(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 27)—The McKendree University football team rolled to a 42-7 victory Saturday over the University of St. Francis (Ill.) at Leemon Field. The Bearcats, playing their final regular season home game of 2007, won in front of a season-high crowd of 1,500 on Homecoming and Senior Day.

 

McKendree, which entered the contest with the top-ranked rushing offense in the NAIA at 315.3 yards per game, pounded out 330 yards on the ground against the Fighting Saints. Defensively, the Bearcats recorded a season-high six quarterback sacks and limited St. Francis to just 217 yards on the day.

 

The win was the second straight for McKendree, which improves to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League. St. Francis falls to 1-7 on the year and 1-4 in MSFA Midwest League action. It was also McKendree’s 50^th home victory since the football program was revived at the University in 1996.

“Any time you can build an early lead, it’s an advantage,” said Poelker. “We got off the ball well our first few drives and were able to grind out the yards. Defensively it was a good all-around effort, especially in the first half.”

 

McKendree scored on its five possessions of the contest and its initial drive of the second half. All six Bearcat touchdowns came on the ground. Junior running back George Smith (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) started the scoring with a 19-yard TD run just 3:34 into the game. Sophomore kicker Kevin Kinsall (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon), who was a perfect 6-for-6 in extra point attempts on the day, split the uprights for a 7-0 McKendree lead.

 

Junior fullback Jacob Rohman (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) posted touchdown runs of six and two yards on the next two drives as the Bearcats built a 21-0 lead through one quarter of play. Rohman has rushed for two touchdowns in each of McKendree’s last two games, and has a team-high 10 on the year.

 

Junior running back Shane McBride (Troy, Ill./Triad) (Troy, Ill./Triad) scored from seven yards out, and freshman fullback Chris Fisher (Mokena, Ill./Providence Catholic) (Orland Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) added a one-yard touchdown run as McKendree extended its lead to 35-0 at the half.

 

Freshman wide receiver Zach Atkins (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin, Ill.) (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) took the second-half kickoff and returned it 70 yards to the St. Francis 20-yard line. Four plays later, senior running back Uhlon Rich (Swansea, Ill./Belleville West) (Swansea, Ill./Belleville West) broke free for a 13-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-three to close out the Bearcats’ scoring for the day.

 

St. Francis notched its only points of the afternoon with just five minutes remaining when Javon Stewart scored on a 16-yard touchdown run.

 

McKendree had 15 different players with at least one rushing attempt. Rohman led the balanced attack with 72 yards on nine carries. McBride added 71 yards on just three rushes, while Smith collected 70 yards on eight attempts.

 

Sophomore quarterback Dan Loudenslager (Summerfield, Fla./Belleview) (Summerfield, Fla./Belleview) completed his only pass attempt of the day for 10 yards to sophomore wide receiver Cedrick Graham (McLeansboro, Ill./Hamilton County) (McLeansboro, Ill./Hamilton County).

 

The Bearcats’ defensive unit was led by junior linebacker Steve Moravec (Dupo, Ill./Dupo) (Dupo, Ill./Dupo), who had nine tackles. Sophomore defensive back Antonio Greer (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia), junior linebacker Heath Bohannon (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) and senior defensive back Lawrence Davis (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) each added seven tackles.

 

Senior defensive lineman Nathan House (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) had six tackles on the day, including three of the Bearcats’ six sacks against the Fighting Saints.

 

Donte Villery led all players with 84 yards rushing for St. Francis. Quarterback Derek Greenfield completed 8-of-16 passes for 133 yards, while Ponce Palmer had four receptions for 66 yards.

 

McKendree will be on the road for its final two games of the 2007 regular season, beginning with next Saturday’s MSFA Midwest League game at Olivet Nazarene University. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.