After junior quarterback Jake Morse was knocked out of the season opener in the first quarter against Ottawa University with a knee injury, it was hard to tell when or if the 2011 Co-Offensive Heart of America Athletic Conference Player of the Year would return this season. Morse returned in a big way Saturday as he led the No. 9 Baker University football team to a 24-14 victory against Central Methodist University.
“Once (Morse) settled in, I thought he played really well and that is a boost for our football team,” head coach Mike Grossner said. “Nothing against Sam (Vossen) … Sam is a good quarterback. He was a part of two wins for us and really three because he had to finish that Ottawa game for three quarters of it. We’ve got two good individuals at that position that can both win for us.”
Morse wasted little time making an impact in his first game back as he completed 12 of his 18 passing attempts for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
“(My knee) felt great,” Morse said. “It didn’t bother me at all during the game and after the game it didn’t hurt at all either.”
He put the Wildcats on the scoreboard first by throwing a 70-yard touchdown pass to senior Reggie Harris to give BU an early 7-0 advantage. Harris hauled in two more catches in the contest and racked up 92 receiving yards.
The Eagles found themselves in a similar situation to what the Wildcats were in during their season opener when CMU quarterback Kaleb Borghardt was forced to leave the game due to an injury. CMU turned to three-year starting quarterback Bryant Jackson to fill in for Borghardt.
The Eagles cut the Wildcats’ lead to 7-6 after Jackson called a sweep play to Burton Iosefa, who rushed it in from the 8-yard line. However, CMU failed to convert the point-after attempt.
Morse continued to find a rhythm offensively and put the Wildcats back in front 14-6 when he connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior Tyler Hatcher.
The score remained 14-6 going into the break, but the Eagles’ running back Cleave Perryman carried the ball in from one yard out on their opening possession. Central Methodist made the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 14-14 with a few minutes gone in the second half.
While Perryman rushed for a game-high 176 yards on 25 carries, Baker’s Dillon Baxter responded on the ensuing drive with a 35-yard touchdown run to give the lead back to the Wildcats. Baxter went on to rush for a season-high 94 yards on 15 rushing attempts.
Baxter’s touchdown run was all the Wildcats needed as the Baker defense did not allow the Eagles to score for the remainder of the matchup.
“We gave up too many yards last night, but we made stops in crucial situations when we needed to, including a goal-line stand late in the game,” senior Adam Steele said. “That is kind of what our defense is about is making stops when it counts.”
The Wildcats tacked on a 37-yard field goal from senior Steven Stewart to seal Baker’s 24-14 victory.
Baker improved to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in the HAAC with the victory over the Eagles. BU will put its undefeated record on the line in a top 10 matchup with No. 5 Missouri Valley College at 6 p.m. Saturday at Liston Stadium.
“(Missouri Valley) is a great team,” Morse said. “They are going to come in ready to compete. There is going to be a great atmosphere and there should be a lot of people there, so it should be a lot of fun. It should be an easy game to get up for for us.”
