Dominating Defensive Effort Sparks Wildcats to 40-7 Victory over MNU

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Recording a touchdown for the third straight game, the Wildcats defense forced four turnovers and held the Pioneers to just seven points as (RV) Baker rolled to a dominating 40-7 victory over (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene here Saturday afternoon at Liston Stadium.

After the Pioneers scored the game's opening touchdown, the Wildcats rattled off 40 unanswered points to defeat the Heart South opponent and give BU a 1-0 start to the conference season. With the victory, Baker remains undefeated at home with a 4-0 record in Baldwin City, while the 5-1 overall record is BU's best start since 2020 when the Wildcats won their first seven games.

With cooler temperatures and swirling winds in Liston, it was a defensive showcase for BU, who forced a couple of fumbles – including one that was recovered in the end zone for a defensive touchdown – and two interceptions, while holding the MNU offense to a season-low seven points.

After stopping the Wildcats on the opening drive of the game, the Pioneers worked their way down the field and lit up the scoreboard first with a 15-yard touchdown from Adrian Parsons to EJ Rogers giving them a quick 7-0 lead.

From there, it was all Baker as starting quarterback Truman Juelsgaard would lead the offense down on the following drive that was capped by one of Seth Simpson's four field goals of the game, this one coming on a 35-yard attempt to make it a 7-3 ballgame.

The Wildcats found pay dirt on their next possession with a methodical drive that Rashaan Graves finished off by punching one in from a yard out to put BU on top, 10-7. It was Graves' third straight game with a rushing touchdown to give him eight total touchdowns in 2023 with six rushing and two receiving.

The Baker defense delivered a huge momentum swing in the final minutes of the first half as Shane Skwarlo was able to force a strip sack on Parsons that resulted in the ball bouncing all the way back to the end zone where the Wildcats were able to jump on it for the defensive score.

Simpson tacked on another field goal right before halftime to give the Wildcats a 20-7 heading into the intermission.

After linebacker Zac Kramer picked off an MNU pass, Baker used a bit of trickery to set up its next score with wide receiver Kwan Brooks taking a pitch-back and throwing to Juelsgaard down the sideline to put the Wildcats on the doorstep. Barely missing out on his first touchdown catch, Juelsgaard plunged ahead on a quarterback run to make it 27-7 early in the third quarter.

Later in the period, Gabe Martin became the third Wildcat to tally a rushing touchdown with the Columbus, Kan. native scoring from four yards out to extend BU's cushion to 27 points.

Canon Karn snagged the defense's second interception of the game and Simpson added two more field goals to finish off Baker's 40-7 drubbing and seal the conference-opening victory.

Juelsgaard ran for a season-high 167 yards while putting up 161 yards through the air and adding the 28-yard reception for a do-it-all game for the sophomore from Lawrence, Kan. Graves (53) and Martin (43) contributed to the ground game as well as the Wildcats carved out over 250 rushing yards in the contest.

For the BU defense, the four turnovers bring its season total up to 16 with 12 interceptions and four fumbles recovered on the year. The Wildcats have now scored four defensive touchdowns in 2023, including one in three straight games, with the other three coming by way of a pick-six.

Karn had himself a day as the junior linebacker was the one to jump on the fumble in the end zone in the second quarter while adding his third interception of the year and recording a game-high 14 tackles.

The four field goals by Simpson tied the mark for the second-most in a game for BU, falling one short of former Wildcat Derek Doerfler who made five field goals against William Jewell back in 2007. For the season, Simpson is now 9-for-10 on field goals and a perfect 25-for-25 on PATs with his lone miss coming on a 51-yard attempt at Grand View.

Boasting a three-game winning streak, the Wildcats will be back in action next week as they head out on the road for a trip to face Missouri Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. in St. Louis.

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