NIXA, Mo. – The Evangel Valor football team overcame five turnovers to knock off 20th-ranked Kansas Wesleyan 17-7 Saturday night in the first Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference game for Evangel.
Making its KCAC debut, Evangel was able to control most of the second half in a physical contest. The Valor improve to 1-0 on the season while the Coyotes fall to 0-1.
Despite having to overcome five turnovers, the Evangel defense forced four fumbles including a fumble forced by Brody Patterson and recovered by Zach Myers in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
Kansas Wesleyan put the first points on the board with 4:49 left in the first quarter after both teams after the second Evangel turnover. After the interception KWU needed just four plays to drive 31 yards for the score.
Evangel would get on the board in the second quarter after the defense held the Coyotes inside the 20-yard line thwarting a KWU on 4th down. The Valor marched 86-yards in nine plays that saw Sammy Robinson put Evangel inside the 10-yard line after an 18-yard run. RJ Wakley would find Dillon Hester from 7-yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:23 left in the half.
A balanced offensive attack saw Robinson rush for 153 yards on 31 carries, while Wakley finished 26-40 for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown passes went to Hester who finished with 12 catches for 111 yards. Overall, Evangel tallied 399 yards of total offense and recorded 28 total first downs.
After a strange sequence that saw three turnovers in a span of five offensive plays from both teams, Evangel recovered its third fumble with 6:18 left before the half by Zach Myers. A pass interference call on KWU, on what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown put Evangel at the 3-yard line setting up the second touchdown from Wakley to Hester to give the Valor a 14-7 lead.
Defensively, Evangel recorded three sacks and seven tackles for a loss led by the return of Andreas Moeller who tallied two tackles for a loss, a sack and 10 tackles. Bradley Myers led the team with 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss. The Valor held KWU, the top offense in the KCAC last season, to just 148 yards of total offense while forcing four turnovers.
The game remained deadlocked with Evangel holding a 14-7 lead through the third quarter.
Sealing the victory, the Evangel offense stepped up and held onto the ball for eight minutes on a 17 play 70-yard drive that finished with a 33-yard field goal from Jonah Edwards. Edwards’ field goal pushed the Valor lead to 17-7 and cemented the win over Kansas Wesleyan.
Up Next
Evangel travels to Tabor College next week for the first road KCAC match up in Hillsboro, Kansas. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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.
