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In the stir of all of the homecoming excitement, the football game versus Evangel University was a thriller. The Vikings were down 14 points going into the fourth quarter but with 90 seconds left, junior quarterback Johnny Sullivan threw a touchdown pass to Ben Rooney to seal the comeback win. This coming weekend, No. 7 Grand View is set to face an even bigger challenge on the road at No. 2 Benedictine University in a battle to stay undefeated. Both teams are 5-0 in regular-season play. GV has already faced some high-caliber play with victories over MidAmerica Nazarene, No. 8 Baker, Missouri Valley, Central Methodist University and most recently No. 12 Evangel University which, have all prepared them for this match up.  

“Somebody is going to have a mark in the loser’s column, and I don’t think it’s going to be us,” Grand View junior defensive tackle Cameron Maxfield said.

Many players said they feel good about where they are sitting in the rankings. The team has moved up five spots since the beginning of the season. Grand View senior tight end Stevie Sarcone said he knows the rankings don’t mean much right now with the season being young, but he knows the whole team wants to keep moving up and improving. 

Maxfield said he sees the game as a good measuring stick.

“This is another tone-setter to know where we are as a team, let us know where we are in the season and show what we need to work on,” Maxfield said. 

The key players on the offensive side to keep an eye on during the game are wide receivers Ben Rooney and Anthony Turner. The position has posed a threat during games by making key plays in the red zone when the team has needed them. A key player on the defensive side is linebacker Austin Cuicchi. He leads the team in sacks at the moment and was named player of the week in the Heart of America Conference on September 9. The defense has been resilient in all five games. 

“On the defensive end, we are progressing very fast by holding teams under 20 points per game,” Grand View junior cornerback Brenden Flowers said. 

This is the best start to the season for the GV football team since the 13-0 National Championship season in 2013. Maxfield said he believes this season is big because the team hasn’t had a 5-0 start since 2013.

Many of the players said they believe they are having this type of success because of the strong connection the offense and defense have. This is something that has improved since last year. 

“Compared to last year, everybody wanted to get playing time or look good in a uniform,” Grand View senior running back Jerry Lowe said. “This season everybody wants to win the National Championship game, so everybody is going harder.”

The game will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 5, in Atchison, Kansas.