THE GAME
The Siena Heights football team will play its home opener against conference newcomer Missouri Baptist for a Mid-States Football Association Mideast League game on Sept. 12. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at O'Laughlin Stadium. This is the first football meeting between Siena Heights and Missouri Baptist.
The Saints are coming off a season-opening 45-20 win over Lindenwood-Belleville in MSFA Mideast action on Sept. 5. Missouri Baptist opened its season on Aug. 29 with a 48-7 home loss to Bethel (Tenn.).
THE COACHES
Jim Lyall (Michigan '74) is in his fifth season as head coach for Siena Heights, where he now has a 16-15 varsity record. He is 120-107-1 all-time as a collegiate varsity football coach. During SHU's 2011 club season, Lyall went 8-1. He was previously the head coach at Adrian, where he compiled a 103-92-1 varsity slate. In 2014, Lyall was named MSFA Mideast Coach of the Year after guiding the Saints to their first conference championship.
Jason Burianek (Colorado) is in his second year as head coach for Missouri Baptist. He is 1-11 all-time as a collegiate varsity football coach. He spent six seasons -- on and off -- as an assistant coach with McKendree (Ill.).
FOLLOW THE MARCH
All Siena Heights football games will be webcast on the Siena Heights Sports Network, which can be accessed via the Stretch Internet link on WWW.SHUSAINTS.COM. Live stats can be followed online at WWW.SHUSAINTS.COM.
SHSN will provide live video for each Saint home game. Play-by-play will be called by Eric Iden with Donovan Campbell providing color commentary. Iden is in his second year with the Saints broadcast team while Campbell, a Siena Heights alum, is in his first season.
SHSN and WLEN 103.9 FM have also enjoyed a five-year partnership. All games will be audio-streamed online at WLEN.COM while select games will be broadcasted live on the radio.
UP NEXT... WEAR YELLOW
The Saints will play their second straight home game when Concordia visits O'Laughlin Stadium for on Saturday, Sept. 19, for a 7 p.m. start. Since the schools are the only two Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference schools that sponsor football, the game will unofficially be WHAC Bowl IV.
SHU will wear yellow uniforms and invites its fans to follow suit to create a sea of yellow in the O'Laughlin Stadium stands.
Concordia is currently 0-1 after opening its season with a 25-21 home loss against Saint Ambrose (Iowa) on Aug. 29. The Cardinals will visit NCAA Division III opponent Anderson (Ind.) on Sept. 12.
