SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The No. 18 Evangel football team returns home Saturday for its annual Homecoming contest against Graceland University at Tiger Stadium in Ozark.
SERIES HISTORY
Evangel holds a 23-8 all-time record against Graceland and has won the last three meetings including last year's 34-17 win in Iowa. The Crusaders have hosted the Yellowjackets four times on Homecoming and hold a 3-1 lead on Homecoming. In 2017, Evangel forced six turnovers and cruised to a 38-7 win over Graceland the last time the two schools met for an Evangel Homecoming.
OPENING STORYLINES
► The No. 18 Evangel football team returns home for its 43rd edition of Homecoming football against Graceland. The Crusaders stand at 20-21-1 all-time on Homecoming.
► Evangel is coming off its first loss of the season, a nail biter last Saturday at Grand View, 32-28. The Crusaders rallied to score 28 consecutive points after trailing 14-0 in the first quarter. However, the Vikings managed to overcome Evangel late in the fourth quarter with a game-winning drive with a 1:08 left in the game.
► More on Evangel Homecoming games, the Crusaders are 20-21-1 all-time after falling 33-26 last year to MidAmerica Nazarene. The Crusaders have hosted Graceland four times on Homecoming and hold a 3-1 record against the Yellowjackets.
► For the second time, this season Evangel senior linebacker Sam Morton (Strafford, Mo.) was named the Heart Defensive Player of the Week. Morton finished with a game-high 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and 1.5 sacks.
► Senior quarterback Cameron Hardesty crossed the 4,000-yard mark for his career on Saturday. Hardesty is fifth all-time at Evangel with 4,065 yards and sits behind Andrew Brimhall (2010-13) with 5,905 yards in fourth.
► The Evangel defense still ranks near the top nationally in several categories. Saturday was the first game this season an opponent had scored more than 14 points as the scoring defense stands at 13.4 points per game. The Crusaders still rank sixth nationally in total defense as well allowing 245 yards per game.
► Sophomore, Anthanie Leeviraphan leads the nation in interceptions after picking off Grand View last week. Leeviraphan has five total picks this season while teammate Andrew Poppen ranks fifth with three interceptions.
► Senior defensive back Dalton Taylor (Strafford, Mo.) blocked the sixth kick of his career on Saturday stopping a second-quarter field goal. Taylor now sits one behind the all-time leader at Evangel Daryl Dollar (95-98) who blocked seven during his career.
► Senior wide receiver, Jansen Acklin (Mtn. View, Mo.) recorded his second 100-yard receiving game on Saturday. Acklin finished with 130 yards and one touchdown through the air. He ranks fourth in the Heart averaging 76.8 yards per game.
► New to the 2019 season, fans can purchase tickets online at www.EUAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets can either be presented by a smartphone at the gate or by printing the ticket from an email and having it scanned at the gate.
► Download the new Heart Conference Network App for AppleTV, Amazon, or Roku and watch Evangel football games on your smart TV or smart streaming device. All Evangel games are streaming online at www.EvangelAthletics.com/Watch and are compatible with smartphones.
LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel will head into its bye week next Saturday before starting Heart South Division action, Oct. 19, against Benedictine at Tiger Stadium in Ozark.
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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