(Lindsey Wilson Athletics photo)
Caldwell County grad Jaylen Boyd and his Lindsey Wilson College football team have been tabbed as favorites to win the 2020-21 Mid-South Conference Bluegrass Division title, officials announced on Wednesday.
The Blue Raiders sit atop the poll after earning 49 points and seven first-place votes. Cumberlands (Ky.) sits behind in second with 43 points and one first-place vote.
Cumberlands (Ky.) is ranked second in the coaches’ poll with 43 points and the final first-place vote followed by Georgetown (Ky.) in third with 34 voting points.
Pikeville (Ky.) gathered 32 voting points to land at fourth in the preseason poll with Bethel (Tenn.) following in fifth with 24 points.
Thomas More (Ky.) received 17 voting points for sixth while Cumberland (Tenn.) garnered 16 points for seventh. Campbellsville (Ky.) rounds out the poll in eighth with nine voting points.
Last season, Lindsey Wilson went a perfect 7-0 in the MSC Bluegrass Division to be crowned conference champions for the third time in program history.
Boyd, who earned Bluegrass Division First Team honors last season and was an NAIA All-American, rushed for 1,119 yards and 12 touchdowns, helping the Blue Raiders reach the NAIA FCS Playoff Semifinals. Lindsey Wilson finished the year at a program-best 12-1.
A 2015 Caldwell County grad, Boyd is second on the Tigers’ all-time rushing list with 5,451 yards. He owns the Tiger single-season rushing record with 2,041 yards in 2012.
The Lindsey Wilson football team will open the 2020-21 campaign this Friday at Blue Raider Stadium in Columbia against MSC Bluegrass Division opponent Pikeville with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m.
Lindsey Wilson has never lost to Pikeville on the football field, sitting at a perfect 7-0 in the series.
All Blue Raiders games have been moved to Friday this spring instead of the normal Saturday dates. The move was made to help alleviate scheduling pressures with all sports being contested in the spring.
(Includes information from Lindsey Wilson press releases.)
