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Opponent: William Jewell
Time: Saturday, April 17; 1:00 PM
Location: Greene Stadium | Liberty, MO
 
Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist Football (0-2) heads to William Jewell (0-2) for their final competition of the spring 2021 season.

Previous Season Recap
The Bearcats finished the 2019 season with a 3-8 (1-6 GLVC) record which included wins over Central State, Kentucky Wesleyan, and William Jewell. Southwest Baptist averaged 203.7 yards rushing per game and 154.9 passing yards per game. The 203.7 rushing yards was good enough for 3^rd best in the GLVC along with a conference leading pass defense that only allowed 211 yards per game. The Bearcats were also 3^rd best in returning punts with an average of 15.1 yards per return.
Southwest Baptist's offense was led by Brenden Smith with 692 yards rushing for 76.9 yards per game along with 737 passing yards on a 55% completion percentage for 81.9 yards per game. Bryce Cabrera and Eric Knight were the leaders at the running back position with 519 total yards and 514 total yards respectively. Smith shared time in the pocket with Dylan Mountain who pitched in 720 yards passing at a 60.2% completion rate and 3 touchdowns. Curtis Cuillard led all receivers on the Bearcats with 51 catches for 607 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cory Hanger led the defense with 65 total tackles, 17 pass break-ups, and 3 fumble recoveries for 56 yards. De'shawn Tone led the front line with 53 total tackles that included 12.5 tackles for loss.

Scouting The Bearcats
Robert Clardy will be entering his sixth season (2020-21) as the Head Football Coach and his 14th season overall on the Bearcats Football coaching staff. In 2016, Coach Clardy earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bearcats to their first ever conference title and NCAA National Playoff appearance after finishing the season 10-2 (7-1 GLVC). Clardy's Bearcats were ranked as high as 17th in the NCAA Division II AFCA poll, finishing 22nd in the final NCAA Division II AFCA poll, while earning their first ever regional and national rankings. In their first matchup of the year, the Bearcats fell to Truman State. SBU scored first and hung tight with TSU, trailing just 17-13 at the half. A strong start to the second half led Truman to a 38-20 win. Their second contest was another close matchup, falling to Missouri S&T 48-34. SBU had a 21-20 lead at the half, but fell behind due to a strong third quarter by the Miners. The Bearcats rallied and had the game at a one-score possession with two minutes left, when S&T scored a final time. Cooper Callis has started both games at QB, completing 52 passes on 81 attempts for 675 yards and 6 touchdowns. Leading the team in the receiving category is Callis's high school teammate, Jordan Kent. On the season, Kent has caught 11 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns. Curtis Cuillard has the most receptions and touchdowns at 14 passes caught for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chance Pillar has the other touchdown, snagging 8 passes for 85 yards. Last season, SBU averaged 358.6 yards of offense per game, and they are averaging 413.5 this spring. Aaron Harris and Bryton Lewi lead the team with 17 total tackles and 1 interception each. Harris also has half a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Killian Carper as the team's lone solo sack, stripping the Miner quarterback of the ball right before the half ended last week. The breakdown of the roster consists of 10 seniors, 10 juniors, 19 sophomores, and 50 freshmen.

Scouting The Cardinals
The William Jewell Cardinals return to play this spring following a 1-10 (0-7 GLVC) fall 2019 season. Their first contest against SBU that fall was recorded as a non-conference game. In their second matchup that season, SBU defeated WJC in Bolivar thanks to 266 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Mike McGlinchey was named the head coach of the Cardinals in January of 2020. He comes from Colorado School of Mines where he served as the Co-Defensive Coordinator, working primarily with the defensive line. William Jewell is currently 0-2, falling 28-49 to Missouri S&T after leading 28-14 at halftime, and dropping last contest 15-34 against Truman State. Most of the Cardinal offense has come through the air, 291 yards from Will Schneider, and 358 yards from Anthony Pritzel. Schneider got the start against Missouri S&T but was replaced in the 4th quarter by Pritzel. The entire Truman State game was played by Pritzel, completing 22 of 48 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown. Mario Magana Jr. and Kole Wagener lead the team with 17 tackles each. Wagener has 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and half a sack on the year as well. Their roster contains 9 seniors, 21 juniors, 21 sophomores, and 40 freshmen.

All-Time Series
The teams have met 11 times, SBU leading the series 7-4. In the most recent matchup, the Bearcats defeated the Cardinals 32-30 at home in conference play.