Sports Digest November 9-14

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 2021 Culver-Stockton College football team has made history.

Saturday’s 10-3 victory over Peru State (Neb.) at Ellison Poulton Stadium was the eighth victory of the season, setting a single-season record for victories in the 112-year history of the program. C-SC, which is ranked 24th in this week’s NAIA Top 25 national poll, ends the regular season with an 8-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference’s North Division. The previous record was seven victories by the 1969 team, which finished that season at 7-1-1.

The historic victory didn’t come easy as the Wildcats played without starting quarterback Jase Orndorff who missed the game due to an injury suffered last week against Grand View (Iowa).

As it turned out, the Wildcats needed very little offense as the defense stepped up and took the lead to the historic win.

Much maligned for much of the season, the Wildcat defense was stout when it needed to be over the final three weeks of the season. The Wildcats didn’t allow a touchdown and gave up just four field goals over the final nine quarters of the year.

It was also the defense that set up the offense just enough to get the victory over the Bobcats.

After being forced to punt on their opening possession, Wildcat Ian Sweeney forced Bobcat return man Jace Edwards to fumble. Teammate Jett Smith fell on the loose ball to give the Wildcats the ball at the Peru 42-yard line.

Jordan Grant, who entered the game needing 16 yards to reach 1,000 yards on the season, then busted off a 26-yard run to the Bobcat 16-yard line.

Seven-yard runs by Grant and starting quarterback Cody Thorne pushed the ball to the Peru two-yard line where Grant bulled his way the final two yards for his 11th touchdown of the season. Michael Velasco‘s extra point gave C-SC a 7-0 lead.

The Bobcats answered on their ensuing possession, marching 544 yards on eight plays but settling for a 38-yard field goal by Shane McInerney.

That is the way the score would stay until the fourth quarter as both defenses established themselves and wouldn’t budge an inch.

The C-SC defense allowed 227 yards of total offense to the Bobcats, forcing five punts, and stopping the Bobcats four times on fourth down plays. The only two fourth downs the visitors converted came on fake punts, garnering 36 of the 125 passing yards by Peru State. C-SC’s defense allowed just 89 yards passing by Bobcat signal-caller Joey Dominguez.

Meanwhile, the Peru State defense was just as salty, holding the Wildcats 107 total yards in the game. That yardage on offense was the lowest output under Head Coach Tom Sallay since his first game as head coach against Central Methodist in 2017 when the Wildcats managed just 101 yards of total offense in a 31-0 loss.

In the fourth quarter and the Wildcats clinging to a 7-3 lead, the defense stepped up and gave the hosts the momentum it needed to put the game away.

After Velasco missed a 37-yard field goal attempt with 2:41 to play in the game, linebacker Shan Jackson picked off a Dominguez pass on the first play following the missed attempt and gave the ball back to the offense at the Bobcat 13-yard line.

C-SC ran three running plays to Grant and forced the Bobcats to use up their timeouts. Velasco entered the game and drilled a 32-yard field goal to give C-SC a 10-3 lead with 2:09 remaining in regulation.

The Wildcat defense was given one more opportunity to stop the Bobcats and they didn’t disappoint.

After a kickoff return gave Peru great field position at their own 49-yard line, Dominguez hit Travis Dockery for a 27-yard completion to the Wildcat 24-yard line.

Two incomplete passes and one rush later, the Bobcats faced 4-and-11 from the C-SC 25-yard line. Dominguez was flushed out of the pocket and threw a desperation pass towards the Wildcat end zone, but linebacker Darren Jones intercepted the pass at the six-yard line to seal the victory.

Dalton Huffman and Aubre Sanders led the defense with eight tackles each. Sanders added two sacks, while Huffman had two tackles for loss. Huffman, the all-time leader in tackles, finishes his illustrious career with 395 career tackles.

The Wildcat defense forced four turnovers in the game, giving them 25 turnovers on the season. In addition to Jackson and Jones, safety David Hernandez recorded his team-best fourth interception of the season.

Offensively, Grant finished the game with 69 yards rushing, becoming the fourth player in program history to rush for 1,000 or more yards, ending with 1,053 yards. The third-highest total in school history.

