NIXA, Mo. – Evangel dominated Graceland from start to finish, forcing six turnovers and outgaining the Yellowjackets by over 300 yards in a 62-0 romp in its debut game at Eagle Stadium Saturday evening.
Evangel, which improved to 2-0, scored on a Nicos Oropeza run just 2:21 into the contest and never looked back, building a 21-point cushion by the end of the first period, before adding three more second-quarter touchdowns to take a 41-0 advantage into halftime.
The Evangel defense turned in its second shutdown performance in as many games this season, allowing just 147 yards of total offense, while picking off four passes—two of which were returned for touchdowns—and scooping up a pair of fumbles. EU limited the Yellowjackets to 2.0 yards per rush, while stopping GU on 13 of its 16 third-down conversion attempts.
In all, EU scored on nine of its first 11 drives of the contest and punted just one time on the night in posting its largest margin of victory since a 65-0 win over Graceland on October 5 2019.
On the offensive side of the ball, EU capitalized on an efficient passing attack and a multi-faceted ground game to total 449 yards of offense. Dyllan Decker completed 12-of-17 passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 29 yards and one score. Bryce Nyumah tallied 91 rushing yards on 11 carries as one of five EU ball-carriers to total more than 25 yards on the ground.
After Oropeza’s opening TD run set the tone, Evangel would score on its next two possessions to build its early lead. Dalton Cloyd recovered the first Graceland fumble off a Koel Orchard strip to set up a six-play, 60-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 30-yard Decker strike to Dillon Hester.
Next, a pair of Decker completions and a 13-yard run by Sammy Robinson led to another Evangel touchdown. Decker found Josh Dennie in the end zone for a 21-yard score, before the EU offense produced a 13-play scoring march that ate up more than six minutes of the second quarter. Robinson carried four times for 25 yards on the drive, including the final two yards to put EU up, 27-0.
Evangel punched home two more touchdowns late in the opening half, including a 62-yard interception return by Nate Swofford and a second Decker-to-Dennie scoring toss—this one from 32 yards out—to extend the bulge to 41 points.
While EU ultimately scored on seven of its first nine offensive possessions, its defense turned the lights out on Graceland by generating takeaways on four of seven first-half possessions and six of the Yellowjackets first 10 offensive drives of the night. GU would not mount a drive longer than 34 yards and only logged 20 yards or more on three occasions.
The second half would offer a familiar feel, as Evangel scored on its first three drives to put the game out of reach. Decker scored from two yards out just two minutes into the third quarter, before Robinson found the end zone for the second time with a four-yard run at the 8:19 mark.
Tyler White added the final Evangel touchdown less than two minutes later, picking off a Bret Whitehall pass and racing 42 yards to the end zone to stretch the EU lead to 62-0.
Hester led the Evangel receivers for the second straight game, finishing with four receptions for 62 yards, while Dennie recorded three catches for 52 yards. The duo combined to reel in all three EU touchdowns through the air.
Defensively, Ian Ary paced EU with nine tackles, while Orchard finished with eight stops and 3.0 tackles for losses and a forced fumble. Cloyd added eight tackles to go along with his fumble recovery and 2.0 TFLs.
