(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State football team will be faced with a solid slate of opponents in 2018. Their list of opponents includes three teams in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll and a total of six who are receiving votes to begin the season. With fall practice getting under way this week, the team knows what is ahead of them as they look to build off of a 7-4 season.
 
The schedule changes a little for each Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) team this upcoming fall with Avila (Mo.) going to the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). The Bobcats will have a non-conference game to begin their season followed by the ten conference opponents. On August 25, Peru State will open their season on the road playing in-state foe Hastings at 7 p.m. After starting 5-1 last season, the Broncos finished 5-6 overall including going 2-6 in conference play as part of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). This will be the first non-conference game for the football program since the 2014 season and the first matchup against Hastings since 2009. 
 
The Bobcats will have a bye week following the season opener. Coming off of the bye, they will be back on the road in Fayette, Mo., to face Central Methodist at 6 p.m. Against the Eagles, the 'Cats have won three straight contests and five of the last six. Peru State will then return to the Oak Bowl on September 15 at 1 p.m. for the home opener against Evangel (Mo.), one of the three teams in the Heart who is receiving votes just outside of the Top 25. At halftime, the annual Swenson Award will be presented to the top male and female student-athletes from 2017-18. Since Peru State joined the Heart, Evangel has won five of the seven games versus the Bobcats.
 
The 'Cats will have a second-straight home game at 1 p.m. on September 22 as they will host Missouri Valley. The Vikings are also receiving votes outside of the Top 25 and are anticipated to be a much-improved team from last season. At halftime of that game, the annual Hall of Fame inductees will be honored. Following the Hall of Fame weekend, the Bobcats will be back on the road as they travel to Olathe, Kan., to face Mid-America Nazarene. Peru State lately has had much success versus the Pioneers as they have won the annual meeting the last three seasons.   
 
The team will then return to Peru for back-to-back home games. On October 6, they will host the ninth-ranked Baker (Kan.) Wildcats for Homecoming with a 2 p.m. kickoff. Since becoming a conference opponent, Baker has won all seven matchups against the Bobcats. The following week, the tenth-ranked ranked Grand View squad comes to the Oak Bowl with a 2:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff that will be televised on ESPN 3. In addition, the Winter-Spring Student-Athlete Recognition will take place at halftime.
 
The Bobcats will then be back on the road to face another team receiving Top 25 votes, William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa, at 12 p.m. Peru State scored 17 unanswered points to amount a comeback win last season against the Statesmen in the battle of the triple-option teams of the Heart. The Bobcats will be on another road trip as they go to Lamoni, Iowa, to play the Graceland Yellowjackets at 1 p.m. and will also be televised on ESPN 3. Peru State has won two out of their last three matchups against the Yellowjackets including a 55-34 shootout last season.
 
On November 3, the Bobcats will return home for Senior Day versus Culver-Stockton (Mo.).  This will be a 1 p.m. kickoff with the seniors being recognized prior to the game. The team will wrap up their season the following week in Atchison, Kan., as they face the #12 ranked Benedictine College Ravens. 
 
The complete schedule follows and is also available on the athletic website at https://pscbobcats.com/schedule.aspx?path=football
                               

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
August 25	Hastings College	Hastings, Neb.	7 p.m.
September 8	Central Methodist University	Fayette, Mo.	6 p.m.
September 15	Evangel University SWENSON PRESENTATION	Oak Bowl	1 p.m.
September 22	Missouri Valley College  HALL OF FAME GAME	Oak Bowl	1 p.m.
September 29	MidAmerica Nazarene University	Olathe, Kan.	1 p.m.
October 6	Baker University HOMECOMING	Oak Bowl	2 p.m.
October 13	*Grand View University (ESPN3)               WINTER-SPRING STUDENT-ATHLETE RECOGNITION	Oak Bowl	2:30 p.m.
October 20	*William Penn University	Oskaloosa, Iowa	12 p.m.
October 27	*Graceland University (ESPN3)	Lamoni, Iowa	1 p.m.
November 3	*Culver-Stockton College SENIOR DAY	Oak Bowl	1 p.m.
November 10	*Benedictine College	Atchison, Kan.	1 p.m.

 
*Denotes Heart North Division Games