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Posted: Monday, 15 October 2012 6:03PM

Evangel moves up to 17th in NAIA Coaches Poll



Hugh Keeton Reporting
hkeeton@kspr.com

The Evangel University football team is 17th nationally this week in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.The Crusaders moved up four spots in the poll after being ranked 21st last week. Last week’s national ranking marked the first time this season Evangel had cracked the top 25.

The Crusaders beat Peru State 38-23 to win their first straight game and improve to 5-2 on the season and 4-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Five teams in the HAAC are nationally ranked and all in the top 17. Missouri Valley (6-0, 5-0) is ranked third. MidAmerica Nazarene (4-2, 4-1), coming off of a narrow 30-28 loss to NCAA-I (FCS) Gardner-Webb, dropped three spots in the poll from 10th to 13th.

Baker (5-2, 4-2) is ranked #15 while Benedictine (5-2, 3-2) is #16.

Evangel players Denzel Billy and Stephen Swillum won weekly awards from the Heart of America conference for their play in Saturday’s 38-23 win over Peru State.

Denzel Billy was named the HAAC Defensive Player of the Week. The junior from Houston, Texas had a career high 17 tackles against Peru State on Saturday. 11 of his tackles came in the second half when the Crusaders held the Bobcats scoreless. Billy leads the Crusaders with 63 tackles so far this season.

Stephen Swillum was named the HAAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Swillum recovered a blocked field goal attempt and ran the ball back 85 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter against Peru State. The Mount Vernon native’s run put the Crusaders ahead 38-23 and helped seal the win on Saturday.
 
Evangel (5-2, 4-1) plays at home on Saturday against Avila University. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. at JFK Stadium.

Filed Under :  
Topics : Evangel, Football, Sports
Locations : Houston, Springfield, Texas
People : Denzel Billy, Stephen Swillum
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