(QUINCY, Ill., Oct. 30)—The McKendree University football team ripped off 33 points in the second quarter on its way to a 50-21 road victory Saturday at Quincy University in a Mid-States Football Association Midwest League contest.
The Bearcats overcame a 14-3 first-quarter deficit with their highest-scoring quarter of the season to grab their fifth victory in six games. McKendree, the No. 13-ranked team in the NAIA, improves to 7-2 overall and remains tied for the MSFA Midwest League lead at 5-1.
Junior quarterback Austin Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) (Washington, Ill./Washington) set a new McKendree school record by throwing four touchdown passes in the game, three of which came in the decisive second quarter. Fisher broke the record of three he shared with Billy Gray.
“We had a burst in that second quarter that really seemed to change the game plan for both teams,” said McKendree football coach Carl Poelker, who earned his 198th career victory on Saturday. “It got to a point where each of our units – offense, defense, special teams – started to feed off each other. Once we got in a rhythm we really started to play with a lot of confidence and it showed as that quarter went on.”
Quincy (0-9, 0-5 MSFA Midwest) jumped out to a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter. Bobby Brenneisen threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to DeShun Smith on the Hawks' first possession of the game, and Robenson Merci broke free for a 16-yard scoring run with 2:27 left in the period. Those scores were sandwiched around a 26-yard field goal by McKendree senior kicker Jordan Fark (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) (Nashville, Ill./Nashville).
McKendree started its scoring frenzy in the second quarter as Fisher connected with junior wide receiver Travis Brown (St. Louis, MO/Mehlville) (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) on a six-yard touchdown pass. Fark's point after brought the Bearcats with 14-10 just 1:16 into the period. Fark later added his second field goal of the day, a 35-yarder, to trim the deficit to 14-13.
The Bearcats then took control by exploding for 16 points in a 38-second span later in the quarter. McKendree reached into its bag of tricks to grab the lead for good when sophomore wide receiver Nick Jones (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) (Murphysboro, Ill./Murphysboro) took the handoff from Fisher on a reverse and raced untouched down the right sideline 47 yards for a score to give the Bearcats a 20-14 lead at the 4:34 mark.
On Qunicy's first play from scrimmage after Jones' touchdown, McKendree sophomore defensive lineman Tim Weidenbacher (Naperville, IL/Naperville North) (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) sacked Brenneisen and forced a fumble. Junior linebacker Jason Rejfek (Arlington Heights, IL/John Hersey) (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) recovered the loose ball at the Hawks' 15-yard line. Two plays later, Fisher threw a 20-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Myron Hicks (Sauk Village, IL/Bloom Trail) (Sauk Village, Ill./Bloom Trail) to extend the Bearcats' lead to 27-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, Quincy's Antonio Chow bobbled the ball and picked it up at the goal line. Chow raced laterally, and was tackled by sophomore defensive back Melvin Banks (Jacksonville, N.C./Mascoutah) (Jacksonville, N.C./Mascoutah) a yard deep in the end zone for a safety, giving McKendree a 29-14 lead with 3:56 left until halftime.
The Bearcats then took the kickoff and completed its offensive outburst with just 41 left before intermission. Fisher threw his third touchdown pass of the quarter, hitting junior running back Richard Bailey (Mascoutah, IL/Mascoutah) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) in the back of the end zone with a four-yard TD strike to push McKendree in front 36-14 at the intermission. The Bearcats had 213 yards of total offense in the period.
Fisher then threw his record-setting fourth TD pass of the game on the second play of the third quarter when he found senior running back Jimmy Berezik (Fraser, Mich./De La Salle) (Fraser, Mich./De La Salle) down the left sideline for a 41-yard scoring strike. Fark's extra point boosted the Bearcats' lead to 43-14 and capped a run of 40 unanswered points for McKendree. Fisher ended the day by completing 10-of-15 passes for 196 yards.
After a Quincy score midway through the fourth quarter, McKendree closed out the scoring thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Larry Russell (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) with 6:08 left. Russell had a 41-yard run deep into Quincy territory to set up the touchdown.
Senior running back Marlone Chenault (Bellwood, Ill./Proviso East) (Bellwood, Ill./Proviso East) led all players with 87 yards rushing on just eight carries. Russell added 59 yards on seven attempts. Hicks and Berezik each caught three passes in the victory for McKendree. The Bearcats held a 439-285 edge in total offense over Quincy.
Rejfek led the defensive charge for McKendree with eight tackles along with a fumble recovery and an interception. Weidenbacher finished with five tackles.
McKendree will have an open date next week before closing out the regular season at home on Nov. 13 against Grand View University. Kickoff for the Senior Day contest at Leemon Field will be at 1 p.m.
