No. 18 Baker Heads to Oskaloosa for First Road Test of 2024
BALDWIN CITY – After opening up the season with a huge 52-0 win over St. Ambrose at home last week, No. 18 Baker will head out for its first road match of the year with a matchup against William Penn set for Saturday, Sept. 14 at 11:30 a.m. in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
In their first action of the fall, the Wildcats put on a 52-point thumping to SAU by scoring in all three phases of the game with a blocked punt, a punt return and a pick-six plus three touchdown passes from quarterback Truman Juelsgaard.
PJ McCallop earned Heart Special Teams Player of the Week honors after recording his first career punt return for a touchdown with an 80-yarder in the second quarter. He pushed his total return yards over 100 after going for 34 yards on his only kickoff return of the game. The sophomore defensive back also nabbed his first interception of the season.
Despite seeing limited action because of the blowout, Juelsgaard was still able to throw for nearly 300 yards after completing 18 of his 23 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Adrion Seals hauled in five catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns in his BU debut.
The Baker defense pitched its first shutout and picked up right where it left off from 2023 when they led the nation in interceptions and defensive touchdowns. Defensive end Manowa Ngenzirabona had himself a game against the Fighting Bees, blocking the punt that led to the Wildcats' first touchdown of the afternoon and following it up with a pick-six on the very next possession.
Picked third in the Heart North's preseason poll, William Penn enters Saturday's game with a 1-1 record after defeating William Woods, 59-0 in the season opener and falling on the road at No. 12 Benedictine, 45-27 last week.
After piling up over 275 rushing yards against the Owls, the Statesmen were held to just 40 yards on the ground versus the Ravens and committed a total of five turnovers in the game. They got off to a horrible start in Atchison, falling behind 14-0 in the first 32 seconds of play with Benedictine taking the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, followed by a pick-six on the ensuing WPU drive.
Saturday's game will be the 10th meeting between the two teams with Baker holding a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series. In their most recent matchup in 2022, the Wildcats defeated WPU, 34-14 to become the winningest program in NAIA history - a milestone that BU has boosted to a now six-win gap between them (647) and Missouri Valley (641).
For fans traveling to Oskaloosa, tickets for the game are NOT available on-site and must be purchased ONLINE by clicking HERE.
A live stream of the game can be found on The Heart Conference Network and live stats for the game are available here.
#BakerBuildsChampions