No. 15 Baker Takes Down No. 8 MNU, 20-14 in Conference Clash

OLATHE, Kan. – Trailing by four with less than two minutes to go, No. 15 Baker scored a late touchdown before coming down with an interception on the final play to knock off No. 8 MidAmerica Nazarene, 20-14 in a thrilling Heart South battle here Saturday afternoon.

With BU down, 14-10, Truman Juelsgaard dropped a pass to Adrion Seals in the end zone to give the Wildcats a 17-14 lead with 1:54 remaining. Then, Baker's defense came away with back-to-back clutch turnovers with Thad Metcalfe picking up a fumble to set up a Seth Simpson field goal, while Caden Donovan delivered the game-sealing pick.

In a matchup between two of the Heart's most high-powered offenses, each team only found the end zone twice with the Pioneers being gifted their first score of the game on a muffed punt to take an early 7-0 lead.

Juelsgaard finished the day with 145 yards passing and two touchdowns while putting up a team-high 87 yards on the ground. Billy Brooks hauled in four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, scoring right before half to put BU in front, 10-7 at the midway point.

After MNU's game-opening touchdown, Simpson tagged the first of his two field goals in the game, matching his career-long with a 47-yard boot to make it a 7-3 ballgame in the first quarter.

Both teams traded punts for the rest of the half until Juelsgaard and the BU offense put together a long 14-play, 73-yard drive capped off by Brooks' touchdown catch. Facing a long third-down play, Brooks came down with a jump ball from Juelsgaard to push Baker in front for the first time in the game with just 13 seconds left in the half.

After Baker opened the second half with another special teams disaster, the unit redeemed itself with a blocked field goal on the Pioneers' ensuing possession to preserve the three-point lead for BU.

With the score staying the same all the way through a scoreless third quarter, Deshon Lewis II registered the first of three turnovers forced by the BU defense in the fourth quarter, picking off his first pass of the fall.

The Pioneers rolled off a long drive of their own to reclaim the lead, using a short rushing touchdown to go in front, 14-10 with just over four minutes left to play.

Trailing for the first time since the first half, Juelsgaard hit Gaige Warren on a couple of key passes, including a 17-yard pitch-n-catch to set up the go-ahead score. On the next play, Juelsgaard went to his other freshman pass catcher in Seals, who collected his fifth touchdown catch of the year to put Baker back on top, 17-14.

After Metcalfe's fumble recovery resulted in another Simpson field goal, the Baker defense pulled off one final turnover, picking off MNU's final play of the game after the Pioneers worked their way down to the BU 24-yard line.

Along with their three turnovers, the Wildcats defense held MNU to a season-low 14 points after the Pioneers came into the day averaging more than 50 points per game. BU also held MNU quarterback Adrian Parsons without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.

A year after Baker and MidAmerica Nazarene joined Benedictine as Heart South Tri-Champions, the conference standings feature the same three-team log jam at the top again this season. With MNU defeating BC last week and BU falling to the Ravens earlier this year, all three teams sit at 4-1 in league play with one game remaining in the regular season.

Baker has a chance to clinch at least a share of the Heart South title next weekend with a matchup against Missouri Baptist on Senior Day with kickoff set for 1 p.m. on Nov. 16 in Baldwin City.

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