Here is the latest Wildcat sports summary, courtesy of the C-SC Sports Information Deparment and SID John Schild.  For more information, visit cscwildcats.com.

The Culver-Stockton College football team scored 14 points off two Central Methodist turnovers and the offense came alive late to help the Wildcats earn a 44-36 homecoming victory over the Eagles Saturday afternoon at Ellison Poulton Stadium.

The victory improves the Wildcats to 4-1 overall, the first time C-SC has won four of its first five games since starting out 4-1 in 1975.

The offense was able to move the ball consistently in the first half but was unable to find the end zone, settling for three Michael Velasco field goals to trail 14-9 late in the half.

It was the defense that came up with the big play of the opening 30 minutes when linebacker Darren Jones hit Eagle running back Ashton Bonner in the backfield and forced a fumble. Linebacker Eric Nicks scooped it up and rambled 13 yards for the first touchdown of the day for the Wildcats to give them a 16-14 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the Wildcats found themselves trailing 28-23 after CMU sandwiched two touchdowns passes by Paxton DeLaurent around a 10-yard touchdown reception by C-SC’s Connor Perrine in the third quarter.

After the second DeLaurent touchdown pass, the Wildcats took over on their own 37-yard line and quarterback Jase Orndorff found Perrine streaking down the right sideline for 36 yards to the CMU 27. A Jordan Grant rush for five yards and a pass to Isaiah Eppinger for two yards matriculated the ball to the 15-yard line.

CMU jumped offside to give the Wildcats a free five yards before Orndorff scrambled and nearly scored before tackled at the one-yard line. Grant bulled his way in on the next play to give the Wildcats a 30-28 lead two minutes to play in the third quarter.

C-SC forced the Eagles to punt on their next possession; however, the Wildcat offense gave it right back as Orndorff was intercepted for the first time this season when a pass deflected off Perrine’s hands to a CMU defender.

With CMU in set up at the Wildcat 45, the C-SC defense stiffened and forced a three-and-out and a punt by the Eagles.

The C-SC offense then clicked into gear and marched 81 yards on six plays with the drive ending with Perrine and Orndorff hooking up for their second touchdown of the day, this time from 11 yards out, to give C-SC a two-possession lead at 37-28.

On the ensuing possession, safety David Hernandez intercepted DeLaurent of the third offensive play after the kickoff to give the ball back to the Wildcat offense.

C-SC made the Eagles pay for the miscue as Orndorff hit Byron Fisher with a pass and Fisher escaped an Eagle defender to record a 44-yard pass and run touchdown to give C-SC a 44-28 lead with seven minutes left in the game.

The Eagles answered with a 13-play, 77-yard drive and added a two-point conversion to bring them to within one possession at 44-36 with four minutes to play.

However, Perrine recovered the on-side attempt by the Eagles and the Wildcats registered three first downs and ran out the clock to preserve their first homecoming victory since a 24-19 win over Evangel University in 2014.

Perrine, the Heart of America Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week, had another big day with six receptions for 129 yards and the two scores, giving him eight touchdowns this season. Orndorff Passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns, completing 19 of 33 passes in the process.

Grant earned his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, ending the day with 114 yards on 22 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per attempt. His longest run of the day went for 35 yards.

Velasco was perfect in the kicking game, making all five extra points and three field tries he attempted. His field goals were good from 28, 28 and 36 yards.

The Wildcats amassed 489 yards of offense on the day, including 174 yards on the ground. CMU was just as efficient with 426 yards on offense with 306 of those yards coming through the air.

Defensively, Dalton Huffman led the Wildcats with seven total tackles, including a sack. Jahmar Bingham, Sam Baillie and Hernandez each recorded six tackles with Baillie getting 1.5 stops behind the line-of-scrimmage. Bingham led C-SC with two passes defended.

The Wildcats will hit the road for their next three games beginning next week their final cross divisional game at perennial Heart power Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Larry Wilcox Stadium.

The Culver-Stockton College men’s cross country team competed in the Viking Invitational at Grand View University Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Wildcats, who only had three runners competing, did not record a team score in the event.

Josh French was the top finisher for the Wildcats, ending the 8-kilometer run with a time of 32:21.70 to place 77^th overall. Blake Thompson finished 89^th overall with a time of 36:11.51, while Jared St. Juliana was 90^th overall with a time of 36:42.46.

The Wildcats return to action in two weeks when they perform at the NAIA Seminole Valley Stampede in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Jody Ellis scored two goals and added an assist to help the Culver-Stockton College women’s soccer team defeat Baker University 3-1 Friday night at Ellison Poulton Stadium.

The victory evens the Wildcats’ Heart of America Athletic Conference record at 2-2 in the league while improving their overall mark to 6-3 at the halfway mark of the season. Baker falls to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the Heart.

The game was scoreless until the 38^th minute of the first half when Ellis netted her first goal on a free kick from about 25 yards away. Ellis sent a rocket toward the Baker goal and tucked it just inside the right post and out of the reach of the out-stretched arm of Baker goalkeeper Gabby Elliott for huer third goal of the season.

The visitors knotted the game at one in the early going of the second half when Kendall Staley scored the equalizer in the 50^th minute. However, C-SC’s answer was prompt as they quickly gained possession and forced a foul in the penalty area.

Ellis converted the ensuing penalty kick for her second goal of the game and the fourth of the season to give the Wildcats back the lead in the 52^nd minute.

The score stayed that way until the until the 60^th minute when C-SC added an insurance goal off another corner kick.

Ellis went with a short corner kick to Angela Lloret who blasted a shot over the out-stretched arm of Elliott for her third goal of the season.

The Wildcats dominated the shot total, directing 18 shots toward the Baker net, including 10 shots on goal. Baker managed just five shots in the game and four on net. The Wildcats also garnered an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.

C-SC is off until Saturday, Oct. 2, when it tries to make it three league wins in a row with a game at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.

The Culver-Stockton College men’s soccer team was shut out for the fifth straight game in a 3-0 loss to eighth-ranked Baker University Friday night at Ellison Poulton Stadium.

The Wildcats have gone 476 minutes, 17 seconds without a goal since Adam Fowler scored in the 64^th minute of a 4-2 victory over Avila (Mo.) on Sept. 3. C-SC has lost five straight games and are 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

Against Baker, the Wildcats played a solid first half despite being outshot 10-4 in the period. C-SC only trailed 1-0 after the first half as goalkeeper Jack Gibson kept the game close with four quality saves. The only blemish was a perfect shot from Baker’s Gyorgy Kamaras after the initial corner kick was cleared by the Wildcats.

In the second half, Baker took control and held possession for most of the half. The visitors outshot the home team 14-5 in the half and scored twice in the period, Baker held a 24-9 advantage on shots, including a 13-4 edge of shots on goal.

Fowler and Manuel Gavina recorded three shots overall to lead the Wildcat offense. Gibson finished with 10 saves in the game.

C-SC will step out of league play and play a non-conference game this Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.