Wildcats Score 33 Unanswered, Roll to Season-Opening Victory Over Bobcats

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – The NAIA's winningest program kicked off its 2023 season in impressive fashion as Baker claimed a commanding 36-17 win over visiting Peru State on Saturday night in Liston Stadium to come away with a season-opening victory for the 13th straight year.

In its first game under new head coach Miguel Regalado, Baker showcased its revitalized offense after racking up 165 yards on the ground and scoring 33 unanswered points for an exciting start to the Wildcats' season.

While the BU offense controlled things through the ground, the defense was unrelenting throughout most of the game, keeping the Bobcats off the scoreboard until late in the third quarter. The Wildcats held PSC to a mere 15 rushing yards while forcing two interceptions, recording three sacks and picking up a safety.

"I thought there was a chance we could come out slow today and we did," said Regalado. "However, once we settled in, we had an explosive second quarter spurred by the field position created by our defense and special forces. We're a young team that needs to learn how to finish a team off when they're down, but overall I'm very happy about our performance against a very athletic Peru State team."

Baker running back Rashaan Graves delivered an electric performance to kickstart his senior season, rushing for 120 yards and scoring three touchdowns. He tallied three straight touchdowns to give the Wildcats a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter, beginning with a 24-yard scamper to open the scoring.

Capping a 10-play scoring drive, Graves punched in his second touchdown at the goal line before taking the first play of BU's next offensive possession and bursting through for a 55-yard touchdown.

With the Peru State offense backed up to their goal line, Baker's Austin Hollins was able to snuff out an option play in the end zone and force a safety with just under two minutes left in the first half before Seth Simpson tacked on the first of his two field goals in the game to give the Wildcats a 26-0 lead at halftime.

After a dominating first half, Baker continued to pour it on in its first possession of the second half. Quarterback Truman Juelsgaard connected on a couple passes to DeAndre Pruett Jr. before finding Gavin Greenwood on a rollout from 10 yards out to give the Lawrence High product his first passing touchdown as a Wildcat.

Peru State finally cracked through with seven minutes left in the third quarter after a dump off to running back Torrey Patterson turned into a 41-yard score for the visitors and snapped the shutout.

The Bobcats would go on to add a field and another touchdown, but with this one well in-hand Simpson closed out the contest for Baker with a 44-yard field goal to pad the season-opening win.

Juelsgaard finished the game with 121 yards through the air and added 42 rushing yards in his first start under center. Pruett Jr. and Greenwood hauled in nine of Juelsgaard's 12 completions in the game with a combined 84 receiving yards for the BU duo.

Saturday's victory marked the 638th win for the Baker football program, which is most all-time among NAIA teams.

The Wildcats will stay right here in Baldwin City for their second game of the 2023 season, playing host to Clarke on Saturday, Sept. 9 with kickoff set for 11 a.m. at Liston Stadium.

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