Benn, who missed last week's Homecoming victory over the University of St. Francis (Ill.) with an ankle sprain, had 25 carries against Olivet Nazarene. With his 130 yards today, Benn moved into seventh place on the Bearcats' all-time rushing list with 1,271 yards.

      "When Lamont is healthy, he can carry the load for us," said McKendree football coach Carl Poelker. "He had a lot of help up front today. I think as a whole, all of our running backs did a good job today."

      McKendree, the No. 11 team in the NAIA, won its third consecutive game to improve to 6-2 overall. The Bearcats are 4-1 in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League, and retained at least a share of the conference lead. McKendree was tied atop the MSFA Midwest standings with Saint Xavier University and St. Ambrose University entering Saturday's play. This was also the Bearcats' fifth consecutive victory over Olivet Nazarene University.

      Junior quarterback Brendon Delaney (Highland, Ill./Highland) (Highland, Ill./Highland) capped the opening drive of the contest with a one-yard quarterback keeper to give McKendree a 6-0 lead. The 14-play, 65-yard drive consumed the first seven minutes and 41 seconds of play. The Bearcats increased their lead to 9-0 on their final drive of the first half when senior kicker Stephen Webb (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) kicked a 29-yard field goal with 13 seconds left before halftime.

      Senior linebacker Marcus Mann (Normal, Ill./Normal) (Normal, Ill./Normal) intercepted a pass on the second play of the third quarter, which led to another 29-yard field goal by Webb to push McKendree's lead to 12-0. Olivet Nazarene (4-5 overall, 2-3 MSFA Midwest) broke up the shutout midway through the third quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Matt Soulia.

      On the Bearcats' ensuing possession, junior running back Dominique Jones (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) scored on a four-yard run, and Webb added the extra point to give McKendree its largest lead of the contest, 19-3. With 6:05 left to play, Olivet Nazarene's Billy Lawrence scored on a seven-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 19-9. The Tigers' two-point conversion try was stopped by the Bearcats.

      "You have to hand it to Olivet. It is always a challenge to play them at home," said Poelker. "Their quarterback (Joe Boseo) can do so many things that you have to be ready, but our defense came up with the big plays when we needed them."

      Sophomore running back George Smith (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) added 74 rushing yards on 12 carries for McKendree, while Jones contributed 41 yards on 13 attempts. Delaney completed 3-of-6 pass attempts for 43 yards. For Olivet Nazarene, Boseo completed 21-of-40 passes for 236 yards. His favorite target was Daniel Hermann, who caught five passes for 63 yards.

      Mann and junior defensive back Mike Harrison (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) each had a team-high eight tackles for McKendree.

      McKendree will play host to No. 10-ranked St. Ambrose University next Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be Senior Day at Leemon Field, and the Bearcat program will honor its 25 seniors in a post-game ceremony. This is the largest senior class in the 10 years since McKendree revived its football program in 1996.

-McK-