion that put the Scots inside SAGU territory. Bradford and White connected once more, this time for a 41-yard completion that set the Scots up on the SAGU five-yard line. Dee took a couple of carries down to the one before Bradford rushed in for his second touchdown of the game and tied the score at 13-13.
SAGU scored the only touchdown of the third quarter on a 10-yard rush by Keaton Dubik. Dubik later added a 14-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter before the Scots made it a one-possession game on a four-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to Drew Sanger.
The Scots’ defense came up with a big stop and gave Lyon the ball back with just over two minutes left in the game. Bradford drove the Scots down the field after hitting Bigham and Horn for passes of 16 and 10-yards but the SAGU defense turned Lyon over on downs and held on for the win.
Bradford completed 19-of-34 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown. He added 31 yards on the ground on nine attempts with the two scores. Horn caught six passes for 68 yards.
Cole Peppers once again led the Scots defensively with 10 total tackles.
The Scots will travel to No. 24 Arizona Christian next Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
Article by Matt Jagodzinski, Assistant Athletic Director for Media and Communications
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