Game # 6
Away Game # 3
October 7, 2006
The Crusaders are at Lindenwood in a Heart of America Athletic Conference game in St. Charles, Missouri.
The Crusaders have won three straight and are 3-2 on the season. Last week, they continued their winning streak with a 31-10 win at home against Culver-Stockton.
The Lions are 2-4 and 2-2 in conference play. Lindenwood was edged last week 17-14 at William Jewell. Lindenwood is 2-0 at home in the conference and 2-1 at home overall with a non-conference loss to # 4 Georgetown ( Ky.).
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Scott Metcalf enters his fifth season as the Head Coach of the Crusaders. He is 30-18 at the helm and led Evangel from a 4-6 season in 2004, to a 9-3 campaign last year that included a HAAC championship and a NAIA National Quarterfinals appearance. Metcalf is in his 15 th year overall as a coach on the Evangel staff having previously served as offensive coordinator and receivers coach.
Patrick Ross is in his third season with Lindenwood. He is 20-9 as Head Coach of the Lions and 34-16 with five years experience as a collegiate head coach. Ross led Lindenwood to a conference title in his first year with the Lions in 2004. He also won a championship with Ottawa ( Kan.) winning the KCAC in 2003.
The Crusaders defense shutout Culver-Stockton in the second half as Evangel beat the Wildcats 31-10 at Kennedy Stadium last week.
QB Derek Rasmussen threw for 342 yards going 17 for 30 with three touchdowns. He helped put EU on the board with an 89 yard scoring strike to WR Edward Sands giving the Crusaders a 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
Rasmussen hit Sands again in the second quarter for a 59-yard TD pass putting EU ahead 14-3.
Evangel’s defense held Culver-Stockton off of the scoreboard in the second half. LB Keidrick Doby led the defense with 8 tackles.
Lindenwood lost at William Jewell last week 17-14. The Lions had a 14-10 lead through most of the second half but the Cardinals would score on a 23- yard pass play with 3:13 left that proved to be the difference.
Hakeen Abdullah led with Lions rushing for 108 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.
MidAmercia Nazarene at Avila, 1 pm
Cen. Methodist at Cul.-Stockton, 2 pm
William Jewell at Benedictine, 2 pm
Missouri Valley at Baker, 2 pm
Graceland (BYE)
| Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Mo. Valley |
4 |
0 |
2 |
Benedictine |
3 |
1 |
3 |
Evangel |
3 |
2 |
|
Graceland |
3 |
2 |
|
Will. Jewell |
3 |
2 |
6 |
MidAm Naz. |
2 |
2 |
7 |
Lindenwood |
2 |
2 |
8 |
Baker |
2 |
3 |
9 |
Cen. Meth. |
1 |
3 |
10 |
Avila |
1 |
3 |
|
Culver- St. |
1 |
3 |
The Crusaders beat Lindenwood 24-10 in their Homecoming game last year at JFK Stadium. In front of a 50 th Anniversary Homecoming crowd of more than 5,600 Evangel rallied from 7-0 behind after one quarter to take the lead in the second period. A Demetric Phillips 2 yard run capped a 99 yard drive that tied the game and moments later, Josiah Cravalho intercepted a pass and ran it back 35 yards to put the Crusaders ahead 14-7 at the half. Erik Brown connected on a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter that put EU up by 10.
The Lions got a fourth quarter field goal to pull to within a touchdown, but Phillips put the game away on a 3 yard TD run with 5:53 remaining giving Evangel a 24-10 lead.
Lindenwood had four turnovers in the game and only managed 10 points despite a 248-yard rushing effort by Dee Dee Dorsey (currently on the Indianapolis Colts active roster).
Evangel leads the all-time series 8-2 with both losses coming at Lindenwood. The Crusaders lost their last trip to St. Charles falling 35-21 to a Lions team that went on to win the 2004 HAAC Championship.
Evangel is 3-2 all-time at Lindenwood. This is the Evangel’s first trip to the newly renovated Hunter Stadium. The Crusaders last journey to St. Charles was during the stadium’s construction phase as Hunter Stadium has since been rebuilt and expanded to accommodate 15,500 spectators.
The Crusaders have won three straight behind excellent defensive efforts. After holding Avila to 14 points, they shut out Baker on the road (24-0) and blanked Culver-Stockton in the second half en route to a 31-10 win.
The defense has given up just 8 points per game during the streak and has allowed no fourth quarter points. The Crusaders have had fast starts during the streak, too. Evangel has outscored their opponents 66-10 in the first half during the current 3-game winning streak.
Evangel’s stat leaders:
Lindenwood’s stat leaders:
Derek Rasmussen was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in Evangel’s 31-10 win against Culver-Stockton last Saturday.
Rasmussen threw for 342 yards on 17 of 30 pass attempts. He had three touchdowns passes with scoring throws of 89, 59, and 19 yards. Rasmussen’s 89 yards TD pass matched the second longest touchdown pass in Evangel history and his second only to his record 90-yard throw to Brian Hartzler last season. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri native is a secondary education major.
Evangel hosts Benedictine for Homecoming 2006 next week. Game time is 1:30 p.m. at JFK Stadium. The Ravens entered this week ranked #16 and are at home against William Jewell this Saturday.
Every Evangel football game will air live on Springfield radio station ESPN 1400 AM. Pre-game coverage will begin 15 minutes before each game and the Assemblies of God Credit Union Post Game Show will provide a complete recap of each game. Ed Beach enters his fifth season as the play-by-play “Voice of the Crusaders” and is joined on the broadcasts by Matt Warner.