Creehan, Scots earn first win

BATESVILLE – The Lyon College football, under the direction of first-year head coach Casey Creehan, opened up a new era in a big way with a 22-9 victory at Missouri Baptist on Saturday night. The win marked the first-career victory for Coach Creehan and the second consecutive year the Scots have defeated the Spartans in their season opener.

Lyon improved to 1-0 on the season, while MBU fell to 0-1.

Game Flow
After a scoreless first quarter from the Scots and Spartans, both offenses began to pick up late in the first half. The Scots got on the board first with a 19-yard field goal by Ignacio Gomez with 5:53 left in the half.

Missouri Baptist put together a long drive after the ensuing kickoff following the field goal by Gomez. The Spartans drove down the field and capped off the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass by Chase Brown to Isaiah King with 12 seconds remaining to give MBU a 7-3 advantage.

The Spartans thought they were going into the locker room at the half with the lead as MBU sent a squib quick down the field in an attempt to run out the final seconds before the break. Emetrious Scott picked up the kick and out ran the entire MBU kickoff unit for an 81-yard kickoff return to give the Scots a 9-7 halftime lead. Scott became the second Scot to return a kickoff for a touchdown in modern history. Tre Hawkins returned the first kickoff for a touchdown – a 93-yard return – at Missouri Baptist on Nov. 12, 2016.

Lyon put the game away for good with a pair of rushing touchdowns by Titus Nelson in the fourth quarter. Nelson found pay dirt from three yards out and followed it up with a one-yard score later in the half.

Key Statistics

• Isaiah Bradford completed 7-of-9 passes for 87 yards in his first collegiate action at quarterback.
• Scott caught four passes for 63 yards to lead Lyon in receiving.
• Sam Taylor finished with a team-high 11 total tackles, including one tackle-for-loss and one-half of a sack.

Up Next
The Lyon College football team will return to action next Saturday at Hendrix College. The two teams will square off in their annual rivalry – the “Battle for Scotzilla” – at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1, in Conway, Ark.