SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The 11th-ranked Evangel football makes its final regular season push on the road starting Saturday at Missouri Valley in Heart South Division action.
SERIES HISTORY
The 11th-ranked Evangel Crusaders head to Missouri Valley Saturday for the 35th all-time meeting with the Vikings. The series is tied for the longest in program history with Benedictine and the Crusaders also meeting 35 times, as Missouri Valley holds a 21-13 advantage in the all-time series.
OPENING STORYLINES
► The 11th-ranked Evangel Crusaders head to Missouri Valley Saturday for the 35th all-time meeting with the Vikings. The series is tied for the longest in program history with Benedictine and the Crusaders also meeting 35 times, as Missouri Valley holds a 21-13 advantage in the all-time series.
► Evangel is looking to rebound after its first loss of the season last week to MidAmerica Nazarene, 33-26. The Crusaders fell from No. 8 to No. 11 in the NAIA Top 25, while still sitting as the highest ranked South Division team.
► The Crusaders have racked up point out of the gate in the first quarter and also in the third quarter. Through nine games Evangel is outscoring opponents 56-3 in the third quarter and 63- 41 in the first quarter.
► Up front, the defensive line continues to be tops in the nation ranking second in the NAIA in sacks with 35.5. Senior tackle, Andreas Moeller also ranks second nationally with 10 sacks and leads the nation with 22 tackles for a loss as he broke former teammate, Josh Evans' previous single-season record of 21 from the 2016 season.
► Last Saturday Evangel turned the ball over four times, marking the second time this season having committed four turnovers. However, the Crusaders still rank third in the league in turnover margin at +3. Missouri Valley sits just behind the Crusaders in turnover margin at +1.
► Senior, Brady Collier, and Dallas Hester continue to climb the record books. Collier caught his fourth touchdown of the season and moved into ninth with 15 career touchdowns, while Hester ranks 10th with 14. Both also rank in the top 10 in receptions with Hester at third with 140, while Collier sits in fifth with 126.
► Quarterback Cameron Hardesty also continues to climb the all-time records at Evangel as his 3,286 passing yards ninth most all-time. He is one passing touchdown away from last year's total entering Saturday with 15 and a career total of 31 passing scores which ranks fifth most all-time.
LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel will head into its bye week before ending the regular season on the road at Baker.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, follow the Crusaders on Facebook at Facebook.com/EUAthletics or go to www.EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the Go Evangel Front Row App at EvangelAthletics.com/FrontRow available on Google Play and in the App Store.
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