(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 4)—The McKendree University defense turned in a record-setting performance as the Bearcats rolled to a 41-0 victory Saturday evening against Olivet Nazarene University at Leemon Field.
McKendree held the Tigers to minus-96 yards rushing in the contest to break the NAIA record for fewest rushing yards allowed in a contest. The Bearcats sacked three Olivet Nazarene quarterbacks a total of 11 times on Saturday for a total of 101 yards. McKendree edged the previous NAIA mark of minus-94 yards set by the University of St. Francis (Ill.) in a 1991 game against Saint Ambrose University (Iowa). For the game, the Bearcats limited Olivet Nazarene to just 77 yards.
Freshman defensive lineman Cameron Stringfellow-Ford (Danville, Ill./Danville) and junior defensive lineman Anthony Brown (Swansea, IL/Belleville West) (Swansea, Ill./Belleville West) each had two sacks on the night for McKendree.
With the victory, McKendree improves to 2-0 on the season, while Olivet Nazarene slips to 0-2 overall. The Bearcats will be on the road next Saturday for a non-conference matchup with Marian University. Kickoff is set for noon CT in Indianapolis, Ind.
In addition to its stellar defensive effort, McKendree also scored a pair of touchdowns thanks to its special teams unit. The Bearcats' first score came just 2:07 into the contest thanks to a blocked punt at the Olivet Nazarene goal line by senior defensive back Ryan Smith (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia). The ball bounced into the end zone, where it was recovered by sophomore defensive lineman Tim Weidenbacher (Naperville, IL/Naperville North) (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North). Senior Jordan Fark (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) added the extra point for a 7-0 McKendree lead.
The Bearcats exploded for 27 second-quarter points to take a commanding 34-0 lead at the half. Junior quarterback Austin Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) (Washington, Ill./Washington) threw a trio of touchdown passes in the quarter, the first being a 34-yard strike to senior running back Jimmy Berezik (Fraser, Mich./De La Salle) (Fraser, Mich./De La Salle) just over a minute into the period to push the lead to 14-0. Freshman linebacker Bryce Colvin (East Peoria, IL/East Peoria) (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) recoved a fumble in the Tigers' end zone to extend the margin to 20-0.
Midway through the second quarter, Fisher connected with sophomore wide receiver Nick Jones (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) (Murphysboro, Ill./Murphysboro) on a 44-yard TD pass as McKendree grabbed a 27-0 lead. Fisher then capped a busy quarter by hitting senior tight end Byron Gettis (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) (Cahokia, Ill./Cahokia) in the back of the end zone on a six-yard scoring pass to give the Bearcats their 34-point halftime advantage.
The three touchdown passes thrown by Fisher equals a school record that he shares with Billy Gray. Fisher also had three TD passes in last year's NAIA Football Championship Series contest at Saint Xavier University.
Berezik provided the Bearcats' second special-teams score of the night when he took the second-half kickoff and raced down the right sideline 98 yards for a touchdown. It marked McKendree's first kickoff return for a TD since Adam Clapp went 82 yards in the Bearcats' 2005 season opener against Quincy University.
Fisher completed 7-of-14 pass attempts for 146 yards. Berezik and Jones each caught two passes against Olivet Nazarene. Senior fullback Joe Beimfohr (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) (Nashville, Ill./Nashville) led the Bearcats' rushing attack with 56 yards on 11 carries. Beimfohr boosted his career total to 1,248 yards and moved past Jason Jackson (1,241 yards) for 12th place on McKendree's all-time list.
Junior linebacker Brandon Nigro (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way Central) (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) led the Bearcats' defense with eight tackles. Junior linebacker Jason Rejfek (Arlington Heights, IL/John Hersey) (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) contributed seven tackles, while Smith added six stops.
