No. 15 Baker’s Memorable Season Ends with Loss at No. 4 Georgetown in NAIA FCS Second Round

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – No. 15 Baker fell to No. 4 Georgetown, 42-21 in the second round of the NAIA Football Championship Series here Saturday afternoon in Georgetown, Ky., bringing the Wildcats' memorable 2023 season to a close.

After giving up more than 30 points in a game only once all season, the Wildcats faced a 35-0 deficit in the first half on Saturday with the Tigers scoring 35 unanswered points and shutting out BU through the first 30 minutes. Baker responded by outscoring GC, 21-7 in the second half, including a touchdown by the BU defense.

Truman Juelsgaard threw for 215 yards and a touchdown, while going for 60 yards and a score on the ground to cap a terrific first season under center for the Wildcats. The sophomore from Lawrence, Kan. totaled 28 touchdowns in 2023 and was named the Heart's Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

The Tigers took the game's opening possession and conducted a seven-play drive that finished off with their star running back Darius Neal punching in a score at the goal line to give GC a quick 7-0 lead.

Then, after forcing a BU three-and-out, Georgetown came right back on its next possession to notch its second straight touchdown on a trick play that saw GC receivers Dillon Warren and Jeremy Adams linking up on a double pass to give the hosts a two-score lead just over five minutes into the game.

The BU offense looked to spark some momentum on its end with back-to-back drives that saw them move into Tigers territory, but both efforts stalled before getting into scoring range.

In the closing minute of the first quarter, the Tigers tallied their third score of the opening frame with a huge 87-yard run by Neal to put them up, 21-0 at the quarter break.

Georgetown added a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter with quarterback Gehrig Slunaker connecting on back-to-back touchdown throws to give the Tigers a 35-0 lead.

Jalen Nash recorded the first of his two fumble recoveries late in the second quarter after lodging the ball free from a GC receiver to give the ball back to Baker right before halftime.

Trailing at halftime for just the fourth time this fall, the Wildcats finally found their footing in the second half after using a long 15-play, 73-yard scoring drive on their first possession to put BU on the scoreboard. Juelsgaard rifled a pass to Gavin Greenwood that the sure-handed tight end was able to tip to himself and hang onto for his team-high seventh touchdown catch of the season.

After the defense forced a quick stop on their end, the BU offense put together another long scoring drive, this one coming on 14 plays for 96 yards. Starting things off near their own goal line, Juelsgaard mixed in a couple of short pass completions with some quarterback scrambles to set BU up in Tigers territory. Then, Juelsgaard connected with Will Roberts on a 26-yard pass to get the Wildcats at the doorstep before taking it in himself on a 4-yard touchdown run to cut GC's lead to 35-14.

With the momentum starting to swing over to the BU sideline, Neal came through again for the Tigers with another big touchdown run on the first play of the ensuing possession, taking this one 59 yards to deal a devastating blow to the surging Wildcats.

After what looked like another Baker touchdown turned into GC recovering a fumble in the end zone, the Wildcats defense came through with another fumble on their end with Nash collecting a fumble forced by Zac Kramer and taking it all the way for Baker's sixth defensive touchdown of the year to cap the scoring at 42-21.

Going 9-3 overall in its first year under head coach Miguel Regalado, Baker closed out a 2023 season that saw them "restore the order" for the BU football program, winning eight or more games for the 10th time in the past 12 years and reaching the NAIA playoffs for the 20th time in school history.

After going 4-1 in conference play, the Wildcats finished as Heart South Division Tri-Champions, earning a share of the conference championship with Benedictine and MidAmerica Nazarene. Baker boasted 13 all-conference selections and collected five major conference awards with the Heart's Offensive (Juelsgaard), Defensive (Canon Karn) and Freshmen (DeAndre Pruett Jr.) Players of the Year as well as the Assistant Coach of the Year (Tucker Pauley) and Co-Head Coach of the Year (Regalado).

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