Scots aim to make improvements

Lyon College has a tough task ahead of it in what will be its final season in the NAIA, but all signs point to the Scots being ready to make the most of it.

"The excitement level is pretty high," Lyon Coach Chris Douglas said earlier this month just prior to fall practices beginning. "We've got our second full recruiting class, and we feel like it's a really stellar class, too. I've told guys that in 29 years of coaching, I don't know that I've had a recruiting class that, as a head coach or an assistant, has had this much length. Height, arm reach, all of that.

"At least it looks good on the hoof. Now they might not be able to play dead in a western, but they look good. The other half of that point is that they're all freshmen, so there's a lot of room for them to grow."

Growth is what the Scots are planning to put forth this year after seeing some slippage, record-wise, last season. A lot of first-year players were thrust into action because of injuries, which could be viewed as both good and bad situations.

On one hand, Lyon was forced to face perennially tough teams from the Sooner Athletic Conference with inexperience at several positions. But on the other hand, those underclassmen got the kind of in-game experience that could help them ascend. And if those players are ascending, so are the Scots.

Lyon is also moving up in division. Earlier in the week, the NCAA Division III's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced that Lyon would become the league's 10th member beginning in the fall of 2023. Because of that, the Scots will be on a farewell tour through the NAIA this season, and that could stir up even more motivation, beginning with today's season-opening battle with Missouri Baptist.

The Spartans went 4-7 last season but did open with a 31-14 victory over Lyon. The Scots were outgained by more than 200 yards in total offense and watched as Missouri Baptist erased an early deficit to take control. If Lyon is going to get the season off on the right track, a repeat performance in that one will do it no good.

For Douglas and his team, quarterback Isaiah Bradford could play a major part in helping them make amends. The senior passed for 1,068 yards and five touchdowns last season, but he was just 7 of 23 for 65 yards with an interception in the opener.

"He's the guy steering the ship," Douglas said of Bradford. "There's always that mythology, there's always that awe and expectation level with the quarterback position per se, and we talk about that. There's people that can captain that ship, and there's guys that are more second lieutenants.

"But [Bradford] is definitely the captain of our ship, he's the captain of our team and not just on offense. A lot of it is because he's such a great human being, too. He leads by example and has high character to go along with the fact that he's a really good player."

Douglas also revealed that he's got a high level anticipation to see what some of his younger guys have in store.

Sophomores Aedan Huntsman, a 5-11, 200-pound running back from Valley View, and Keidrick Wooten, a 6-2, 230-pound defensive lineman out of Plano, Texas, have impressed during the preseason as has freshman Kaleb McCann, a 6-5 tight end who's back after tearing his ACL early last season.

Other running backs like Jaylin Babers and Emerson Price, both sophomores, also drew Douglas' admiration.

All five, along with the rest of their teammates, will be in the spotlight against Missouri Baptist. But that's just the first of at least 10 tests that the Scots are looking to ace in what they hope will be a banner year.

"We've really got to stay focused on ourselves, stay focused on our improvement and how we're getting better," Douglas said. "If we can continue to focus and keep our minds on our improvement, then that's going to show up in games against our opponents. If we get hung up in rankings and things like that, that's external thinking.

"We've got to be more about internal thinking and what can we do each day to get better. And if we continue to push this program forward, that's when the wins come. When you focus on the outcomes and not pay attention to how you're going to get there, that's when you come up short."

More News

[]
 

Upcoming Events