Baker junior quarterback Logan Brettell scrambles out of the pocket during the Wildcats' 60-7 win over Benedictine Sept. 24 at Liston Stadium. Brettell guided the Wildcats to an 11-0 regular season for the first time in school history.

Baldwin City ? Baker University junior quarterback Logan Brettell waited for the referee to raise his arms up.

As soon as the official’s arms pointed into the dark sky to signal a touchdown, Brettell roared his approval and proceeded to sprint down the Baker sideline. Not a single teammate or coach stepped in his way as he dashed down the field another 60 yards shouting towards the raucous crowd at Liston Stadium.

Brettell’s opponents didn’t fare much better in an attempt to stop him on the field. Brettell scored four times, lifting No. 2 Baker past No. 8 Lindsey Wilson, 42-27, in the NAIA quarterfinal contest Saturday.

“To start the season we knew we wanted to win a national championship and if we didn’t do that we knew it would be a disappointment,” Brettell said. “This group just has a little more burning desire than the teams I have been a part of in the past. We just want to win for each other.”

Brettell scored thrice through the air but it was his lone rushing touchdown that served as the game’s dagger.

The Blue Raiders (11-2) scored 11 unanswered points in the third quarter, trimming the Wildcats’ lead to just eight. It marked the closest margin since Baker (13-0) took a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive.

“I thought our kids responded really well when we were up eight,” coach Mike Grossner said. “I could feel it on the sidelines. They were like ‘Let’s go get this.'”

Following a timeout, Baker came out in a five-wide set on 3rd-and-8 from the opponent’s nine-yard line. For Brettell, the play was simple. If his first read wasn’t there, he was to throw the ball out of bounds or try to make a play with his feet.

And he chose the latter.

Brettell pump faked and rolled left. He kept running toward the corner of the end zone and dove across the pylon just before the Blue Raiders defenders could shove him out of bounds.

The only real question, was whether he ran faster on his touchdown run or on his celebratory dash down the sideline.

“I don’t know, that touchdown he was moving. He’s a playmaker,” said junior running back Cornell Brown, a Baldwin High grad. “The passion that he plays with, it rubs off on us. When I look at him and see him fired up, that just makes me so excited to see our leader with that much passion.”

The play gave the Wildcats a 42-27 advantage with nine seconds left in the third quarter. But the damage had been done. The momentum had fully shifted towards the home team, and they would not relinquish it.

With the win, the team moved to its first semifinal since 1993. In fact, Baker is now the top remaining seed in the playoffs after No. 1 Marian was upset, 17-0, by No. 9 Eastern Oregon.

It’s a monumental feat for a program, which had lost two quarterfinal contests over the last three years.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Grossner said. “We had to get over the hump. That was a big game just to get back to the semis. I like this team, they are special.”

Early on it was evident the Wildcats were desperate to get over the hump.

Baker scored on the first drive of the game as Brettell hit senior receiver Ladai Shawn Boose for a 19-yard hookup. It was the first of two touchdown connections by the prolific pair. Shawn Boose ended the day with six catches for 116 yards.

And moments later, senior defensive lineman Josh Kock jumped on a Lindsey Wilson fumble inside the 10, which set up a two-yard touchdown plunge by Brown just seconds later.

But Brown and the rest of the Baker squad were not done there. With 8:09 to go in the second quarter, Brown punched it in from one-yard out — to take a 35-9 lead — and claim the school’s single-season touchdown record with 23 scores. He knocked off Ritchie Bryant, who set the mark in 2008.

“He was actually my freshman running back coach and he’s kind of like my big brother,” Brown said. “He kind of gave me crap a couple weeks ago and said ‘You better slow down on the touchdowns.'”

Brown slowed down, at least for the game. He toted the ball 23 times for 90 yards. Meanwhile, Brettell racked up 43 yards on seven carries in addition to his 254 yards through the air on 30 attempts.

On the defensive side, the Wildcats notched six takeaways. Senior defensive back Avery Parker hauled in a pair of interceptions and Kock recovered two fumbles. Kock also tied the school’s sack record with four. It marked the second straight game a Baker defensive player has accomplished that feat.

Baker will play host to Eastern Oregon next Saturday. A time for kickoff has yet to be announced.