Evangel Christian kept its foot on the gas Thursday to remain in control of its own destiny midway through the District 1-5A race.
The Eagles (4-1, 4-0) followed its Week 4 comeback and “statement win” against Airline with a dominant, 62-14 romp past Huntington (2-3, 2-2) behind seven touchdowns from 2027 LSU commit Peyton “Pop” Houston.
The junior quarterback and senior running back Kionte Mims Jr. put Evangel ahead, 14-0, with a pair of first-quarter rushing touchdowns.
Then Houston tossed six touchdowns to five different receivers the rest of the way, including 61 yards to senior Demarkus Evans, 20 yards to senior Charley Abraham and 27 yards to Louisiana Tech commit Johnny Casey Jr. all before halftime.
Evans also recovered a fumble in the end zone in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, all Huntington could manage before the break was a 17-yard second-quarter pass from senior Justin Whitaker to senior Caiden Starks.
Evangel’s defense stuffed the run game most of the night, and its pass rush kept the Raiders from getting much going through the air.
“I just feel like it was a mindset thing,” Arkansas-committed defensive lineman Ashton Dawson said. “Coming out here knowing that Huntington’s a down the street school, we always have a little rivalry going on.”
The Eagles held a 42-7 lead midway through, but Houston wasn’t done swinging.
He found Evans again in the third quarter to force a running clock the rest of the way, then added 75- and 59-yard downfield shots to Cordelrio Coleman and Tikelon High, respectively.
Whitaker and Starks connected again late for an 8-yard score.
But Evangel Christian comfortably closed out the 48-point victory, its largest of the past two years since opting to play up in Class 5A prior to the 2024 season.
The Eagles are one of three teams, along with Captain Shreve (4-1, 4-0) and Parkway (5-0, 3-0), in control of their own destiny heading into the back half of the District 1-5A schedule.
Evangel Christian is seeking its first district championship since sharing the 1-4A title with Neville in 2019.
The Eagles hosts both the Gators and Panthers this year, including the former next week in a rematch of two 2024 meetings: a wild, overtime heartbreaker in which Houston set the national record for passing yards and a first-round playoff game in which they exacted revenge.