October 4, 2007
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
Game 6
Evangel vs. Avila
Oct. 6,
1 p.m.
Vincent P. Dasta Memorial Stadium (Rockhurst High School)
Kansas City, Mo.
Go to the football broadcast page
Evangel enjoyed its national ranking (No. 24) for a week before losing 49-31 at home to MidAmerica Nazarene. MidAmerica was ranked No. 11 at the time and has climbed a notch to No. 10 this week.
The game began with each team trading two TDs in the first quarter. EU started the scoring with a 10-yard pass from Derek Rasmussen to Zach Troutman. The kick by Trevor Gies failed. MidAmerica Nazarene then struck on a 17-yard pass from Matt Schneider to LaDrew Murrell. Quentin Weygaerts then converted his first of seven extra points and MNU led 7-6. Jared Stephens then raced 86 yards on the ensuing MNU kickoff to the EU 7-yard line. Ryan Polite, who was getting his first start this season at tailback, scored on the next play and Rasmussen’s pass to Bob Edwards for the two-point conversion gave EU the advantage 14-7. The kickoff was a touchback; however, Patrick Ealy raced 72 yards on the first play from scrimmage to the EU 8 and then carried the ball for the TD on the next play. The kick knotted the score at 14-14 in the first quarter.
The second quarter was won by EU on a 1-yard run by Sam Modica, followed by a Polite run of 2 yards. Gies added the point after kick following Modica’s run and Erik Brown booted the extra point after Polite’s run. MNU then added a TD on a 6-yard scamper by Kendall Addison. Weygaerts kick closed the gap to seven points with EU leading 28-21 at the half.
The second half was dominated by the MNU Pioneers. EU’s only score in the last 30 minutes was a 31-yard field goal by Brown. MNU scored three times in the third quarter. Ealy had TD runs of 4 and 24 yards and Addison had a 3-yard touchdown. MNU then scored with 2:06 left in the game on a 4-yard run by Ealy to finish the scoring and win by 17 points, 49-31.
The high-scoring game produced some larger numbers. MidAmerica Nazarene had a school-record 702 yards of total offense and EU had what would normally be a big amount with 436 yards. MNU rushed for 287 yards and passed for 415. EU had 162 yards on the ground and 274 through the air.
Rasmussen completed 23 of 40 passes with three interceptions for 274 yards and a TD. Jared Stevens (72 yards) and Troutman (53 yards) each had five catches. Polite ran for 153 tough yards and two TDs on 34 carries. Travis Meacham led EU’s with nine tackles and an interception. Jeff Hedrick had six stops and a tackle for a loss.
Schneider, Ealy, Addison, Jestes, and Perry were the big yardage players for MNU. Schneider completed 26 of 34 passes with one interception (by Travis Meacham) for 415 yards. Ealy rushed 22 times for 166 yards and four TDs. Addison added 113 rushing yards and two TDs on 11 carries. Jestes caught eight of Schneider’s passes for 126 yards and Perry had seven catches for 107 yards. Josh Speer topped the MNU defense with 20 tackles and Chad Ammons added 15.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lindenwood | 4-0 |
| 2 | Graceland | 4-1 |
| MidAmerica Nazarene | 4-1 | |
| 4 | Missouri Valley | 3-2 |
| William Jewell | 3-2 | |
| 6 | Evangel | 2-2 |
| Baker | 2-2 | |
| 8 | Benedictine | 2-3 |
| 9 | Avila | 1-4 |
| 10 | Culver-Stockton | 0-4 |
| Central Methodist | 0-4 |
The Evangel football team was ranked No. 24 on the Sept. 24 NAIA national poll. EU fell out of the top-25 poll, however, after a 49-31 loss to No. 11 MidAmerica Nazarene on Sept.29.
Four conference teams are nationally ranked on the Oct. 1 poll. Lindenwood is ranked No. 8. MidAmerica Nazarene is No. 10. Graceland and Missouri Valley moved up two spots. Graceland is No. 14 and Missouri Valley is No. 20.
Being among the top 25 teams in the NAIA is not new to the Evangel football program. The Crusaders enjoyed a string of 13 straight seasons (1991-2003) with a national ranking prior to the 2004 season, during which the team wasn’t ranked. Evangel was back on the top-25 list in 2005 and finished that campaign at No. 8. In 2006, EU was ranked No. 6 on the preseason poll, but an injury-plagued season saw the Crusaders fall out of the top-25.
Avila traveled to William Jewell in Liberty, Mo., on Sept. 29 and lost 41-19.William Jewell led 14-0 early in the game and extended the lead to 21-6 with 1:37 left in the first half. Avila then scored with 22 seconds left in the first half on a 2-yard run by Laurence Subelka. The two-point conversion pass failed and the Eagles had closed to within nine points at the half, 21-12. William Jewell then scored 20 unanswered points to lead 41-12 in the fourth quarter. Avila added a TD and extra point kick with just over a minute left in the game to lose by 22 points.
Avila quarterback Billy Firn completed 21 of 40 passes for 213 yards. He had two TD passes and was intercepted three times. Anthony Kelly caught seven passes for 86 yards and one TD. Doug Wendel had 86 receiving yards on six catches. The Eagles managed 58 rushing yards and Brandon Holiwell accounted for 57 of those yards on 11 carries. The stat discrepancy is due to Firn’s two sacks, which lost 37 yards for the Eagles. Kelly averaged 24.8 yards on five kickoffs to lead the special teams unit. Nick Ward-Bopp, Matt Varner, and Nick Saviano each had seven tackle for the Eagles. Ward-Bopp also had two tackles for losses. Charles Moore picked off one William Jewell pass.
