The Pioneers struggled to get going, but they kept Evangel off the scoreboard in the second half in a 31-14 victory on Homecoming. On the game's opening drive, MNU quarterback Trent Hedlund was injured on a scramble and didn't return. Evangel took their opening drive 75 yards on 17 plays for a touchdown, and the MNU offense struggled to respond. An interception and a blocked punt on their next two possessions resulted in a 14-0 deficit, but the running game got going in the 2nd quarter.Javon Taylor ran on 4 of the next 5 plays and punched it in from 1 yard out to cut the deficit in half. A big pass play from
Jakob Jordan to
Gio Gonzalez for 38 yards had set up MNU at the 1-yard line. On the ensuing drive,
Dominic Swillum picked off a pass and returned it to the Evangel 29-yard line. Taylor again did the bulk of the work, carrying 5 of the next 6 plays on the game-tying touchdown drive.
Cristian Casillas nailed a 29-yard field goal on MNU's next drive, and the Pioneers took a 17-14 lead into halftime. The second half was all MNU and all progress was made on the ground.
Drake Tofi finished off a 4-play 73-yard all-rush drive with a 17-yard touchdown to put MNU up by 10, but a couple of Pioneer turnovers kept the game close. Finally the Pioneers put the game away with a 10-play 84-yard all-rush drive, capped by a
Donald Garcia 8-yard touchdown, to go up 31-14. A fourth down stop on Evangel's next drive iced it, and sent the Homecoming crowd home happy.
"To come back and win when we were down by 14 points was a good step of growth by this team," said head coach
Brian Willmer. "The offense did a great job of running the ball and controlling the time of possession, and the defense settled down after the first quarter. We grew as a team, overcame the challenge of losing our starting quarterback, and learned how to finish a game. I appreciate the resolve of this team and group of seniors in finding a way to win."
Javon Taylor carried 29 times for a career-high 227 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Drake Tofi had 11 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Aaron Mossbarger had 13 tackles and a pass breakup.
James Guerrero recorded 11 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss.
Cy Pana had 8 tackles including 2 sacks. And
Eric Irvin had 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 pass breakups, and a blocked field goal.
MNU is 3-4 (1-0 Heart South). The next game is Saturday at #4 Baker (6-1, 1-0) at 11:00 AM.
Â
