JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College football team dropped its home opener, 21-14 to Lyon on Saturday night at England Stadium.

Both the Blueboys and Scots are 1-1 after tonight's action.

Lyon 21 IC 14
Lyon wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as they connected on a 76-yard touchdown pass just 45 seconds into the game, and they held that advantage for the remainder of the quarter.

IC tied the game at seven when Zac Laird latched on to a 2-yard pass from Jack Piening, who was playing in place of starting quarterback Tyson Elliott, who went out of the game in the first quarter with an injury and didn't return.

The contest was tied at 7 at intermission.

The Scots broke the tie with 8:53 to play in the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run before IC came back to tie the game at 14 when Piening found Cole Stuart from 20 yards out, but Lyon scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 14:04 to play and held off the Blueboys to claim the victory.

Piening was 25-for-42 for 242 yards with a pair of touchdowns in relief. Laird latched on to 11 of those passes for 90 yards and a score. Stewart grabbed five balls for 76 yards and a score as well. Trevor Patton led the ground attack with 39 yards on seven carries. Mia Gerger converted all three of her extra points.

The IC defense was paced by Maurice Evans, who had nine stops including a tackle-for-loss. Blaze Helton added seven stops and a TFL as well. Clayton Dinardo had the lone Blueboys interception on the night.

Up Next
It's back on the road for the Blueboys as they open the Midwest Conference portion of the 2026 season with a trip to Lawrence on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.