The Culver-Stockton football team opened North Division play with a come-from-behind 26-14 victory over Graceland University Saturday afternoon at Ellison Poulton Stadium.

The victory is the fifth straight for the Wildcats over Graceland and improves their overall record to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the North Division. C-SC is scheduled to host Clarke University next Saturday at Poulton Stadium for Homecoming. The Pride, who are 3-4 overall, began divisional play with a 16-9 home loss to Peru State (Neb.) Saturday in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Wildcats struck first against the Yellowjackets in Saturday's game as Demarquez Johnson bulled his way in from two yards out. Johnson set up his own touchdown with a 34-yard scamper on the previous play.

Johnson finished the game with 109 yards rushing on 18 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per carry. It was the first 100-yard rushing game of the season for the Wildcats, and the first of Johnson's collegiate career.

Graceland tied the game with a second quarter touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Donovan Anthony to Reggie Wilson with 28 seconds remaining in the first half. The extra point was good, and the half ended tied 7-7.

After the Wildcats were forced to punt on their initial possession of the second half, the Yellowjackets quickly gained the lead when Donovan, who was subbing for injured starter Cade Ross, found Wilson with a 45-yard scoring strike to give the visitors a 14-7 lead.

C-SC answered on the ensuing possession with an 11-play, 77-yard drive that saw quarterback Jase Orndorff complete all seven of his passes on the drive culminating with a 14-yard scoring strike to Dominic Herrera. However, the extra point was blocked and the Yellowjackets kept a 14-13 lead entering the final quarter.

Both teams exchanged punts at the start of the fourth quarter and the Wildcats took over on their own 49-yard line after a short punt by the Yellowjackets. A 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on the first play of the drive set C-SC up at the Graceland 36-yard line.

After gaining just two yards on the next three plays, the Wildcats faced fourth-and-eight at the Graceland 34-yard line. On the next snap, Orndorff found Mason Hackman for a 34-yard touchdown pass to give C-SC the lead. The two-point conversion failed, but C-SC led 19-14 with 9:46 to play in the game.

The Wildcat defense again forced a three-and-out and the offense took over at their own 25-yard line with 7:12 to play.

Orndorff and the offense then helped put the game away with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive.

Johnson gained 17 yards on two running plays and Orndorff threw passes to Freddy Edwards and Hackman for a combined 17 yards to set the Wildcats up at the Graceland 41 yards line.

A 21-yard pass to Kaden Ashlock and a 12-yard run by Johnson put the Wildcats in the red zone at the Yellowjacket eight-yard line.

After two incomplete passes, Orndorff hit Hackman with an eight-yard touchdown pass over the Yellowjacket defender to extend the lead to 25-14. Michael Velasco's extra point made it 26-14 with 3:47 left in the contest.

The Wildcats held the Yellowjackets, the top passing offense in the NAIA, to 218 yards passing on 25-37 accuracy. Jeremiah Fergerson had the lone interception for the Wildcats, his second of the season. The C-SC defense also held Graceland to its lowest scoring output of the year with 14 points. The previous low was 21 points in a 28-21 loss to Missouri Valley on Sept. 10.

David Hernandez led the defense with eight tackles while Hyland Generlette had six stops and a forced fumble. C-SC also recorded three sacks on the day with Kendall Fowler getting two sacks.

In addition to Johnson's day, the Wildcats rolled up 156 yards rushing and 350 yards overall offensively. Orndorff concluded the day with 203 yards passing on 23 of 31 and three touchdowns. Hackman had three receptions for 52 yards.