Baker football players Adam Novak (84), Damon Nolan (9) and Josh Kock (97) run out on to the field before the Wildcats' 38-17 loss Saturday in the NAIA football championship game Saturday at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Daytona Beach, Fla. ? One loss to a familiar opponent was all that kept everything from coming full circle for Baker University football coach Mike Grossner, as his Wildcats fell to St. Francis (Ind.), 38-17, Saturday in the NAIA national championship game at Municipal Stadium.

Although there were not any players from the current Baker squad that suited up against St. Francis in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, the road matchup against the Cougars in Fort Wayne, Ind. marked a beginning of a four-year stretch full of ups and downs for Grossner.

Grossner’s 2012 squad made Baker’s first appearance in the NAIA playoffs since 2008, but suffered an early exit after a penalty-plagued 22-17 loss in which the Wildcats were flagged a season-high 13 times. The BU head coach did not take that loss well during his postgame interview.

“The better team lost, no doubt about that,” Grossner said. “We had to play against the 12th man today. We had 13 penalties called on us, and we don’t do that. We’re not that type of football team.”

A much more mild-mannered Grossner appeared before the media with junior Cornell Brown and senior Nick Becker after the Wildcats’ loss to the Cougars on Saturday.

“Nobody likes to get second,” Grossner said. “It’s a tough feeling, but my philosophy is that we didn’t play well enough to win and make enough plays, we accept it and we got beat and that’s what happened.”

The Wildcats have made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, but it was the 2014 campaign in which they missed the postseason that Grossner has credited to making himself and his team stronger. Grossner’s toughest opponent that he has faced has actually been off the field, as he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma — a cancer that had formed in his neck.

Grossner continued to coach the Wildcats while fighting the disease, and led Baker to a 7-0 start and the No. 2 ranking in the nation. The Wildcats went on to lose three of their last four, though, and had to cope with the passing of Sione Maumau with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

“That was hard for us,” Baker wide receiver Clarence Clark said of the 2014 season after the Wildcats’ 45-41 win over Eastern Oregon in the NAIA semifinals on Dec. 3. “Last year was our building year, and this year we finally did it (reached title game).”

Clark’s 77-yard game-winning touchdown catch sent Baker to the NAIA title game for just the second time in school history. The Baker receiving corps was held in check, though, on Saturday. Junior quarterback Logan Brettell — who was named the NAIA Player of the Year on Friday — completed 34 of 50 passes for 263 yards.

“I think that we were worried to go deep with it and get him beat up, and I think that changed what we were doing mid-stride,” Grossner said. “When you have a great D-line — and I think our D-line is pretty darn good — and you can get pressure with your front without having to bring extra, you’re going to dictate to the offense what you want to do. That happened to us for a long period there in the game.”

Despite the dream of an undefeated 15-0 season coming up just short, Grossner beamed with pride about his team following the title-game loss.

“(It is) fantastic for these guys and what they accomplished,” Grossner said. “Look out at the crowd, look at the following that came all the way to Florida for us. You’ve got to reflect on the season as a whole, and really look at it as a great year for these young men and what they accomplished.”