CANTON, Mo. – Culver-Stockton scored 10 unanswered points over a three-minute stretch to take control of a nip-and-tuck battle with Evangel, ultimately holding on for a 38-35 victory Saturday evening at Ellison Poulton Stadium.
After Evangel’s Bryce Nyumah tied the contest with a 75-yard scoring run on the first snap of the third period, Culver-Stockton used a 20-yard Michael Velasco field goal late in the third period and Connor Perrine’s second scoring reception of the night with 13:25 left in the game to grab a 38-28 lead.
Evangel turned in a clutch eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive with just under five minutes to play to draw to within three points, as Dyllan Decker found Demareus Little for a four-yard touchdown strike.
EU’s defense came through with a late stop to force a punt, giving its offense the ball at its own 11 with just under three minutes left in regulation.
But C-SC delivered one final stand of its own, stopping EU on a fourth-down attempt at the 33 to effective end the comeback bid.
Evangel finished the night with an edge in total offense (478 to 449), but the Wildcats forced three first-half turnovers to derail several scoring opportunities.
Nyumah finished with a career-high 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead the EU offense, while Decker completed 19-of-33 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown.
Jordan Grant led Culver’s 286-yard rushing night with 145 yards and one touchdown, and Jase Orndorff passed for three touchdowns to pace the Wildcats’ attack.
Taking advantage of a strong early ground attack, Evangel seized seven-point leads on three different occasions in the opening period. After stopping the Wildcats on a fourth-and-14 on the opening possession of the contest, EU used a 57-yard scoring run by Sammy Robinson to grab a 7-0 lead.
Culver answered promptly, as Antonius Hurd returned the ensuing kickoff the full length of the field for a 100-yard touchdown. The Wildcats added a Perrine 20-yard scoring reception from Orndorff with 5:34 to play in the opening quarter to take their first lead of the contest.
Next, it would be Evangel’s turn to jump in front, starting with a 41-yard touchdown run by Nyumah that knotted the score at 14-all. Decker joined the scoring bonanza with a seven-yard rushing TD with 1:54 left on the clock, making it a 21-14 Evangel advantage.
In all, EU rushed for three touchdowns and 143 yards in the first quarter, led by Robinson’s 76 yards on four carries.
But the second period provided a stark contrast to Evangel’s early success. Culver-Stockton’s defense would tighten the screws on the EU ground game and force a total of three turnovers for the half. EU rushed for a negative-31 yards in the period and fumbled twice—each time in Wildcat territory to thwart potential scoring chances.
The Culver-Stockton offense took advantage of the opportunity early in the quarter, as Orndorff hooked up with Mateen Johnson on an 18-yard touchdown toss to pull the Wildcats even. Following an Aubre Sanders 23-yard return of EU’s second fumble of the quarter, Grant scored on a one-yard run to vault Culver back into the lead with 3:07 left on the clock.
Evangel, which finished the first half with 268 yards of total offense, drove deep into Culver territory once again in the closing minutes. But the Wildcat defense came up big once again, stopping EU on a fourth-down attempt as time expired to preserve the 28-21 lead heading into intermission.
Koel Orchard led all tacklers with 11 stops for Evangel, while Athanie Leeviraphan added 10 tackles.
