LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lexington quarterback Eddie Eviston threw five touchdown passes Saturday and ran for another as the Horsemen defeated Daytona Beach 48-12 on Saturday in Rupp Arena. The game marked the first for both teams as members of arenafootball2.

Eviston completed 17-of-31 passes for 148 yards. Eviston, who has recorded nine five-plus touchdown games in his Horsemen career, has now thrown five or more touchdown passes in three consecutive games dating back to last season.

“Eddie is just a great football player,” Lexington’s first-year head coach Mike Harmon said. “He is a great leader and a great person. We’re just lucky he wanted to come back and join us for another year. There’s not enough we can say about him. He’s just a winner.”

Former University of Kentucky standout Craig Yeast, playing in his first game in a Lexington uniform, finished with seven catches for 51 yards with a touchdown, while fellow receiver Chad Spencer caught three passes for 42 yards (14.0 avg) with two scores.

The Horsemen benefitted from a strong defensive effort which limited the ThunderBirds to just 12 points in the game. J.T. Haskins led Lexington with 6.5 tackles, while Connie Brown and Willie Smith each recorded five stops. Smith also had three pass breakups in the game.

“I was very pleased with the way we played defensively tonight, especially early in the game,” Harmon said. “I thought our guys did an unbelievable job without any film to watch on our opponent. I think we still have a lot of work to do, but our offense scored pretty much every possession and for our defense to hold someone to 12 points in this game is phenomenal.”

A pair of receivers led the way for Daytona Beach as Toris Rutledge had six catches for 69 yards and Jamaal Lewis tallied six grabs for 52 yards.

The Horsemen improved to 5-1 all-time in season openers.

Lexington returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when it plays host to Peoria.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Daytona Beach 0 6 6 0 - 12
Lexington Horsemen 14 13 14 7 - 48

Scoring Summary
LEX – Harry Lewis 9 pass from Eddie Eviston (Doug Daniel kick) … 11:24 1st qtr., LEX 7-0
LEX – Chad Spencer 9 pass from Eddie Eviston (Doug Daniel kick) … 3:43 1st qtr., LEX 14-0
DB – James Jackson 1 run (Mike Adams kick failed) … 12:14 2nd qtr., LEX 14-6
LEX – Craig Yeast 8 pass from Eddie Eviston (Doug Ganiel kick) … 5:12 2nd qtr., LEX 21-6
LEX – Chad Spencer 25 pass from Eddie Eviston … 0:35 2nd qtr., LEX 27-6
LEX – Michael Madrazo 1 run (Doug Daniel kick) … 8:57 3rd qtr., LEX 34-6
LEX – Aaron Miller 2 pass from Eddie Eviston (Doug Daniel kick) … 7:34 3rd qtr., LEX 41-6
DB – Chris Coach 4 pass from Scott Jeffries (Scott Jeffries pass failed) … 2:55 3rd qtr., LEX 41-12
LEX – Eddie Eviston 3 run (Doug Daniel kick) … 0:56 4th qtr., LEX 48-12