Culver-Stockton outscored St. Ambrose 21-0 in the second half to defeat the Bees 35-21 and spoil Homecoming Weekend Saturday afternoon at Jack and Pat Bush Stadium in Davenport, Iowa.

SAU had grabbed a 21-14 halftime lead on a Tomele Staples 1-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the opening half. That capped a 17-play, 87-yard drive that chewed up over seven minutes of clock. 

That was the Bees' third lead of the game. 

Staples had given SAU an early 7-0 lead on a 3-yard run on the game's opening possession. Maximo Vasquez had 69 rushing yards on the drive, powered by a 62-yard run on the first play from scrimmage.

After Culver-Stockton (1-6, 1-1 Heart) pulled even, it was Vasquez who put St. Ambrose back in front. He scored from five yards out to give the Bees a 14-7 advantage in the opening minutes of the second quarter.

The Wildcats again knotted the score before Staples scored with 28 seconds left in the half to give SAU a 21-14 lead at the break.

The Bees would not score again.

C-SC took advantage of an SAU fumble deep in Bee territory to punch in a touchdown following a short two-play, 16-yard drive to tie the game at 21-21 midway through the third quarter. The Wildcats then went 80 yards in 10 plays to take their first lead at 28-21 just 33 seconds into the final period.

SAU (2-5, 0-2 Heart) then pieced together a methodical 17-play, 47-yard drive. But after earning a first-and-goal from the Wildcat 3-yard line, the Bees went backwards. Two sacks and a pair of incompletions turned the ball back over to Culver-Stockton. The Wildcats capitalized. Facing a third-and-14 at the SAU 19-yard line with 1:44 to play, C-SC tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to virtually end any SAU comeback hopes.

St. Ambrose's final drive stalled out near midfield and Culver-Stockton was able to run out the final 50 seconds to hand SAU its fourth straight loss.

Staples finished 22-of-31 for 157 yards. He also added 31 yards and the two scores on the ground. Vasquez totaled 136 rushing yards on 24 attempts.

Vasquez (31 yards) and Henry Wilson (32 yards) each caught five passes. Jalen Coleman finished with four receptions, while Brennan Wilson, Charles Jones and Braden Downs had two catches apiece.

Brock Mason and CJ Resto led the defense with eight tackles each. Jake Strater had seven tackles and Nolan Obert added six. Colin Gudella, Rolando Sepulveda and Jeffrey Speer were each credited with five stops.

Things don't get any easier for the Bees as they host No. 2 Grand View next Saturday.