As the saying goes, “Defense wins games.” That was the case for the Baker University football team as it squeaked out an overtime victory of 27-24 over conference rival William Jewell College Saturday.
With the offense only having 190 yards for the entire game, Baker’s defense stepped up and caused Jewell to turn the ball over a total of five times.
“As an offense, we need to get points on the board and take the pressure off the defense,” head coach Mike Grossner said.
In the fourth quarter, junior D.J. Carter blocked a field goal that was returned by sophomore Eric Allen to put Baker up by 10. Jewell tied it up after kicking a field goal and scoring a touchdown, sending the game into overtime.
“We were put in really tough situations, and we were able to battle through and pull out a victory,” sophomore Andrew Patch said.
After winning the coin toss and choosing to be on defense first during overtime, Allen intercepted a pass from Jewell. Junior Ryan Smith stepped in to kick the 35-yard winning field goal.
“We haven’t been put in many overtime situations, so it gave us a good feeling of what it’s like and what it takes,” Patch said. “Now that we know what that feeling is like, and we know how to play, I think it will help us throughout the entire season.”
The Heart of America Athletic Conference named Patch the defensive player of the week. He ended the game with four sacks, 11 tackles, five for losses and forced a fumble.
Baker will host Evangel University at 6 p.m. Saturday.