Wesson senior Zevante Stapleton signed to continue his athletic and academic career last week with Lyon College.

A running back, Stapleton rushed for 939 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior for a Wesson team that finished 8-2.

Lyon College is located in Batesville, Arkansas and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. The athletic teams at the school are called The Scots and play at the NCAA Division III level. The team played as an independent last season and will join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) as an affiliate member in 2024.

Lyon and head coach Chris Douglass finished 4-4 last season, including a 48-15 setback to Belhaven University.

In Stapleton, the Scots are getting a hard-nosed ball carrier who’s been wowing Wesson fans with his speed and elusiveness since his junior high days.

Ahead of his junior season, Wesson coach Jeremy Loy had been talking about the big things that the program expected out of Stapleton as ascended to be the team’s primary ball carrier.

Then, just before the start of regular season play, Stapleton went down with a season-ending knee injury. His return to the field in 2023 was a big part of Wesson starting the season off with an eight-game winning streak. He rushed for a season high 176 yards in a win over Perry Central and earned Daily Leader All-Area honors along with being named All-Region.

“We are so glad Zevante is getting an opportunity to keep playing,” said Loy. “He’s a team guy and has great character. He had a major setback with his knee injury as a junior, but he worked his tail off to get back on the field as a senior so he could help his team. He has good speed and having him in the backfield was a tremendous lift for our team and I think he’ll do well at Lyon College.”