(MT. PLEASANT, Iowa, Nov. 10)—Junior running back George Smith (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) (Jacksonville, Fla./Bartram Trail) set a new school record with four rushing touchdowns as the McKendree University football team wrapped up its 2007 season with a 35-0 victory Saturday at Iowa Wesleyan College.

 

Smith scored on runs of 54, 6, 3 and 49 yards as the Bearcats secured their 11^th consecutive winning season. McKendree closes the year with an overall record of 6-4 with a 5-2 mark in Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play. Iowa Wesleyan finishes its season at 0-11 and 0-7 in the MSFA Midwest.

 

In addition to his four rushing touchdowns, Smith piled up 206 yards rushing on 19 carries against Iowa Wesleyan. Smith finished just seven yards shy of the Bearcats’ single-game record of 213, which was set by Brandon Murphy in a game at Iowa Wesleyan in 2000.

 

“George was the spark today,” said McKendree head coach Carl Poelker. “We were banged up in the backfield today, and George had to be our leader. He responded with a veteran performance today.”

 

Playing without two of its starters at running back, McKendree used the first two of Smith’s touchdowns to build a 14-0 lead at the half. On the Bearcats’ first play of their second drive, Smith took a handoff and raced 54 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore kicker Kevin Kinsall (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon), who was 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts in the contest, made it 7-0 just five minutes into the contest.

 

Early in the second quarter, senior cornerback Chad Hudson (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) picked off an Iowa Wesleyan pass and returned it 59 yards to the Tigers’ 11-yard line. Three plays later, Smith bowled his way into the end zone from six yards out to extend the McKendree lead to 14-0.

 

Smith capped his record-setting performance with two more rushing touchdowns in the third quarter. A three-yard scoring run midway through the period gave the Bearcats a 21-0 cushion. Then with just nine seconds remaining in the quarter, Smith burst through a hole down the left side, reversed field and ran 49 yards into the McKendree record book.

 

Junior fullback Sherman Ellington (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) (East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis) provided the final points of the season for McKendree on a one-yard scoring run with just over eight minutes to play.

 

As a team, McKendree rushed for 407 yards against Iowa Wesleyan. The Bearcats, who entered the game ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in rushing offense, averaged 305.2 yards per game on the ground in 2007.

 

McKendree posted its second shutout of the year, with both coming in the last four weeks. In addition, 16 Bearcat seniors closed out their careers with a win.

 

“That’s a fitting way for them to go out,” said Poelker. “They deserve it, because they have worked hard this year and have meant so much to our program.”

 

Sophomore linebacker Heath Bohannon (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) led the McKendree defensive unit with 10 tackles, including seven solos. Junior linebacker Steve Moravec (Dupo, Ill./Dupo) (Dupo, Ill./Dupo) added seven tackles, while sophomore safety Antonio Greer (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) and sophomore linebacker Andrew Devine (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) each chipped in with five stops.

 

Jermaine Paul had a team-high 125 yards rushing to lead Iowa Wesleyan, while quarterback Aaron Rozanski connected on 12-of-28 pass attempts for 162 yards.