(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 11)—Marian University jumped out to a 28-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back in posting a 45-12 victory over McKendree University in a Mid-States Football Association crossover game Saturday in Indianapolis, Ind.

McKendree, the No. 8-ranked team in the NAIA pre-season poll, slips to 2-1 on the year, while Marian improves to 2-0 overall. The Bearcats had won two of the three previous meetings with the Knights.

Marian registered 484 yards of total offense and scored on its first three offensive possessions in the contest. The Knights also posted a special-teams score during their 28-point first-quarter outburst.

“We got our tails kicked today,” said McKendree head coach Carl Poelker. “And I mean we – coaches, players, everyone. Marian came out and played well. They jumped on our mistakes early and never let up. It was a lot like the game with (the University of the) Cumberlands, where we sat back, and they made a few plays, and then we got out of our tempo. I give Marian a lot of credit.”

The Knights scored on their first possession on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Clay Coomer to Chris Rutherford. After McKendree's first possession, a high snap on a punt forced sophomore Alex McMahon (Westville, Ill./Westville) (Westville, Ill./Westville) to scramble near the goal line. McMahon was knocked away from the ball, and Marian's Stephen Rogers scooped up the loose ball and rambled two yards for a score and a 14-0 Knights' lead.

Coomer threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to JaQuan Patilla, and a three-yard scoring run by Nick Bradford with 2:56 left capped the first-quarter scoring for Marian.

McKendree got on the scoreboard on the final play of the first half when senior kicker Jordan Fark (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) booted a 41-yard field goal to bring the Bearcats within 28-3 at the intermission. The Bearcats then took the second-half kickoff and marched 72 yards in 10 plays. Fark capped the drive with his second field goal of the contest, a 22-yarder, to shave the deficit to 28-6.

Marian answered as Coomer threw his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, a five-yard strike to Rutherford, to build the Knights' lead back to 35-6. After a McKendree turnover on the next drive, Patilla took a lateral from Coomer and tossed a 60-yard TD pass to Eric Duncan to stretch the margin to 42-6.

After a field goal pushed the Marian lead to 45-6 midway through the fourth quarter, McKendree registered its only touchdown of the contest. Lining up in the “Royal” package, senior tight end Byron Gettis (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) rolled to his right and connected with junior wide receiver Myron Hicks (Sauk Village, IL/Bloom Trail) (Sauk Village, Ill./Bloom Trail) on a 67-yard touchdown pass with 8:18 to play. It was Gettis' second career touchdown pass – he threw a 35-yarder at William Penn University last season.

As a team, McKendree put up 246 yards of offense. Junior quarterback Austin Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) (Washington, Ill./Washington) was 12-of-26 for 125 yards. Hicks caught four passes for 90 yards, while Gettis and junior wide receiver Travis Brown (St. Louis, MO/Mehlville) (St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville) each had three receptions. Gettis now has 61 career receptions at McKendree, which is just two behind the all-time record of 63 set by Brett Gross from 1996-99.

For Marian, Coomer completed 25-of-35 pass attempts for 276 yards. His favorite target was Patilla, who caught 10 passes for 145 yards.

“(Coomer) did a great job today,” said Poelker. “He was cool and ran their offense very efficiently. He put the ball right where he needed to, and spread the ball out to his receivers.”

Junior linebacker Jason Rejfek (Arlington Heights, IL/John Hersey) (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) had a team-leading 10 tackles for McKendree. Junior linebacker Brandon Nigro (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way Central) (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) and sophomore defensive back Tirell Anderson (Decatur, IL/MacArthur) (Decatur, Ill./MacArthur) each added nine tackles for the Bearcats.

McKendree will open up Mid-States Football Association-Midwest League play next Saturday (Sept. 18) with a home game against Iowa Wesleyan College. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Leemon Field.

-McK-