The Baker University football team put on a show with a 71-21 victory against Culver-Stockton College for its homecoming game Saturday at Liston Stadium.

Sophomore Jake Morse threw for five touchdown passes. Morse connected with junior Jake Green for two touchdowns and also found juniors Joel Murphy and Kyle Bolton and sophomore Xavier Lewis in the end zone.

His performance comes one game after be named the HAAC Offensive Player of the Week against Avila University.

“It is a natural progression,” Morse said. “Last year being a freshman and my first year starting here, it’s been a progression of getting better every week. Being in our new offense with (Offensive Coordinator Miguel) Regalado, it’s also been a progression this year getting more comfortable. In the past couple of games, I think the offense has really been coming around.”

While the majority of Baker’s offensive scoring was done through the air, Bolton also scored two rushing touchdowns when he lined up as the quarterback in the Wildcat formation.

“We’ve been practicing (the Wildcat formation) for a couple of weeks,” Bolton said. “Our offensive line set it up perfectly and confused the defense.”

Many of the starters received rest late in the game, but the second and third string players picked up right where the starters left off.

Junior Sam Vossen came in for Morse and threw a touchdown pass to sophomore J.D. Steffen to cap off the day for the Baker offense.

“It was really nice to see,” Morse said. “Those guys work really hard every day at practice. They work really hard every day and work just as hard as (the starters) do. It’s nice for them to get in there and make play and to score points and not miss a beat when (the starters) are out.”

Not to be outdone, the BU defense put some points on the board late in the game as well with interception returns for touchdowns from sophomore Jose Castro and freshman Steven Sanders.

“It is nice to see those guys step in and play at a very high level,” head coach Mike Grossner said. “That’s what we are trying to sell to our football team. We have a certain standard we like our guys to play to.”

Baker will have its second bye week of the season before taking on Benedictine College on Senior Day Nov. 5 at Liston Stadium.

“It’s huge,” Morse said. “That can make or break our season. It’s a rivalry game of course. It’s just a big game for us. We all know the playoffs are a long shot, but there is still a chance if everything falls into place.”