November 2, 2007
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
Game 10
Evangel vs. Benedictine
Nov. 3,
1 p.m.
Raven Stadium
Atchison, Kans.
Go to the football broadcast page
The No. 7-ranked Lions of Lindenwood came to Springfield and defeated Evangel 34-10 in JFK Stadium on Oct. 27. Lindenwood scored first on an 11-yard pass from Ben Kisner to Dominic Peterson and EU was never able to overtake the Lions. EU’s Erik Brown nailed a 42-yard field goal to end the first quarter scoring. Halley Farrell then booted a 19-yard field goal in the second quarter and EU was down by only seven points at the half, 10-3. Lindenwood, however, outscored Evangel 24-7 in the second half and 17 of the Lions’ points came in the fourth quarter. LU’s Hakeem Abdullah scored on a 1-yard TD in the third quarter and then added a 20-yard TD run at the beginning of the fourth. Kisner added another six points to Lindenwood’s score on a short (3-yards) pass to Peterson and Ferrell capped of the afternoon’s scoring with a 44-yard field goal with 2:58 remaining in the game. EU’s second half TD was scored on a pass play from Derek Rasmussen to Ryan Polite. Polite dashed 60 yards and scored after making a cut from the sideline to the inside of the field as he neared the goal line. Ferrell was accurate on all four of his extra point attempts and Trevor Gies made EU’s only extra point kick.
Evangel’s Shedrick McClenton II rushed for a quiet 127 yards on 23 carries (5.5). Rasmussen passed for 205 yards - his fifth 200-plus yards passing game of the year - on 19 of 27 accuracy with one interception and the TD pass to Polite. Jared Stevens led the receivers in catches with five for 42 yards and also returned three kickoffs for 63 yards (21.0). Polite was the top receiver in total yards. He had 63 on four catches.
Lindenwood’s (Hakeem) Abdullah rushed for 143 yards and two TDs on 23 carries (6.2) and had four receptions for 65 yards. Kisner finished the game with 234 passing yards. He completed 19 of 35 with two TDS and had three passes intercepted.
Evangel defenders picking off Kisner’s passes were Nathan Thomas, Travis Meacham and John-Michael Robertson. Thomas returned his interception for 50 yards and Meacham’s interception return was for seven yards. Chris Bodoin led EU’s defense with nine tackles, five of which were solo stops. He also had two tackles for losses. John Hunt, Brandon Mires, and Justin Reppert each had six tackles. Von Dixon recorded EU’s only sack.
The Lindenwood defense was led by Dan Carlisle. He had ten tackles. Jared Shoemaker added nine tackles and had an interception return for 44 yards. Jeremy Coley tallied eight stops and two were for losses. Brian Schaefering was credited with a sack.
Even though Lindenwood dominated the game, especially the second half, the stats were fairly even. Lindenwood had 408 offensive yards (174 rush, 234 pass) and Evangel had 361 yards (129 rush, 232 pass). The one stat that stood out was the time of possession. Lindenwood’s defense was on the field for 37 minutes and nine seconds. Evangel’s defense saw action for 22 minutes and 51 seconds.
With the score tied, 13-13, and the fourth quarter almost finished, Benedictine was handed its fifth surprise loss of the season by William Jewell in Liberty, Mo. Benedictine had driven into William Jewell territory and the ball was snapped for what looked to be the last play of the game in regulation. Benedictine quarterback Ryan Kelly, however, was stripped of the ball as he dropped back. William Jewell’s Isaac Cheatham was able to toss the ball toward Ryan Florence, who scooped it up and raced 50 yards for the winning points as time expired. Five of the Ravens’ six losses have come in the final minute - or seconds - of regulation.
Benedictine had more offensive yards, 293 to 240, and both teams went to the air to cover most of the distance. The Ravens tallied 222 passing yards and William Jewell had 154 yards. Benedictine’s defense limited WJ’s offense to 86 rushing yards. William Jewell’s defensive allowed BC’s offense 71 yards on the ground.
Kelly completed 17 of 28 passes for Benedictine’s 222 yards. He threw three interceptions and tossed a 26-yard aerial to Chris Langley. Just 19 seconds prior to his TD toss, Kelly scored on a 1-yard TD run. The two TDs and Jordan Banion’s good kick after the rushing TD gave Benedictine’s its first, and only, lead of the game. William Jewell had jumped to a 10-0 lead before Benedictine made its comeback to go ahead 13-10 just 30 seconds prior to halftime. William Jewell’s Stephen Bader tied the game with a 22-yard field goal in the third quarter. Neither team could find the end zone until William Jewell scored on the game’s final, bizarre play of the day.
