Wildcats Open Heart South Play at Missouri Valley
BALDWIN CITY – After back-to-back games at home, Baker football will head out on the road on Saturday, Sept. 27 to face Missouri Valley in Marshall, Mo. in the first game of the 2025 Heart South season.
Last week, the Wildcats showed some positive signs while hosting the defending national champions Grand View, but fell to the top-ranked Vikings, 24-7. Truman Juelsgaard finished with over 100 yards passing (114) and rushing (115), capping off a 13-play, 98-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run for BU's only score of the game.
After giving up three scores to start the game, the Baker defense held GVU out of the end zone for the final three quarters and earned its first turnover of the fall with an interception from sophomore Elijah Porter.
This season, BU is averaging over 130 yards on the ground with 138 this past weekend and nearly 200 in the season opener at Peru State (190). Juelsgaard leads the attack with 192 yards and a touchdown, while senior Gabe Martin has totaled 104 yards and scored in back-to-back games to start the year.
In their first three matchups, the Wildcats have already gone up against some of the best teams in the Heart with the combined record of BU's opponents this year sitting at 10-1, including two straight outings against undefeated teams in No. 1 Grand View and No. 24 William Penn.
Missouri Valley comes into the game with a 2-1 record this season with the lone loss coming at Peru State a week after the Wildcats' setback in the Oak Bowl. MVC came out on top of a shootout last weekend at Culver-Stockton, defeating C-SC, 48-41 in Canton, Mo.
The Vikings rank first among Heart South teams with 158 rushing yards per game and nearly matched BU's season-high rushing mark in Peru with 189 yards against Clarke in MVC's first game of the season.
Sophomore running back Silas Morton leads the Valley rushing attack with 44 rushes for 226 yards and five touchdowns this fall. Quarterback Tomele Staples threw for a season-high 239 yards and two touchdowns last week with one of his touchdown passes going to Adonis Whitley on a 75-yard score on the first play of the game.
With over 1,300 combined wins, Saturday's game will feature the annual matchup between the two winningest programs in NAIA history with Baker boasting the most all-time wins at 655. The all-time series is tied at 27-27-3 with the Wildcats carrying a seven-game winning streak.
Kickoff from Marshall is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday. A free live stream of the game can be found on the Urban Edge Network. Live stats will be available here.
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