Wide receiver Connor Perrine had one reception for 36 yards giving him 44 receptions this season and 149 career receptions. Perrine finishes the year with 816 yards receiving this season and 2,365 yards receiving in his career, which is second all-time. Perrine has one season remaining.


The Culver-Stockton College bowling teams competed at the Leatherneck Classic in the Quad Cities over the weekend.

The women’s team, competing at the Highland Park Bowl in Moline, Ill., finished 26th overall in the 34 team field. The Wildcats finished with 7,729 total pins over the two days of team games and baker games. C-SC had recorded 5,053 pins in six team games Saturday, and 2,676 pins in the baker games Sunday.

Individually, Jasmine Saunders was the top finisher for the women with a 45th place finish. Saunders had a 190.8 average in six games Saturday, rolling three games of 200 or more. She had games of 205, 210 and 224.

Carlee Hummel finished 110th overall with an average of 169.2 in six team games. Hummel rolled a high game of 205 during the day Saturday.

The men’s team, competing at Big River Bowl in Davenport, Iowa, placed 31st overall among the 42 team competing in the men’s division.

The Wildcats ended the weekend with 8,454 total pins over the two days. C-SC registered 5,529 pins in six team games Saturday, and 2,925 pins in the baker games Sunday.

River Van Veghel was the top finishing male with a 206.5 average. That was good for 52nd place overall. VanVeghel rolled four games of 200 or more with his top game being 224.

Zachary Lantz was the next highest finisher for the Wildcats, placing 79th overall with an average of 200.5. Lantz totaled 1,203 pins in six team games with three game of 200 or more and a high game of 234.

Both teams are scheduled to be in action next weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 20-21, at Clash of the Spartans hosted by Missouri Baptist University. The event is set to be contested at the St. Charles Bowl in St. Charles, Mo.


The Culver-Stockton women’s basketball team put three players in double figures to scratch out a hard-fought 69-65 victory over William Woods University Friday night at Charles Field House.

The Owls started quickly and the Wildcats found themselves in an early hole. The visitors scored 16 of the first 20 points of the game and led 16-4 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

C-SC fought its way back to 21-14 by the end of the quarter and then outscored the Owls 21-14 in the second quarter to take the game to halftime tied at 35.

William Woods led by a point, 52-51, at the end of three quarters after outscoring the hosts 17-16 in the third period.

The Wildcats regained the lead at 53-52 on a layup by Taylor Green on the opening possession of the fourth quarter. C-SC netted eight of the next 14 points to take a 61-58 lead with 6:24 to play.

Both teams would go scoreless over the next three minutes before Katie Webb split a pair of free throws to give the hosts a 62-58 lead  with 3:34 to play. Webb added a basket on the next possession to stretch the led to 64-58.

The lead stayed a two possession game from that point until William Woods drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 68-65 with 16 seconds left.

The Owls fouled Addison Newbon with 10.9 seconds remaining and Newbon split a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

Newbon led the Wildcats with 19 points while Webb registered 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Green totaled 12 markers.

C-SC (3-1) is scheduled to play at Hannibal-LaGrange University this Tuesday, Nov. 16, in Hannibal, Mo. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.


The Culver-Stockton men’s basketball team remained perfect after five games with a 78-60 victory over Lincoln Christian University Tuesday night at Gaston Arena in Lincoln, Ill.

The Wildcats haven’t started 5-0 since they opened the 2013-14 season with seven consecutive victories. C-SC is scheduled to play an exhibition game at NCAA Division I Western Illinois University Friday night in Macomb. Game time is 6 p.m.

The Wildcats used a balanced attack to take care of business against the Red Lions. Five players scored in double figures for the second consecutive game and the Wildcats shot 51 percent from the field, including 41 percent from the 3-point arc.

Javon Modester led the scoring parade with 18 points of nine of 13 shooting from the field. Reigning conference player of the week Alonzo Ortiz-Traylor added 16 markers, while Jalen Blaize had 13 points.

Jim King and Quintin Wallace each recorded 10 points to round out the double digit scoring. Wallace just missed a double double, finishing with nine caroms off the bench. King and Zac Rzewnicki dished out a team-high three assists each.