On this week’s NAIA stat report, Evangel’s Joel Stevens is No. 8 in punt returns yards per return (14.4). As a team, Evangel ranks No. 2 in third-down conversions (54.5), No. 3 in fourth-down conversions (81.8) and No. 9 in kickoff return yards per attempt (23.4).
Doug Wendell is No. 7 in receptions per game (7.4) and Anthony Kelly is No. 8 (7.0). The team is not ranked in the top-10 of any category.
Evangel played host to the Avila Eagles on Sept. 16 last season and EU won 21-14. The Crusaders scored all 21 points in the first quarter and Avila scored its 14 points in the second quarter. The total yards were close with Avila leading 282 to 246. Avila had a balanced attack with 103 rushing and 179 passing yards. EU relied on its rushing attack. The Crusaders totaled 200 yards on the ground and just 46 through the air.
Shedrick McClenton rushed for 132 Evangel yards on 20 carries and scored one TD. Derek Rasmussen, EU’s starting quarterback, tossed the ball 17 times, completed six passes for 46 yards and had one interception. Edward Sands caught three aerials, but a big loss on a pass left him with a minus 26 yards. Ryan Polite started the game in a big way for Evangel as he took the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. On defense, Beau Grech led Evangel with 11 stops. Jacob Hamon added nine tackles and a tackle for a loss.
Jacob Witt led Avila’s ground game with 96 yards on 22 carries. He scored one TD. Billy Firn completed 14 of 30 passes for 179 yards and a TD with no interceptions. Douglas Wendell caught nine Firn passes for 108 yards and a TD. Only 14 players made a tackle for efficiency-minded Avila. Nick Saviano led the group with 15 tackles. Jake Pinson and Gary Porter added seven stops each.
Avila began its football program in 2001. Evangel leads the series 5-1. Evangel is 2-1 in Kansas City. The loss in Kansas City was by four points (32-28) during the 2003 season. The Crusaders have won the last three games.
| Date | Opponent | Atts. | Yds. | TDs | Yds/Att. | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/8/2007 | Langston | 28 | 147 | 0 | 5.3 | 23 |
| 9/30/2006 | Culver-Stockton | 23 | 116 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| 9/23/2006 | Baker | 23 | 212 | 2 | 9.2 | 72 |
| 9/16/2006 | Avila | 20 | 132 | 1 | 6.6 | 38 |
| 9/9/2006 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 20 | 177 | 1 | 8.9 | 23 |
| 9/22/2007 | Missouri Valley | 33 | 88 | 0 | 2.7 | 15 |
| 10/29/2005 | William Jewell | 15 | 81 | 2 | 5.4 | 14 |
| 10/8/2005 | Lindenwood | 8 | 83 | 0 | 10.4 | 39 |
| 10/1/2005 | Culver-Stockton | 6 | 78 | 0 | 13 | 41 |
| Date | Opponent | Atts. | Yds. | TDs | Yds/Att. | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/29/2005 | William Jewell | 13 | 145 | 2 | 11.2 | 80 |
| 9/25/2004 | Benedictine | 12 | 124 | 1 | 10.3 | 50 |
| 10/9/2004 | William Jewell | 14 | 124 | 1 | 8.9 | 39 |
| 10/23/2004 | Central Methodist | 20 | 104 | 1 | 5.2 | 34 |
| 11/12/2005 | Central Methodist | 9 | 91 | 1 | 10.1 | 46 |
| 11/13/2004 | Avila | 11 | 87 | 1 | 7.9 | 44 |
| 9/4/2004 | Baker | 7 | 83 | 0 | 11.9 | 36 |
| 9/17/2005 | Avila | 9 | 77 | 1 | 8.6 | 52 |
| Date | Opponent | Atts. | Yds. | TDs | Yds/Att. | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/29/2007 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 34 | 153 | 2 | 4.5 | 24 |
| 9/23/2006 | Baker | 13 | 81 | 0 | 6.2 | 19 |
| Date | Opponent | Atts. | Yds. | TDs | Yds/Att. | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/14/2006 | Benedictine | 24 | 102 | 1 | 4.3 | 16 |
| Date | Opponent | Comp-Att-Int | Yds. | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/10/2005 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 25-53-2 | 393 | 3 | 70 |
| 9/3/2005 | Missouri Valley | 13-20-0 | 349 | 5 | 90 |
| 9/30/2006 | Culver-Stockton | 17-30-0 | 342 | 3 | 89 |
| 9/15/2007 | Central Methodist | 21-29-1 | 302 | 2 | 58 |
| 10/15/2005 | Benedictine | 20-38-0 | 286 | 2 | 60 |
| 10/1/2005 | Culver-Stockton | 19-32-2 | 259 | 2 | 83 |
| 9/9/2006 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 13-21-2 | 243 | 3 | 69 |
| 9/24/2005 | Baker | 20-31-0 | 238 | 2 | 44 |
| 9/22/2007 | Missouri Valley | 16-31-0 | 235 | 3 | 60 (2) |
| 11/19/2005 | McKendree | 14-19-0 | 223 | 3 | 51 |
| 10/2/2004 | Graceland | 8/11/2000 | 212 | 3 | 75 |
| 9/17/2005 | Avila | 13-29-1 | 207 | 0 | 48 |