PAC Honors Bethany's Grimard and Evans
After leading the Bethany College football team to a 48-27 victory at Geneva Saturday night, sophomore quarterback Matt Grimard and senior wide receiver/punt returner Alex Evans were selected as the PAC Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively.
Grimard compiled 323 total yards in Saturday's game and had a hand in three touchdowns. He completed 13-of-17 through the air for a career-high 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns (16, 20). In addition, he rushed for 49 yards, including a 15-yard scoring run for BC's final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Evans had another big all-around day, amassing 190 all-purpose yards in the victory. He capped off the Bison's 34-point first half by returning a punt 65 yards for touchdown with only two seconds left in the half, the first punt return for a score by a Bethany player since 2007. In addition, he hauled in five passes from Grimard for a career-high 108 yards and one of the scores, a 20-yard touchdown strike for the Green and White's first points of the game.
Behind the duo's performances, Bethany rolled up 445 yards of total offense and defeated Geneva for the first time since 1973, ending a six-game losing streak to the Golden Tornadoes.
Saturday just continued a string of strong efforts from Grimard and Evans to start the season. Grimard, who set a BC record for rushing yards by a QB last year with 882, has continued to develop as a passer. He is second in the PAC in passing efficiency (164.0) and has thrown for 710 yards with five TDs and two interceptions, but is still a strong threat on the ground, rushing for 310 yards and three touchdowns.
"Matt probably had his best game as a passer on Saturday," said Bison head coach Tim Weaver. "He made good decisions and was very accurate with his throws. Two of the incompletions were actually drops, including one which would have been an easy TD, so his numbers could have been even better. He's still a work in progress, but he improves every week and has a chance to be a really good passing QB, which will make him very dangerous because he's obviously a good runner as well.
Evans battled through an injury-plagued junior year, but is healthy this season and has been a huge part of the Bison arsenal. He leads the PAC in all-purpose yards with 184.7 per game, ranks third in kick return average (24.0) and receiving yards per game (88.0) and is tied for seventh in receptions per game (5.0).
"Alex has gotten off to a really good start this season as a returner and receiver, and he's made us a better offense," said Weaver. "If we hadn't had the 80-yard return called back versus Allegheny, he would be among the national leaders in punt returns. He's a dynamic playmaker, and in college football today, you need at least one of those guys at receiver, and Alex has been that for us for the first part of the year. We're excited about the rest of the season and what he can do."
