Bolivar, Mo. – For the first time in 502 days, the SBU Football team was back in action at home. The Bearcats hosted Truman State in their only home contest this shortened spring season. After a tight first half, Truman State held on for the 38-20 win, dropping the Bearcats to 0-1.
 
The Bulldogs won the coin toss and elected to defer, giving the Bearcat the first shot on offense. Junior transfer Cooper Callis made his first start at QB for SBU. The first play was a completed pass from Callis to Preston Carson for 20 yards. He would go on to complete 5 more passes on the drive, including a 16-yard connection with Curtis Cuillard for the game's first touchdown. Truman followed with a quick scoring drive of their own, tying the game at 7-7. Another strong drive from Callis led to a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chance Pillar, giving the Bearcats a 13-7 lead. Again, TSU followed with a scoring drive, making the extra point to take a 14-13 lead.
 
SBU was well on their way to another scoring drive to open the second quarter, but a fumble cut that drive short. The Bearcats defense held strong and forced Truman to a lengthy field goal, going ahead 17-13. After a punt by SBU, Truman began driving again, but Aaron Harris picked off the TSU quarterback in the end zone, keeping the score at 17-13 heading into the break.
 
On the opening drive of the second half, Truman drove 56 yards for the score, 40 of those yards coming on a 3^rd and 7. After failing on a 4^th and 2 attempt, the Bulldogs took over and scored again, taking a 31-13 lead. An SBU punt gave the Bulldogs the ball back and they were driving when Brenden Smith picked off the TSU quarterback to keep them out of the end zone. The 4^th quarter opened in a similar manner to the third, a TSU touchdown to extend their lead to 38-13. The Bearcats took over and completed a drive that took over 6 minutes, ending in another Cooper Callis touchdown pass, connecting again with Curtis Cuillard over the middle of the endzone. Truman had a solid return on the ensuing kickoff, but Bryton Lewi forced a fumble and Rondale Messer fell on it to give SBU the ball back with 4 seconds left. Callis connected with senior Jarrett Massie for 23 yards, but time expired before another play could be ran, ending 38-20 in favor of the visitors.
 
Cooper Callis completed 29 of 38 passes, throwing for 376 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 376 passing yards are the most in a single game by an SBU quarterback since October 14, 2017. On the receiving end, Curtis Cuillard caught 9 passes for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chance Pillar also caught 6 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. Bryton Lewi led the team in tackles, collecting 10 total tackles. Aaron Harris finished with 7 tackles and an interception, while Taylor Jones-Morgan, Brenden Smith, and Jed Brandon each finished with 6 tackles.
 
The team will compete in their second of three regular season games next Saturday, April 10 as they travel to Rolla, Missouri to face Missouri S&T. That game is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 PM.