Posted: Nov 14, 2010
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After scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions of the game, Baker recovered a CMU fumble at the 18-yard line of the Eagles. The Wildcats were held to a field goal, extending their lead to 17-0 in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles fumbled the ball away for the second time, giving Baker the ball back at the CMU 34-yard line. The Eagle defense allowed Baker to drive to first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, but senior Tony Hall (Shelbina, Mo.) stood up the Baker quarterback for a loss of one. On second down, Hall forced the Wildcat running back to fumble, and sophomore Ryan Adams (Slater, Mo.) recovered it in the end zone to give the Eagles the ball on their own 20-yard line.
The CMU offense was unable to move the ball, and was forced to punt. On Baker's next play, though, senior Antonio Brown (St. Louis, Mo.) intercepted a pass for the second turnover forced by the Eagle defense. CMU was again forced to punt, but the Eagle defense held Baker to three-and-out on the Wildcats' next possession.
CMU got a pair of first downs on its next possession to get into Wildcat territory, but Baker came away with an interception to end the Eagle drive. The Wildcats then moved the ball 75 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown to make the score 24-0. The Eagle offense had a scoring threat on its final possession of the half. A 31-yard pass from sophomore Bryant Jackson (Lee's Summit, Mo.) to junior Bradley Carter (El Cajon, Calif.), and a face-mask penalty against Baker gave CMU a first down at the Baker 14-yard line in the closing seconds of the half, but the Eagles only managed to get one play off, which was an incomplete pass.
On Baker's first play of the third quarter, Brown forced a fumble, but the Wildcats were able to recover the ball. Baker moved the ball to the CMU 3-yard line. The Eagle defense came up big with a stop on first down at the 1-yard line, followed by a stop for no gain on second down. On third-and-goal from the CMU 1, junior Matt Curts (Bolivar, Mo.) forced Baker to fumble, and sophomore Bryan Plenge (Kahoka, Mo.) recovered the ball at the CMU 2-yard line.
The CMU offense was forced to punt, and Baker regained possession at the CMU 27. Eight plays later, the Wildcats extended their lead to 27-0 with a field goal. CMU put together another solid drive on its next possession, moving the ball to the Baker 19-yard line. On third down, Baker came up with its second interception of the game at the Baker 3-yard line.
The Eagle defense forced Baker to punt, and the CMU offense got the ball to the Baker 6-yard line. A CMU penalty pushed the Eagles back to the Baker 21, but Jackson completed a pass to freshman Kyle Whiteman (Springville, Tenn.), who was marked down around the 1-yard line. The Baker defense held CMU on third down from the one, and an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the Eagles' scoring threat.
On Baker's opening drive of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats drove the ball to the CMU 5-yard line. On second down, sophomore Trevor Robinson (Visalia, Calif.) rushed the Baker quarterback, who threw the ball up for grabs and Curts made a diving interception at the CMU 5. Four plays later, Baker came up with its third interception of the game, giving the Wildcats the ball back at the CMU 25-yard line. It took the Wildcats just three plays to get into the end zone and make the score 34-0. The CMU offense was unable to put together another scoring threat and Baker was able to run out the clock.
The CMU offense finished with 307 yards in the game, but picked up just 23 yards rushing, and had five turnovers. The Eagle defense forced five turnovers, including the three inside the CMU 5-yard line. Baker finished with 486 yards of total offense in the game. The Wildcats dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for more than 41 minutes.
Jackson completed 24-of-50 passes for 284 yards, giving him 2,173 yards of passing this season and 4,383 for his career. Jackson's 24 completions Saturday gave him 390 in his career, which surpasses the previous CMU career pass completion record of 379 set by Tom Stine from 1975-78. Carter caught six passes for 124 yards, while junior Eric Carrillo (Chula Vista, Calif.) had a game-high nine receptions for 80 yards.
Junior Tyler Belt (Macon, Mo.) led the CMU defense with a career-high 18 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Belt also had a pass breakup. Hall finished his career with 11 tackles in the game, including two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. Plenge and senior Will Jackson (Fulton, Mo.) added nine tackles each.
CMU recognized its nine seniors prior to Saturday's game. The Eagles ended their season at 3-7 overall, while Baker finished 7-4 and 7-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
