SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – No. 9 Evangel football ends the regular season Saturday at home against Bethel in search of the KCAC Kessinger Division Title. Kickoff from Eagle Stadium in set for 1 p.m.
GAMEDAY INFO
Watch: KCAC Network
Live Stats: Evangel Stats
Tickets: Buy Online ($10 – General Admission)
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the first meeting in football between Evangel and Bethel.
STORYLINES
- Evangel ends the regular season Saturday at home against Bethel. The 9th-ranked Valor will be looking to clinch an outright KCAC Division Title with a win and one of the league's automatic bids to the NAIA Football Championship Series. It would be the first playoff appearance for Evangel since 2005.
- Evangel seventh-year head coach Chuck Hepola won his 50th game Oct. 21 vs. Friends as he sits second on the all-time coaching list. He passed Scott Metcalf for second on the all-time coaching wins list on Sept. 9 with a 55-0 win over Sterling. Keith Barefield's 66 wins sit at the top.
- Evangel moved up again in the latest NAIA Coaches Poll Top 25 this week to No. 9. The Valor cracked the poll on Sept. 11 at No. 25 after receiving votes in the preseason poll. It is the highest ranking for the Valor since sitting at No. 9 for weeks seven and eight during the 2019 season.
- The Valor moved to 10-0 for just the third time in program history, with 2001, 1996, and 1988. Although the '88 season was forfeited, EU finished 11-1 all three seasons claiming a conference title each season as well.
- Evangel touts the second-longest winning streak (11 games) in the NAIA behind Northwestern (Iowa) who has won 23 straight games. The Valor also hold the eighth-longest winning streak in college football, see page 3 for the list.
- The Evangel defense ranks third in the NAIA in points allowed at 12.4, behind only Grand View and Georgetown (Ky.). The Valor also ranks 5th nationally in yards allowed.
- Bradley Myers continues to lead the NAIA in tackles averaging 12.7 per game. Myers has amassed 127 total tackles this season.
- RJ Wakley ranks in the top 15 in the NAIA in completions, yards, and touchdown passes. With 2,214 total passing yards, Wakley 2023 season ranks 10th on the Evangel single-season list.
- Evangel receiver Dillon Hester broke the Evangel career reception record vs Friends with five catches to give him 153 for his career passing Brandon Schmidly (1994-97) on the all-time list. Hester's touchdown against Southwestern tied him for 6th with Jesse Vaughn.
- CAREER TOUCHDOWNS
1. James Feazell 1986-88,92 29
2. Dimitrius Breedlove 1998-01 27
3. Anthony Ray 1988-91 27
4. Brandon Schmidly 1994-97 24
John Dollar 1994-97 24
6. Jesse Vaughn 2010-13 22
Dillon Hester 2020-pr 22
LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel football will host a NAIA Playoff Watch Party, Sunday evening in Trask 101 on the Evangel campus. The NAIA Selection Show is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start and can also be viewed on the NAIA YouTube Page. For more information on the NAIA Football Championship Series click here.
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—
