No. 10 Vikings look for fourth straight win

Junior wideout Darrell Madry leads the Vikings with 24 catches for 400 yards and five touchdowns. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Order this photo]

Despite three wins in a row and a climb to No. 10 in the NAIA rankings, the Missouri Valley College football team has yet to peak.

The Vikings' offense has shown a propensity at times to make mistakes which give opponents good field position. That was the case last week at William Jewell, which turned miscues on three straight MVC possessions late in the first half into a one-point lead at the break.

"It's a thing we're not pleased with," admitted Valley head coach Paul Troth. "Our players are not finishing things the way we want to."

Of course, the Vikings stormed back with 34 unanswered points during the second half to come home with a 44-11 win.

"As a coach, you'd like to think you're going to be at your best four quarters," Troth said. "We're close to putting it together."

While Valley has had some temporary -- and so far harmless -- stumbles, Saturday's foe is a previous Heart of America Conference powerhouse which is going through some rough times.

Like the Cardinals, Evangel (1-4, 1-4 HAAC) has struggled on offense -- 10th in the league in total yardage (218.6 per game) and averaging a mere 13.4 points per game.

"I don't know why they're having trouble because they've got some guys who can make some plays," Troth said. "You hope they don't put everything together against you."

Youth may be one factor, since the Crusaders don't have many seniors in key positions, and an injury to junior quarterback Richie Roepke -- a returning starter -- hasn't helped.

Evangel's leading rusher is freshman Tommy Meyer with 326 yards, but No. 2 is sophomore quarterback Freddie Brown -- who is also the club's leading receiver with 15 catches for 149 yards.

Although the Crusaders are not using the trendy "wildcat" approach, "they're doing some of those things, like 'gun zone-read stuff," Troth said.

If Evangel has a saving grace, it's the defense -- which has gotten progressively better throughout the season. Last week it held down 25th-ranked Central Methodist's offense, which had been logging 34.2 points per game, during a 10-6 loss.

"It's the same scheme as they had last year, they're just doing it with guys who are little more athletic," Troth explained. "They're still doing their stunts and reads, just doing them better."

The Vikings (5-1, 5-1) will have to set aside the possible distractions of Homecoming activities -- including the renaming of the stadium in honor of Hall of Fame coach Volney C. Ashford -- but Troth believes "most of the guys with experience have been through it before."

"A lot have family and friend in," Troth said. "I'm not overly concerned, but am reminding them that this is why they're coming in here -- to see them win the game."