Football Heads to No. 23 Baker

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Clarke University football team travels to Baldwin City, Kan., to take on the No. 23 Baker University Wildcats on Saturday with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Liston Stadium.  Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased via Baker's athletics site. 

The Pride (2-2) fell 36-18 last weekend to No. 12 Benedictine. Clarke trailed 20-0 deep into the third quarter when quarterback Brandon Mueller found Darius Hernandez for a five-yard score with 1:04 to play in the quarter. Victor Moreno's extra point was blocked and returned for a two-point score, giving the Ravens a 22-6 advantage heading into the fourth. 

Benedictine fumbled on the following drive, which was recovered by Alexander Schaad at the Raven 41-yard line and gave the Pride some momentum with 14:54 left in the ball game. After a 21-yard hookup between Mueller and wideout Gabe Deadwiler, Mueller found Jayden Wyer for a 20-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 10. The Ravens responded with an momentum-depleting 11-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown pass between Raven QB Garrett Kettle and Reed Levi to go up 17. 

After back-to-back punts from both teams, Clarke took over with 6:55 to play on its own 20-yard line. Three plays later, Mueller was injured after taking two hits from Raven defenders after his pass was intercepted and returned for a 40-yard touchdown. Kenyon Williams, who replaced Mueller on for the final drive of the game, led the Pride on a 12-play, 76-yard drive capped off with a 17-yard score to wide receiver Jaquan Graham. 

The Series

The Pride trail the all-time series 0-3. The last meeting between the two programs came on Sept. 25, 2021, which resulted in a 41-6 Wildcat victory. Kenyon Williams finished the game 4-of-12 for 71 yards, while running back Garrett Egan rushed for 41. Linebacker Logan Otting led the team with eight tackles, followed by Kenneth Spaight and Griffin Mulcahy with seven, each. 

Baker at a Glance

The Wildcats (2-2) are coming off back-to-back losses for the first time since the 2014 season after falling to Grand View and Peru State over the past two weekends. The offense, which has seen a decline after losing key players from last year's 9-2 ream, is averaging 285.5 yards per game, ranking eighth in the Heart. Sam Heggemann and Caleb Nelson have seen split action at QB in all four games and have combined to go 54-of-95 for 545 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Running back Cole Fisher leads the team with 322 yards and four touchdowns on 87 carries, followed by Rashaan Graves-Houston with 196 yards and two scores. Wideout Will Roberts has 17 receptions for 145 yards, while Tyjuan Lewis has hauled in 10 for 135 yards and a touchdown. 

The strength of the team is its defense, which allows 216.3 yards per game and 16.8 points per game, marks that stand as second and third in the conference. The linebacker duo of Canon Karn and Mitchell Henry have combined for 81 tackles this season, which leads the conference and is second in the nation for a pair of teammates. Fellow LB Marcus Johnson is second in the conference and sixth in the country with four sacks. 

Storylines to Follow

Hello, Old Friend

Among the connections to the Baker program include Pride head coach Miguel Regalado and Mueller. Regalado joined the Baker coaching staff in 2008 and oversaw the Wildcats' offensive line until he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2011. During his stint at Baker, the Wildcats had an overall record of 81-25 and posted three 10 or more win seasons over that time. The program made five NAIA national playoff appearances and captured three Heart of America Athletic Conference championships. Mueller, who saw action in seven games as a freshman during the 2018 season, finished his Baker career with 1,251 yards and 11 touchdowns on 112-of-172 passing. 

Gonzalez Island

Defensive back Johel Gonzalez, Clarke's all-time leader in career interceptions, has put together quite a year when it comes to defending wideouts. The Norco, Calif., native has picked off three passes this season, which is tied for the most in the country. Over his Clarke career, Gonzalez has recorded eight interceptions.  

Seeing Red

Clarke ranks third in the Heart of America when it comes to success in the red zone, as the Pride have scored on 11 of its 15 trips (73%). Scoring touchdowns within the red zone hasn't been too much of an issue for Clarke, as eight of its 11 scores result in six. Where the Pride struggle more is with its field goal unit, which has converted on three of its seven attempts within the 20-yard line. 

Head Coach Miguel Regalado Weekly Sit-Down 

Overall thoughts on last week:

"I asked our team to show us that they're ready to compete with the big boys, and I thought they did. I thought in the fourth quarter we had an opportunity to make it an eight point game and, unfortunately, we were struggling to make extra points. I thought they showed that they were ready to compete. We're right there, in an eight point game in the fourth quarter, with a team who I believe is going to win the Heart of America South Conference and was two points away from being in the national championship a year ago. They'll make the playoffs this year, and, in my opinion, we're close. We're not there yet, but we're ready to be the type of team that shows we're ready to compete. I've combined the scores over the last three years against Benedictine and it was something like 140-17. I think we're finally showing that we're ready to compete."

