After Saint Francis held on for a 13-12 victory Saturday over Evangel in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium, Cougars coach Adam Sherman summed up his team’s performance rather succinctly.

“You have to kill us to beat us,” Sherman said.

No. 16 seed USF (10-2) found itself on life support in the waning moments, as the No. 18 seed Valor (9-3) marched the ball on their final possession to the Cougars 10-yard line. Evangel called a timeout with one second remaining to set up a 27-yard field goal, then USF called a timeout in an attempt to ice Valor kicker Cody Voysey, who previously connected on a 26-yard effort in the second quarter to put Evangel up 10-0.

Voysey’s kick toward the south end zone drifted wide and missed, giving the Cougars their

See Full Page