(CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 21)—The McKendree University football team saw its 2009 season come to a close with a 52-28 loss to Saint Xavier University in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series Saturday at Deaton Field in Chicago.

The host Cougars scored 24 second-quarter points and registered 584 yards of total offense on its way to the victory. McKendree, the No. 9-ranked team in the NAIA, had its nine-game win streak snapped with the loss. The Bearcats end the year with an overall record of 9-2. No. 4-ranked Saint Xavier improves to 12-0 and moves to the quarterfinal round of the NAIA FCS, which will be played next Saturday (Nov. 28). Pairings and game times will be announced on Sunday.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Saint Xavier,” said McKendree head coach Carl Poelker. “We knew they had a potent, quick-strike offense and they really started to click in the second quarter. But I'm so proud of our guys. They never quit, never got down. They played right up until the final gun.”

Sophomore quarterback Austin Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) (Washington, Ill./Washington) set a new McKendree record by throwing for 243 yards at Saint Xavier, completing 15-of-26 pass attempts. Fisher broke the old mark of 219 yards set by Jason Karnes against Westminster College (Mo.) in 1996. Fisher also tied another program record with three touchdown passes on Saturday, matching the mark first set by Billy Gray versus Taylor University in 1999.

Sophomore wide receiver Myron Hicks (Sauk Village, IL/Bloom Trail) (Sauk Village, Ill./Bloom Trail) also enjoyed a career afternoon, catching six passes for 142 yards, including a spectacular one-handed grab on a 53-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter.

McKendree trailed 7-0 after Saint Xavier scored on its opening possession. With 5:41 left in the first quarter, junior running back Marlone Chenualt (Maywood, Ill./Proviso East) took a handoff, bounced off a defender and raced down the right sideline 60 yards for a touchdown. Senior kicker Jordan Fark (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.

Saint Xavier took control in the second quarter as it scored on four consecutive possessions to build a 31-7 lead at the intermission. Quarterback Anthony Kropp sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes around a 50-yard scoring run by Donnie Selby. Tom Lynch kicked a 38-yard field goal to cap the outburst for the Cougars with 1:03 left until intermission.

The Bearcats took the second-half kickoff and drove 60 yards in 15 plays, shaving more than eight minutes off the clock. Fisher threw the first of his TD passes on the day when he found junior tight end Byron Gettis (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) in the back of the end zone for a five-yard scoring play. Saint Xavier answered right back as Bill McKeon scored on a seven-yard run just 1:05 after the Bearcats' touchdown. McKeon then added TD runs of 19 and nine yards early in the fourth quarter to extend the Cougars' lead to 52-14.

Two plays after Saint Xavier's final touchdown, Hicks shook free from a Cougar defender and made a leaping, one-handed grab of a Fisher pass at the 35-yard line. Hicks then outraced two players to the end zone to cut the McKendree deficit to 52-21 with 6:35 left. The Bearcats then scored on their final possession of the season when Fisher hit senior wide receiver Nick Fuhler (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) (New Baden, Ill./Wesclin) on a five-yard scoring pass on a slant play with 35 seconds remaining.

Chenault led McKendree with 88 yards rushing on eight attempts. Gettis caught four passes for 24 yards, extending his program record for receptions in a season to 30.

Sophomore linebacker Brandon Nigro (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way Central) (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) paced the Bearcats' defense with 12 tackles, including 10 solos. Senior defensive back Michael Glielmi (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) added six solos.

For Saint Xavier, Kropp completed 30-of-44 pass attempts for 315 yards. His favorite target was Mike Maher, who had 11 receptions for 137 yards. In addition to posting 87 yards rushing, McKeon caught eight passes for 97 yards. Selby was the Cougars' leading rusher with 94 yards on nine attempts.

-McK-