On what a loss against a good team does to the program:

"What I did on Sunday was asked the team, "How does a team win every statistical category and lose the football game?" I think the team was shocked to learn that they had more first downs and yards. But, when you turn the football over, and you don't convert in the red zone, all of those statistics go out the window. I think what it does is show our guys that not only were we in that game, but we were also actually in control of that game and if we just take care of the football in the red zone, we can be a pretty good football team. I think they came out of it realizing that we need to clean up those two areas – which have killed us all year. We've turned the football over at an alarming rate on offense, we've failed to convert consistently in the red zone, and we have not held people to field goals in the red zone. If you do those things on each side of the ball, you beat Evangel, clearly beat Missouri Valley, and you have a great chance to beat Benedictine, which is where we're at. 

On Johel Gonzalez's play this season: 

"I always say to our staff that if we were winning games here more people would talk about the amazing career that Johel's had. That guy led the league in interceptions a year ago and wasn't even on the All-Conference list because we haven't won games. I've told our guys since the day I got here not to expect awards until we start winning games. At Baker, when we were winning titles every year, we could throw anybody up for All-Conference and they were going to get it. Johel has been with me since 2018. I still remember the day he came with Israel Hernandez on his visit, and they got stuck in a snowstorm. I thought I'd never see them again, but they both committed and have been fantastic players. Johel is a guy – he'll hate it when I say it, isn't the most talented or athletic guy in the world. What he does is out-works everybody. He is always working. He's never out of shape. The guy could play 100 snaps and not be breathing hard. That's the kind of shape he keeps his body in. He is always studying tape and knows the game of football. He's always around the ball and has had an incredible career." 

On the play of Mark Edwards IV:

"I was most worried about the youth in our secondary ahead of the season. Luckily, Mark was able to get into some games last year. Usually, when you're not a good team, you play freshman, and he got an opportunity to play. It was good for him to get that experience and I think Mark coming back for the last half of the summer helped him get in better shape, learn more football, and made him a better player. I don't think anyone has picked on Mark one game yet this season, so we haven't had to worry about protecting him. He's held his own, he's a good football player and a great kid.

On avoiding being Baker's "rebound" game: 

"I've talked to our football team all week and haven't mentioned anything about what Baker is doing. I think it's all about us. I've preached on defense to eliminate big plays. The thing about their offense is that they are struggling. They lost a lot of pieces over the year. You're talking about the all-time leading rusher in NAIA history and their quarterback who'll be in the hall-of-fame at some point when he's eligible. They're trying to find their way and what we have to do is go in there and jump them at their place. It's their homecoming, so they'll come out fighting and scratching because they're not used to this position – losing two games in a row. We've got to come out and do what we should've done a week ago at our place against Benedictine. Baker's strength is on defense, and I've told our offense that we need to trust our defense and take care of the ball. We have to be able to get some sort of running game going. If we can manage that, we'll have a good day."

On limiting the Wildcat pass-rush: 

"I've got to keep us balanced and stay ahead of the sticks. One of the things we talk about on offense is one of our five main categories - first and ten. We need to be efficient on first and ten in order to stay ahead of the sticks and not put yourself in a third and long situation where their defensive line can just tee off on you. That's Baker's defense. I've been there and worked with those guys forever. They're going to stay sound on first and second down before getting you on third. They can bring their different pressures; they can bring their different twists. We have to stay ahead of the sticks on first down and we can do that by staying balanced. If we can stay more efficient on first and get us into more third and medium or third and short situations – where Baker is more predictable, then we have a great chance of protecting the offensive line." 

On facing a program he used to work for: 

"Honestly, it's another game. I respect the heck out of those guys. Believe it or not, they have the same respect for us. They probably could've hung 90 points on us back in 2019 but they called off the dogs. Would it be great to go in there and get a victory? Absolutely. You know who I would love to see go in there and get a victory more though? Brandon Mueller. That's a place where I know things didn't work out well for him. I have better memories of Baker than Brandon does. Honestly, though, I just want to get a win. I want to be 3-2 and then come back on homecoming with an opportunity to get this team to 4-2 ahead of the break and have people say, "What in the world is going on at Clarke?" That's what this game is all about."

Three keys to victory:

"Defensively, we have to stop giving up big plays. We gave up seven completions of 20 yards or more against Benedictine and we only played 52 snaps. That's too many, so we have to eliminate that. Offensively, we have to take care of the football and convert in the red zone. If we don't turn the ball over and score in the red zone, we're going to have a great day. Special teams – you always have to win two out of the three phases. I think our kickoff team has been solid all year long and has a chance to get one. Our punt team has been phenomenal all year long. Our stalkers are starting to pick up pace a little bit. I think if they continue to do their job and we do our job on offense and defense, we're going to have a great day."

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