In their first ever Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) action, the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat football team fell to host Baker University (BU) in Baldwin City, Kan., by the score of 55-12. With the win, Baker improves to 2-0, 1-0 in the HAAC, on the season while the 'Cats fall to 0-1, 0-1 in the HAAC.
Baker scored on their second and third possessions of the first quarter getting a touchdown and a field goal to take a 10-0 lead. It was on the Wildcats' kickoff following their second score that the Bobcats got on the board for the first time in 2011.
Garret Cambell (Santee, Calif.) took the BU kick-off on his own 12 yard-line and ran it back 88 yards for a touchdown with one second left in the quarter. The PAT was blocked, but the 'Cats had cut the lead to 10-6 and brought some life back on the Bobcat sideline.
In second quarter, Baker took over and took a commanding 34-6 lead into halftime having scored three touchdowns and a field goal right before halftime.
The Wildcats scored next in the third quarter to go up 41-6 before Bobcat quarterback
Tyler Francis (Lincoln) found wide receiver
Cole Gottula (Franklin) on a 59-yard touchdown pass with 2:12 left to go in the stanza. Again, the PSC PAT was no good making the score 41-12.
Baker tacked on two more scores before the end of the game to capture the win.
The Wildcats outgained the Bobcats 468-111 in total yardage. The 'Cats total yardage included 59 yards lost on the ground in 18 carries. The two Bobcat quarterbacks did manage to complete 17 of 40 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown, but threw three interceptions.
Francis was 16 of 36 with two picks and 168 yards. Gottula finished with four catches and 86 yards while
Joel Woodhead (North Platte), out of the backfield, caught five passes for 26 yards. No Bobcat rusher made it to double digits on the ground.
Defensively,
Preston Bruss (Bennett) led the Bobcats with ten total tackles while
Jake Mertens (Hastings) finished with nine. Each player had six solo tackles. Martens had two and one-half tackles for loss totaling 14 yards. Bruss and
Trey Rigby (Oak Grove, Mo.) each had two tackles for loss for eight and five yards respectively. Both Bruss and Mertens had a quarterback sack.
Next Saturday, Sept. 10, the Bobcats will have their home opener and will host Culver-Stockton College in the Oak Bowl. Culver-Stockton won their opener as they defeated Graceland University 35-10. The game will start at 1 p.m. The presentation of the Swenson Awards will be made at halftime of the game to the top male and female student-athletes for 2010-11 for their contributions to PSC athletics.
Game Box Score
