September 20, 2007
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
Game # 4
Evangel vs. Missouri Valley
September 22, 6 p.m.
Gregg-Mitchell Field
Marshall, Mo.
Go to the football broadcast page
Sparked by Joel Steven’s 75-yard return of the game’s first punt for a TD, Evangel’s offense picked up some steam and the Crusaders’ rolled to a 34-7 win over visiting Central Methodist on Sept. 15. Stevens finished the day with three punt returns for 124 yards and was named the national special teams player of the week for the NAIA. He earned the same honor from the conference.
EU’s offense accumulated 345 yards thru the air and 82 on the ground. Starting quarterback Derek Rasmussen passed for 302 yards and a pair of TDs, completing 21 of 29 passes (.724) with one interception. Redshirt freshman Reggie Roepke was at the QB helm for two series in the fourth quarter and completed four of seven passes for 43 yards. Rasmussen tossed TD passes covering 25 yards to Landon Small and 12 yards to Mike Ryswyk. EU’s other two scores were complements of Shedrick McClenton, who scored from the 3 and the 26 yard lines. McClenton finished the game with 49 yards on 10 carries. Ryan Polite saw his first action in eight games (missed last six of 2006 and first two of 2007) and contributed 12 yards on six carries.
Evangel’s defense continued its strong play, limiting the Eagles to 101 rushing and 183 passing yards. Andrew Matrone and Beau Grech led Evangel in tackles with nine each. Jacob Hamon, Jeff Hedrick, and Tim Michaux each tallied six stops. Keidrick Doby and Caleb Taylor each had a sack. Ryan Whitesell and Michaux shared the third sack of CMU’s quarterback. Interceptions were made by Jon Fouch and Andrew Rickman. Also, Hedrick blocked a field goal and Nathan Thomas blocked a punt.
Evangel junior defensive back Joel Stevens was named the national special teams player of the week by the NAIA. Earlier, Stevens was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference special teams player of the week for his play in Evangel’s 34-7 home win over Central Methodist on Sept. 15. Stevens set the tone for the game as he returned the first punt of the contest 75-yards for a touchdown. He finished the game with three punt returns for 124 yards.
Missouri Valley out-lasted Benedictine in three overtimes to win its season-opener, 33-27, in Atchison, Kans., on Sept. 1 The Vikings then dropped a 30-21 contest at home to Graceland a week later. The loss was Missouri Valley’s first conference loss since 2005. Last Saturday, Sept. 15, Missouri Valley traveled to William Jewell and won by 11 points, 25-14.
Against William Jewell, Missouri Valley’s defense stymied the home team’s rushing game. William Jewell had a minus 44 yards on the ground. On offense, Robert Holmes was the workhorse, totaling 135 yards and scoring four touchdowns on 33 carries.
Missouri Valley had 218 total yards of offense (95 passing, 123 rushing) and limited William Jewell to 107 (151 passing, -44 rushing).
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lindenwood | 3-0 |
| 2 | Graceland | 2-1 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene | 2-1 | |
| Missouri Valley | 2-1 | |
| William Jewell | 2-1 | |
| 6 | Baker | 1-1 |
| Evangel | 1-1 | |
| 8 | Avila | 1-2 |
| Benedictine | 1-2 | |
| 10 | Culver-Stockton | 0-2 |
| Central Methodist | 0-2 |
Evangel held a No. 6 preseason ranking and Missouri Valley, who would end up as a semifinalist in the NAIA playoffs at the season’s end, was not ranked. MVC, after defeating Evangel 29-23 in Springfield, began to climb week-by-week, finishing No. 5 on the final NAIA poll and No. 3 on the postseason poll.
The teams traded TDs in the first quarter. MVC struck first on a 41-yard TD pass from Jason Shoulders to Javion Jones. EU would answer with a 39-yard scoring pass from Derek Rasmussen Edward Sands. EU’s Erik Brown missed the extra point and the Vikings led 7-6 after the first quarter.
The second quarter belonged to the visiting Vikings. Shoulders connected with Ryan Ross for a 9-yard TD, LeAndre Matthews scored from 5-yards out, and Joe Park booted a 32-yard field goal. EU did get on the scoreboard in the second half. WIth 30 seconds left Rasmussen threw a 20-yard strike to Jared Stevens and MV led at halftime 23-13.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth stanza, EU’s special team got in to the scoring act. Joel Stevens blocked a MV field goal attempt by Tyler Fennewald, recovered the ball and raced 84 yards for EU’s final TD of the day. Rasmussen ran in the two-point conversion and EU had closed to within two points, 23-21. The Vikings, however, would add an insurance TD with just over two minutes left in the game on a 1-yard plunge by Shoulders. The MV two-point run try on the conversion by Park was fumbled on a force by Michael Loveless and EU’s Edward Sands recovered.
Although the score was fairly close, the stats were not. Missouri Valley out gained Evangel 435 to 194 in total offensive yards. Valley had 145 rushing yards to EU’s 38 and held a 290-156 advantage in the airways.
