No. 22 Baker Clinches Share of Heart South Title with 48-14 Victory at Missouri Valley

MARSHALL, Mo. – For the first time since 2020, the Wildcats earned a conference championship as No. 22 Baker cruised to a 48-14 victory over Missouri Valley on Saturday in Marshall, Mo. in the regular-season finale to finish as Heart South Division Tri-Champions.

With a 4-1 record against conference opponents, the Wildcats landed in a three-way tie for the league title with No. 14 Benedictine and (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene after the Pioneers defeated the Ravens on Saturday.

Scoring over 40 points for the sixth time this year, Baker racked up 480 yards of offense with 299 yards through the air and 181 yards on the ground. BU quarterback Truman Juelsgaard recorded five total touchdowns with a devastating two-way attack that saw him throw for 299 yards and two touchdowns and add three rushing touchdowns to give the Lawrence High product his second five-touchdown game of the year.

For the Wildcats defense, they forced four interceptions and registered five sacks to hold the Vikings to just 14 points in the game. Shane Skwarlo recorded 1.5 sacks and seven tackles with 3.5 of those coming for a loss. Canon Karn bagged two of the four interceptions for BU to mark his second game this year with multiple interceptions.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Wildcats scored on their first possession of the second quarter with Juelsgaard connecting on passes to Gavin Greenwood and Will Roberts to get BU near the goal line before Juelsgaard punched in his first touchdown to put Baker on top, 7-0.

An MVC touchdown and the first of Seth Simpson's two field goals in the game made it 10-7 before Juelsgaard scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to put BU's lead back at double digits at 17-7.

In the second half, the Vikings cut it to a one-score game again after recovering a botched punt return in BU territory to set themselves up for a quick touchdown to make it 17-14 in favor of Baker.

From there, it would be all BU as the Wildcats responded with a quick score of their own after a great return by PJ McCallop Jr. on the ensuing kickoff put them on the MVC side of the field. Rashaan Graves followed by bursting through for a 21-yard score for his ninth touchdown of 2023.

With the BU defense forcing back-to-back turnovers, Juelsgaard tacked on his final rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter to extend Baker's lead to 31-14.

After tallying their first four scores on the ground, Juelsgaard found Roberts and DeAndre Pruett Jr. for consecutive touchdowns through the air with Pruett's making it a 45-14 lead for Baker with 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Simpson's 44-yard field goal capped the Wildcats' fourth straight win on the road, bringing the final score to 48-14.

Roberts posted a season-high 154 yards after hauling in seven catches and a touchdown, while Pruett finished with four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Coming off of Heart Special Teams Player of the Week honors this past week, Simpson had his sixth game this year with multiple field goals and converted all six of his PAT's to keep him a perfect 37-for-37 on the season.

Saturday's matchup also featured the NAIA's two winningest programs with Baker boasting the most wins all-time with 645 victories while Missouri Valley sits at 640 all-time wins.

Finishing the regular season with an 8-2 record, the Wildcats will await their postseason fate with the 2023 NAIA Football Selection Show set for Sunday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. You can watch the Selection Show on the NAIA's YouTube page here.

#BakerBuildsChampions