In addition to Kelly’s 222 passing yards, Jason Garland ran for 56 yards on 15 carries for Benedictine. Jake Mohr led all receivers with six catches for 104 yards. The Raven defense was led by Dema Preobrazhensky’s 12 tackles. Ten of his stops were solo tackles. Preobrazhensky also had 4.5 tackles for losses and a sack for a 5-yard loss.
Benedictine has lost six games this year and five were decided in the last few minutes or even seconds.
Evangel’s Trevor Gies booted a 34-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to give the Crusaders a come-from-behind, 19-17 homecoming win over No. 13-ranked Benedictine.
EU’s normal starting quarterback, Derek Rasmussen, sat out the first quarter due to disciplinary action, but came on strong to complete 17 of 28 passes for 182 yards and a TD. He had one pass intercepted. Steve Trulove caught six passes for 48 yards and Edward Sands hauled in four for 62 yards. Troy Stegall rushed for 102 yards - his first 100-yard rushing game. Stegall had 24 carries and scored his first EU TD on a 1-yard run. Jacob Hamon led the EU defense with ten tackles. Von Dixon had nine. Andrew Matrone and Troy Rayburn each had seven stops.
Benedictine’s Jesse Thomas ran for 108 yards and a TD on 13 carries. John Weitlich completed 9 of 22 passes for 164 yards and a TD. Conor Walsh and Mike Biancuzzo each had two catches. Victor Fields led BC’s defensive unit with 13 tackles and eight were solo hits. He also had a tackle for a loss, a sack and one fumble recovery.
Both punters had exceptional afternoons. Evangel’s Trevor Gies booted the ball five times for a 43.4 average and had one punt inside the 20. Benedictine’s Brian Lowry punted six times for a 42.8 average and had two punts inside the 20.
Evangel had 315 total offensive yards (95 rush, 220 pass) and Benedictine finished with 338 yards of total offense (174 rush, 164 pass).
Evangel has fumbled 10 times and lost five, while the opponents have 21 miscues and have lost 16...EU has scored 63 points in the second half and only 14 in the third quarter (vs. Langston)...Evangel’s opponents have scored 111 second-half points (55-56)...EU has scored 69.4 percent of its points in the first half and 30.6 percent in the second half...it’s just the opposite for the opponents-39.1 percent in the first half and 60.9 percent in the second 30 minutes...Shedrick McClenton II recorded his sixth 100-yard game vs. Lindenwood on Oct. 27 with 127 yards...Derek Rasmussen threw for 205 yards vs. Lindenwood to bring his 200-plus passing games total to 15...Rasmussen needs to complete 58 passes over the next two games to break the record of 506 career completions by Brett Mitchell, 2000-03 (has 449 now)...Rasmussen is also on track to break the career records for passing percentage and passing proficiency-he has completed 55.4 percent (record is 53.2 by Eric Black, 1994,96-97) and has a QB proficiency of 134.3 (record is 136.59 by Black)...Rasmussen already holds the record for season passing proficiency, which he set in 2005 (144.27)...Shedrick McClenton ranks No. 8 among all-time rushers at Evangel with 1,923 rushing yards...he is No. 11 in rushing attempts with 349, No. 10 in rushing TDs (13).
The seniors on the 2007 EU squad are: Chris Bodoin, DB; Ryan Chaffin, DL; Drew Coplin, WR; Keidrick Doby, LB; Bob Edwards, TE; Garrett Gretz, OL; Jacob Hamon, LB; Kauhane Hanson, OL; Dexter Henderson, WR; Garrett Kennedy, manager (inj.); Shedrick McClenton, TB; Brandon Mires, DL; Derek Rasmussen, QB; Troy Rayburn, DT; Justin Reppert, DE; Troy Stegall, TB; Jared Stevens, FB; Jordan Thomas, TE; and Chris Wells, LB.
Benedictine leads the series by one game, 12-11. Evangel has won two of the last three meetings and both were in JFK Stadium. Prior to the last three games, Benedictine won three straight - one in Atchison and two in JFK.
Benedictine has a 7-4 advantage over Evangel in Atchison, Kans., and has won the last two meetings at home. The most recent meeting in Atchison resulted in a 41-14 win by the Ravens. Since becoming a Heart of America Athletic Conference member in 1988, Evangel has won three of the eight meetings in Atchison and seven of the 16 overall contests there. The series between Evangel and Benedictine began in Atchison during the Evangel program’s first year of football in 1977. Benedictine won 53-26.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lindenwood | 7-0 |
| 2 | Graceland | 6-2 |
| 3 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 5-2 |
| Missouri Valley | 5-2 | |
| Baker | 5-2 | |
| 6 | William Jewell | 4-4 |
| 7 | Evangel | 3-4 |
| 8 | Benedictine | 2-5 |
| 9 | Central Methodist | 1-6 |
| Culver-Stockton | 1-6 | |
| 11 | Avila | 1-7 |
| 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 |