Lane hosting its first home game this weekend

Lane College’s football team is 0-2 on the season with one of those losses coming in SIAC league play.

But neither of those games were at home.

This week’s game against Benedict College will be the Dragons’ first game of 2023 in the friendly confines of Lane Field.

The Dragons lost last week at Alabama A&M 51-13.

They competed well in the first half, entering halftime down 14-7.

But the Bulldogs scored on their opening possession of the third quarter, held Lane to a three-and-out possession and scored quickly on the next possession to begin a cascade of scoring the Dragons couldn’t overcome.

“We came out of the game with a few injuries, so we’ll be a little short on the depth chart going into this week,” said Lane head coach Vyron Brown. “But it’s next man up, and the next men up have answered the call in practice so far this week.”

Benedict College enters this game 2-0. And while the Tigers are undefeated, they’ve also gone two entire games without giving up a single point.

They beat Shaw University at home in Week 1, 52-0, and then went to Florida and beat Edward Waters 34-0.

“We’re looking forward to playing at home,” said head coach Vyron Brown during an interview last week after mentioning having a quality group of fans who made the trip to Memphis for the season-opener. “We hope to see big support for this team when we play on our own field.”

The Dragons are averaging nearly 300 passing yards per game as quarterback Polo Solomon has spread the ball around to eight receivers over the course of two games.

Anthony Evelyn and Jacques Jones are the leaders of that receiving group. Anthony has caught nine passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. Jones has caught eight passes for 119 yards and two scores.

Kylan Duhe is the leading rusher for the team, having gained 159 yards on 26 carries.

Jones is also a leader on defense, having recorded 12 tackles, two sacks and an interception in two games. Asmar Hasan is the leading tackler with 15 and a sack.

Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Lane Field.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news