Game # 7
October 14, 2006
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Evangel is led by Scott Metcalf in his fifth season. Metcalf has a 30-19 record at Evangel and served as an EU assistant for 11 years prior to assuming the head coach job.
Benedictine is guided by long-time head coach Larry Wilcox. Wilcox began his 29th season as the Ravens’ head coach in 2006 and has a 203-101 record.
The Crusaders are 3-3 overall and all six games have been Heart of America Athletic Conference contests (6th tie with William Jewell). Evangel lost 41-10 at Lindenwood on Oct. 7. EU’s three-game winning streak came to an end with the Lindenwood loss.
The Ravens are 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (2nd). Benedictine is ranked No. 13 on the Oct. 9 NAIA national poll. Benedictine defeated William Jewell at home on Oct. 7 by a 21-13 score. After dropping their first game of the season by three points to Baker, the Ravens have won their last five outings.
Benedictine at Evangel, 1:30 p.m.
Lindenwood at Central Methodist, 2 p.m.
Baker at MidAmerica Nazarene, 1 p.m.
Graceland at William Jewell, 1 p.m.
Culver-Stockton at Missouri Valley, 2 p.m.
Avila at Haskell Indian Nations, 2 p.m.
| 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 have a 13-15-1 record in their previous 29 homecoming games. Evangel is 3-3 during its last six homecoming games (all in JFK) and is 9-11-1 in homecoming games played at JFK Stadium. This year’s opponent, Benedictine College, is playing in an Evangel homecoming game for the sixth time and the homecoming series is tied, 3-3. The series is also tied at JFK with each team winning one game. Evangel defeated Benedictine 34-13 in the 1979 Evangel homecoming game and Benedictine prevailed 20-13 in EU’s 2002 homecoming game at JFK.
After playing a competitive first half (Lindenwood led 14-10), Evangel mistakes and Lindenwood’s ability to capitilize on the miscues led the host Lions to a 41-10 victory over the Crusaders on Oct. 7 in St. Charles, Mo.
Five of Lindenwood’s six TDs were aided by Evangel mistakes. The Lions scored on two blocked punts, two interceptions and capped off their scoring with a 36-yard, flea-flicker following EU’s third interceped pass of the afternoon.
Highlighting the closeness of the game - minus the EU errors - was the fact that Evangel had more total yards, 294-261, and more first downs, 20-14.
Evangel quarterback Derek Rasmussen totaled 194 yards and completed 19 of 35 passes (.543) with one TD and the three interceptions. Shedrick McClenton accumulated 56 yards on 14 carries in the first half. He did not play in the second half due to an injury and is listed as day-to-day for the Benedictine game. Troy Stegall took over the rushing duties and ended the game with 32 yards on 10 attempts. Drew Coplin caught four passes for 46 yards. McClenton and Edward Sands each caught three passes. Sands had one TD catch of three yards. Kicker Trevor Gies added the extra point and also booted a 21-yard field goal for the Crusaders.
Defensively, EU was led by Andrew Matrone’s six tackles. Keidrick Doby and Jon Fouch had four stops. Troy Rayburn led the team with two tackles for losses. Matrone and Brandon Mires each had a sack and Von Dixon returned an interception for 13 yards, which led to EU’s field goal.
Benedictine defeated William Jewell 21-13 at home on Oct. 7 to win its fifth straight game. The Ravens had to use some last-second heroics, however, to secure the win.
With 30 seconds left in the game and William Jewell within scoring distance, BC’s Johnny Ferris provided the heroics. He intercepted a William Jewell pass on the Benedictine 1-yard line to seal the win.
Benedictine had 370 yards to William Jewell’s 278. Both teams were nearly identical in rushing yards. BC had 159 and WJC totaled 142. Benedictine made up the difference in the passing game with 211 yards. William Jewell had 126.
The BC passing yardage was accumulated with only eight completions. Starting QB, John Weitlich tallied 141 yards, completing seven of 19 with one interception. Tailback Jesse Thomas completed his only pass of the game - a 70-yard scoring strike to Weitlich.
Thomas finished the game with 146 rushing yards on 22 carries (6.6). His yardage included a 62-yard scoring jaunt.
Defensively, Victor Fields was credited with 12 stops and had the Raven’s only sack. Dema Preobrazhensky tallied eight tackles and Adam Kenkel had seven.
Passing: Derek Rasmussen has completed 77 of 152 passes for 1,109 yards. He has tossed nine TD passes and has been intercepted six times.
Receiving: Edward Sands has 22 receptions for 386 yards and six TDs. Drew Coplin has caught ten passes for 117 yards.
Rushing: Shedrick McClenton has 696 yards on 103 carries (6.8 per carry, 116.0 per game).
Punting: Trevor Gies averages 32.1 yards on 23 punts. He has placed six punts inside the 20 yard line. QB Derek Rasmussen has punted four times for a 33.3 average and had one punt downed inside the 20.
Punt Returns: Von Dixon has seven returns for 43 yards (6.1).
Kickoff Returns: Ryan Polite (injured) returned six for 167 yards (27.8 average and one TD). Shedrick McClenton has brought back five kickoffs for 129 yards (25.8).
Interceptions: Von Dixon has two for 38 yards and a TD. Joel Stevens has two interceptions for 33 yards.
Tackles: The leaders are Andrew Matrone (31), Beau Grech (28), Nathan Thomas (27) and Joel Stevens (25).
Sacks: Brian Rolling leads EU with three sacks. Matrone and Brandon Mires each have 2.5.
Tackles for Losses: Andrew Matrone has six and Brian Rolling has five. Brandon Mires and Troy Rayburn each have 4.5.
Pass Breakups: Joel Stevens leads the secondary with five.
Passing: In two games, Luke Krusemark has completed 14 of 27 passes for 245 yards and a pair of TDs. He has no interceptions. Starter John Weitlich has 460 yards and no TDs. He has completed 32 of 70 attempts and suffered five interceptions.
Receiving: Mike Biancuzzo has caught 13 passes for 214 yards. Conor Walsh has 12 receptions for 206 yards. Zach Lane has latched onto nine passes for 200 yards and Justin Lutz has scored two TDs. Lutz has caught five passes for 38 yards.
Rushing: Jesse Thomas has 103 carries for 511 yards and four TDs. Mike Steen has 98 yards on 29 carries and one TD in two games. Jason Garland has rushed 44 times for 191 yards and two scores. Nick Silcock has seen 26 totes for 120 yards and one TD.
Punting: Brian Lowry averages 33.3 yards on 31 punts and has placed five inside the 20-yard line.
Punt Returns: Carlos Cuellar averages 6.0 yards on 16 punt returns.
Kickoff Returns: Ben Ali has returned nine kickoffs for an average of 19.1 yards per return.
Interceptions: Drew Reno has five pass thefts for 95 yards and one TD. Johnny Ferris has three interceptions for 42 yards.
Tackles: The leaders are Victor Fields (41), Dema Preobrazhensky (36), Eddie Lamb (35) and Adam Kenkel (34).
Sacks: Preobrazhensky has four sacks and ten tackles for losses. Both are team-leading numbers.
Pass Breakups: Ben Ali has broken up eight passes and Drew Reno has six pass breakups.
Fumbles Caused: Dema Preobrazhensky has caused three fumbles.
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.
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.