The #21 Baker Wildcats (6-2) dropped a tough one on Saturday, Oct. 28, falling to the #14 Benedictine Ravens (7-2), 30-6, on a cold and rainy senior day.
Before the game, the Wildcats and their fans celebrated 9 seniors; Alex Berg, Jayden Brown, Rashaan Graves, Kirby Grigsby, Rocky Juarez, Tony Kennedy, Jalen Nash, Caleb Nelson, and Shane Skwarlo.
The Wildcats offense, led by Sophomore quarterback Truman Juelsgaard, combined for 328 yards, their second lowest total of the season. Juelsgaard led the team in total offense, throwing for 129 yards, and tallying a team high 159 yards on the ground. He also had a fumble early in the game.
“[I would’ve liked to] been more careful with the ball, and lead the team on the sideline, and on the field better than I did,” Juelsgaard said after the game.
Wildcat running backs combined for only 40 yards, both running backs averaging under 3.0 yards a carry. Sophomore Running Back Gabe Martin was the Wildcats second leading rusher with 32 yards. Senior running back Rashaan Graves ran for a season low of just 8 yards on 6 carries.
“It falls on all of us,” Senior center Rocky Juarez said. “I know we didn’t get all of our run blocks to get them upfield. Our running backs ran hard at the end of the day. I wish we could’ve had that one back.”
The rushing offense looks to bounce back next week against Central Methodist, who is allowing an average of 222 yards on the ground per game.
Rain was in the forecast for Saturday and never let up through the game, helping cause the Wildcats to have 3 fumbles, all in the first quarter.
The Wildcats started the game with a fumble on the opening kickoff, resulting in a Ravens recovery at the 13-yard line. This resulted in a Ravens touchdown run by quarterback Jackson Dooley from 1 yard out.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Ravens special teams unit forced another fumble. The Wildcat defense forced a 3 and out, resulting in a field goal.
“We knew we were going to have weather, but I don’t think we could predict [the] freezing rain and miserable conditions,” Head coach Miguel Regalado said. “I believe in [them], football players have rough days. One bad day doesn’t make a bad player.”
A bright spot for the Wildcats special teams unit was Sophomore kicker Seth Simpson. He went 2 for 2 on field goals, one from 41 yards, and the other from 31.
The Ravens took a ground and pound approach to to this game, totaling 246 yards on the ground. The Ravens finished the game with 95 passing yards, their lowest of the season.
The Wildcat defense wasn’t satisfied with the performance on Saturday. Senior defensive end Shane Skwarlo, who led the team with 12 total tackles, said “Unfortunately, [we] made too many mistakes against a good team, and that gets you beat.”
The Wildcats fall to 6-2 on the season and are still in the playoff conversation. They look to get back in the win column as they head to Fayette, Mo. next Saturday to take on the Central Methodist Eagles (1-7). The Eagles come into this game on a 7 game losing streak.
