The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation recently announced this year’s eight Scholar-Athlete award winners. Senior Blake Lyons was among the 27 Honorable Mentions.
The award honors Minnesota high school football players for their outstanding athletic, academic and community service accomplishments.
“We are so proud of the outstanding achievements of our Scholar-Athlete award winners and Honorable Mention selections,” said Todd Fultz, President of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation. “Our state is filled with young people who are committed to making a difference on the field, in the classroom and community. It brings me great joy when we read about each athlete’s accomplishments on their nomination paperwork. We can’t wait to recognize and honor these achievements during this summer’s Minnesota Football Honors broadcast.”
Lyons is in the Clipper record book for having the third most all-time career pass completions (286), the sixth most all-time career passing yards (2662) and the fourth most all-time career pass attempts (587).
“That’s pretty good company, especially since he didn’t get to play most of his senior year,” said head coach Erik Hermanson, who presented Lyons with the award on April 7 (above).
Hermanson also commended Lyons for his leadership, despite being on teams that were young and understaffed.
“That’s when it’s hard to be a leader. It’s easy to be a leader when you are winning every game. It’s well deserved.”
“I feel honored in being selected,” Lyons said.
Lyons’ QB history
As a freshman Lyons stepped in for quarterback after Jackson Meyer was injured just before halftime in the second game of the season. He was the starting quarterback for the next two games but missed two more with an injury. He was back behind center for the homecoming win but left the game late in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, which also took him out of the last game of the regular season and the playoff game. Rapidly improving when he was on the field, he completed 24 of 50 pass attempts for 287 yards.
In his sophomore season, Lyons stayed healthy and got the turf time he needed. He completed 101 of 220 pass attempts for 893 yards, four touchdowns and two PATs. Leading the Clipper ground game, he also legged 257 yards in 49 carries and one touchdown. As a safety, he had 44 tackle assists and 23 solo tackles and forced and recovered one fumble and deflected on pass. District coaches picked him to be a member of the All-District team while his teammates chose him as Back of the Year.
In his junior year, Lyons completed 135 of 272 passes for 1,246 total yards and seven touchdowns. He was typically in the top 10 in the state for completions. As the Clippers’ leading rusher, Lyons kept the ball after 60 snaps for 250 yards and a pair of TDs. On defense, he was second in tackles with 41 solos and 30 assists. One of his tackles was behind the scrimmage line, and he intercepted one pass. He was voted on by his teammates as the MVP and by district coaches as a member of the All-District team.
As a senior Last fall, Lyons’ high school career ended after the second game of the season due to a knee injury in that game. In the two games, he completed 24 of 45 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 19 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns. As a middle linebacker, he also had two interceptions, one for the Clippers’ only defensive touchdown He was an All-District Honorable Mention.
About the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation:
The Minnesota Chapter of The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame is a local non-profit organization whose mission is to promote amateur football’s ability to develop leadership, sportsmanship, competitive spirit and academic excellence in Minnesota’s young people. The Minnesota Chapter recognizes legendary football icons, college football Hall of Famers and Minnesota’s top high school and college football scholar-athletes. For more information, visit www.nffmn.org.