SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel Valor football team looks to rebound from its first loss Saturday as they host Culver-Stockton.
SERIES HISTORY
Evangel and Culver-Stockton meet for the 37th time as the Valor hold a 30-6 lead in the all-time series. CSC has won the last two meetings in the series, both in Canton; however, Evangel is 15-1 all-time at home against the Wildcats.
OPENING STORYLINES
The Evangel Valor returns to Eagle Stadium Saturday to host Culver-Stockton at 6 p.m. It will be the first home game against the Wildcats since 2019 as the Valor will look to snap a 2-game losing skid to Culver-Stockton.
Evangel seventh-year head coach Chuck Hepola enters Saturday's contest with a 36-27 mark as EU's sideline boss; his win total ranks third in school history, trailing only Keith Barefield (66) and Scott Metcalf (44).
Evangel and Culver-Stockton will meet for the 37th time in school history. The Valor holds an all-time lead in the series, 30-6, and are 15-1 all-time in home games against the Wildcats. CSC has won the last two meetings as the two schools have played close games in recent years. Since 2019 only the 2020 game was decided by more than 3 points.
In last week's loss, Evangel allowed two blocked kicks against Graceland. It was the first time since Nov. 7, 2020, vs Central Methodist, that the Valor had multiple kicks blocked.
Moving the sticks on third down continues to trouble the Valor. Last season Evangel was 36 % on third downs, while this season the Valor is 11 of 37 to sit at 30 %.
Dillon Hester recorded his third 100-yard receiving game as he was just shy of 200-yards. Hester pulled in eight catches for 190 yards giving him the most in a single game at Evangel since Sam Buckner tallied 187 yards on 10/10/20 against Clarke.
The Evangel defense continued to help keep Saturday's game close. With five sacks and three fumble recoveries of their own, EU also blocked an extra point.
Linebacker Ian Ary again led Evangel in tackles with 7.5 as the junior from West Plains, Mo. also led Evangel with two sacks and 3.0 tackles for a loss. Ary leads the Valor in all three categories through the first two games.
Making opportunities count inside the redzone, Evangel is 83 percent on six drives that have entered the 20. The final drive in Saturday's loss at Graceland is the only drive inside the opponent's redzone that hasn't resulted in points..
Ryan Conner was again vital in helping flip the field for Evangel in the special teams game. Conner punted 10 times and averaged 30 yards with two punts inside the 20. His 309 total yards also included a season-best 60-yard punt.
LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel heads back to Iowa next week to face William Penn at 6 p.m. in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
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—
