SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel Valor football team makes its final road trip Saturday to close out the regular season at Central Methodist for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
SERIES HISTORY
Evangel leads the all-time series with Central Methodist 28-9; however, the Eagles have won the last three meetings with the Valor. Evangel last won in Fayette in 2017 with a 41-28 victory on Oct. 14.
OPENING STORYLINES
? Evangel ends the regular season Saturday at Central Methodist, looking to snap a three-game losing streak to the Eagles. Last year's South Division Champs sit at just 1-9, entering this year's game.
? Evangel fell 30-7 last week at Benedictine in a de-facto Heart South Division Championship game. The Ravens scored 16 points in the third quarter, capitalizing on wind-aided field position for three of the four second-half scores.
? Evangel has again posted one of the nation's top defensive units. The Valor rank in the top 25 in several categories, including scoring defense (25th), interceptions (15th), and tackles (21st).
? Athanie Leeviraphan still sits at five interceptions this season and at 14 interceptions during his career. The Owasso, Oklahoma native moved into a tie for second all-time with Derrick McBride (93-94) and Cam Bruffett (09-13). Eric Collins (1977-80) holds the all-time record with 16.
? Will Anoa'i now ranks second all-time in tackles for a loss with 48. The former Kickapoo Chief sits behind only Josh Evans (2014-17), who holds the record with 64.5.
? Dillon Hester ranks third in the Heart and 16th in the NAIA with 80.7 receiving yards per game. The Strafford, Mo., native has also cracked the top 10 in the Evangel record books in kickoff return yards with 883 yards, while his 54 catches this season rank 10th most in a single season.
? Ryan Conner leads the NAIA in punting with 2,754 total yards. With 33 punts inside the 20-yard line, Conner also ranks first in the NAIA while averaging 37.7 yards per punt. The sophomore currently ranks second in a single-season in punt yards and attempts, while his 4,389 yards for his young career rank 6th all-time at Evangel.
? Evangel also enters the final week of the regular season, ranked 1st in the NAIA in total attendance at 17,140. Fans also helped the Valor rank second in average attendance in the NAIA, with 3,428 fans per game, trailing only Indiana Wesleyan at 3,836 fans per game.
? Evangel seventh-year head coach Chuck Hepola enters Saturday's contest with a 41-30 mark as EU's sideline boss; his win total ranks third in school history, trailing only Keith Barefield (66) and Scott Metcalf (44).
? All Evangel home games in 2022 will be streamed live on the Evangel Sports Network in conjunction with the Heart Network. Fans can download the Heart Conference Network App for AppleTV, Amazon, or Roku and watch Evangel football games on their smart TV or streaming devices.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.
—#OneValor—
