Liberty, Mo. – The shootout between the SBU Football team and the William Jewell Cardinals ended with a final score of 55-50 in favor of the Bearcats. Their 55 points scored is the program's most since September 23, 2017 when the team scored 55 against Quincy. Saturday's game marks the end of the spring 2021 season for SBU, finishing with a 1-2 record.
 
William Jewell won the toss and elected to defer. The SBU offense went to work and ended the first drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Abel Carter, putting the Bearcats on the board first. SBU's defense held the Cardinals to a field goal after William Jewell had the ball on the SBU 5-yard line, 7-3. After punts by both teams, SBU scored again on a 19-yard connection between Cooper Callis and Marcus Manuel Jr. In the first quarter, Callis was 11-13 for 142 yards and a touchdown.
 
Just two plays into the second quarter, Callis found Jordan Kent for a 15-yard score to put SBU ahead 21-3. The Cardinals quickly responded with their first touchdown, but Curtis Cuillard found the end zone on a 41-yard reception from Cooper Callis to extend the Bearcat lead back to 18. The remainder of the quarter was controlled by the Cardinals, as they narrowed the deficit to 28-24 at halftime.
 
The second half began with a 3 play -4 yard drive by William Jewell, and Jordan Kent returned the Cardinal punt 28 yards to set SBU up on the WJC 17-yard line. Two plays later Eric Knight punched it in from 11 yards out, 34-24 SBU. After another unsuccessful drive from the Cardinals, Eric Knight scored again to extend the lead to 41-24. This touchdown came on a 3^rd and 2 from 33 yards out. William Jewell scored late in the third, and had another opportunity late, but Troy Landon took an interception to the house to make the score 48-31 heading into the final frame.
 
Two scores from the Cardinals opened the fourth, making the score 48-44 with 8:00 left in the contest. SBU was backed up to a 3^rd and 21 scenario when Cooper Callis found Jordan Kent for a 77-yard touchdown to boost the lead to 11. On WJC's next drive, a 4^th and 10 forced a field goal attempt, but roughing the kicker was called and the Cardinals got another opportunity. They elected to go for it on 4^th and 5, but failed the attempt to keep the score at 55-44 SBU. The Cardinals got the ball back with 3:45 left, but Aaron Harris came up big with an interception at the SBU 37-yard line. The hosts got the ball once more and scored a touchdown, failing the two-point conversion to make the score 55-50. One last attempt was made by the Cardinals, but Jarrett Massie fell on the onside kick, sealing the victory for SBU.
 
Cooper Callis continued his impressive spring, completing 24-39 passes for 429 yards and 4 touchdowns. The last 400-yard passing performance by a Bearcat was on September 23, 2017. Curtis Cuillard was the primary target, catching 8 passes for a career-best 142 yards. Averaging 31.25 yards per catch was Jordan Kent who caught 4 passes for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground, Eric Knight averaged 10.2 yards per carry rushing 51 yards on 5 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Dennis Cheairs recorded 2.0 sacks on the day and had 3 total tackles. Aaron Harris and Troy Landon led the defense with 7 tackles and each recorded an interception. Landon also had 4 pass breakups. Cameron Cox had the other interception for the Bearcats.