Box Score DECORAH, Iowa - The Lyon College Scots defeated the Luther College Norsemen 28-21 on Saturday at Carlson Field in Decorah, Iowa to win their fourth game of the 2023 season.
The Scots (officially 4-4 overall) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when quarterback
Eli Funck completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to
Karson Douglas.
Jesus Romero-Castillo added the extra point at the 6:29 mark of the first quarter to put Lyon College ahead.
In the second quarter, Luther College was going for a touchdown at the Lyon 3 when Norsemen running back Evan Aquirre fumbled the ball at the one-yard line on a hit by Cam Clear and the ball was recovered by
Colby Barton in the end zone for a touchback.
Later in the period after a short 21-yard punt by the Scots, Luther College scored on a 7-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:30 to go before halftime.
Lyon started at it's own 25 after the kickoff and
Jaylin Babers rushed up the middle for 2-yards and Funck completed a short pass to Douglas. A personal foul penalty on the Norsemen, gave the Scots a first down near midfield, but Funck's pass was picked off and the Luther College 15 yard line.
A strong defensive stand from the Scots included tackles by
Keidrick Wooten and
Colby Barton forced a Luther punt and Lyon began another drive at the Norsemen 40-yard line.
Babers broke out for a 12-yard run and added three more yards to the Luther 25. Following a Lyon College time out , Funck was sacked. Lyon took another time out and this time, Funck completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Brown with 39 seconds to go in the second quarter. Romero-Castillo added the extra point to put the Scots ahead 14-7 at the break.
Luther College started the third quarter with the all and moved to midfield when
Tanner Pollett intercepted a Norsemen pass at the Lyon College 33.
On second down, Funck hit a wide open
Xavier Long for 17 yards to midfield, but the drive stalled with a 12-yard loss on a third-down sack. However, another solid defensive stand with La'Kendrin Moore, Pollett and
Michael Wingo getting stops to force a Luther punt. Jason Crawford Jr. blocked the kick for Lyon and
Zane Johnson recovered the ball at the Luther College 20.
Three plays later, Funck passed to Brown for a 13-yard touchdown and with Romero-Castillo's PAT, the Scots led 21-7 with 6:26 to go in the third period.
Luther was driving after the kickoff and got to its own 39 before
Micah Morrison recovered a fumble at the Norsemen 41 yard line less than two minutes after the Scots scored.
A couple of short plays set Lyon College up with a 3rd-and-4 at the Luther College 35, then Funck passed to Long for a 20-yard gain. From there, Babers rushed for five yards and an encroachment penalty on the Norsemen moved the ball to the Luther five yard line. Two plays later, Funck threw a 1-yard completion to
Aedan Huntsman for a touchdown. Romero-Castillo added the extra point for a 28-7 Lyon College lead with 2:36 to go in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Scots had the ball and Babers rushed for a 10-yard gain and a first down, but on an incomplete pass, Lyon was whistled for an 15-yard penalty to make it 2nd-and-23 from the Luther 39. Funck completed a 15-yard pass to Brown, but Luther College stopped Lyon on third down and forced a punt.
On the ensuing drive, the Norsemen scored on a 10-yard run to cut the Lyon College lead to 14 with 7:10 to go in the game. Luther attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Lyon College at the 48 yard line, but on the first play, the Scots fumbled the ball away.
Luther moved the ball down to the Lyon College 25 and the Scots' Rene' Dominique sacked the Norseman quarterback on fourth down to get the ball back. The Scots went four-and-out and punted.
Luther College drove from 24 yard line to get a touchdown on a 16-yard pass with 20 seconds to go in the game. The Norsemen were successful on recovering the onside kick, but Luther fumbled the ball back to Lyon and Funck took a knee to end the game.