Evangel’s ground game sputtered with (Jared) Stevens leading with 45 yards on 13 carries. Rasmussen completed 10 of 22 passes with two interceptions for 156 yards and the two TDs. Ben Wolfinbarger led EU’s receivers with three catches for 47 yards. Forced to punt six times, EU’s Trevor Gies averaged 38.0 yards on three punts and Rasmussen had a 30.3 average on three punts. Nathan Thomas led EU’s defense with 13 stops and a sack. Andrew Matrone added eight tackles and a sack.
Missouri Valley’s aerial attack was led by Shoulders who passed for 290 yards and a pair of TDs. Shoulders completed 14 of 24 passes with no interceptions. He spread his receptions out evenly between six receivers. Robert Holmes, who led the MV running game with 27 carries for 166 yards (6.1), caught three passes for 66 yards. Michael Wilder latched onto three aerials for 55 yards. On defense, Johnathan Durham tallied seven tackles with two stops for losses and a pass breakup. Bruce Thomas added six tackles.
Missouri Valley holds a slim 12-11 edge in the 23-game series, however, both teams have performed better on the opponent’s home field. Evangel is 8-4 in Marshall and Missouri Valley is 8-3 in Springfield. Last season, EU lost at home by six points to Missouri Valley.
Derek Rasmussen completed 72.4 percent of his passes (21-29) and totaled 302 yards in EU’s 34-7 win versus Central Methodist on Sept. 15. Rasmussen had TD passes of 25 yards to Landon Small and 12 yards to Mike Ryswyk. The 300-yard effort is the fourth in Rasmussen’s career at Evangel. His career-high is 393 yards versus MidAmerica Nazarene in 2005.
Four Heart of America Athletic Conference teams are in the top-25 NAIA poll. Missouri Valley is No. 8 (moved up two places). Lindenwood is No.14 (moved up four places). MidAmerica Nazarene is No. 16 (moved up one place). Graceland is No. 24 (fell five places). In addition, Benedictine received five votes and Evangel had one.
Joel Stevens ranks No. 3 among NAIA punt returners. Stevens has returned eight punts for an average of 19.6. The national leader is Sammy Cook of West Virginia University Institute of Technology (4-24.5) and the No. 2 punt return man is Justin Sayre of Ohio Dominican University (13-20.2).
Evangel University has been joined by the Assemblies of God Credit Union and radio station KSGF (104.1 FM and 1260 AM) to sponsor the “Helping Heroes Football Classic” when EU plays MidAmerica Nazarene in JFK on Sept. 29. The game will not only serve as a way to thank all veterans, but will also serve as a special fund-raising event for the Eagles Summit Ranch. The ranch is a facility in Colorado for severely injured vets returns from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Eagles Summit Ranch is operated by Dave Roever (pronounced REE-ver) and was opened on Sept. 11 of this year. The ranch was dedicated to the “worst wounded warriors” in the U.S. military.
Roever, who was severely injured in Vietnam by a phosphorus grenade, is a well-known evangelist and speaker, . He was severely burned and hospitalized for 14 months, but persevered thru his injuries and disfigurement to begin a ministry that reaches youth groups, public schools, military organizations and many other Christian outreach programs worldwide. Roever will be featured in an interview on the Vincent David Jericho Show (weekdays 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.) on KSGF (104.1 FM, 1260 AM).
All veterans will be admitted free of charge to the Sept. 29 game and special tail-gate activities will highlight pregame activities. Roever and Eagles Summit Ranch personnel will be in attendance at the game and will conduct a chapel service on the Evangel campus on Friday, Sept. 28.
Head Coach:
Scott Metcalf (Evangel, 1984) Record/Years At Evangel: 31-22/5 years; plus 11 years as an EU assistant
Full-time Assistant Coaches:
Ron Anzevino (Youngstown State, 1985) 2nd year, 1st year as full-time assistant, defensive backs
Lt. Col. Dale Garrett (West Liberty State, 1974), 5th year, running backs
Chad Gehring (East Central, 1997), 4th year, special teams coordinator, offensive line
Charlie Getty (Penn State, 1974), 6th year, video coordinator, strength coach, defensive line
Robert Harley (Redlands, 1992), 6th year, offensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, quarterbacks
Dr. Matt Stringer (Evangel, 1989), 7th year, defensive coordinator, linebackers
Jeff Williams (Evangel, 1996), 13th overall year, 8th as full-time assistant, equipment coordinator, tight ends and receivers
Graduate Assistants: Jeremiah Hays (offense) and Alex Smith (defense)
Every Evangel football game will air live on Springfield radio stadion ESPN 1400 AM (KGMY). Pre-game coverage will begin 15 minutes prior to kickoff. The Assemblies of God Credit Union post-game show will provide a complete recap of each game.
Ed Beach begins his fifth season as the play-by-play “Voice of the Crusaders.” Matt Warner provides the color commentary.