BOX SCORE

(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 1)—The McKendree University football team built a 10-point lead early in the second quarter, but visiting Truman State University rallied to post a 25-10 victory Saturday over the Bearcats at Leemon Field.
 
The Bulldogs reeled off 25 unanswered points in denying the Bearcats their first win of the 2011 season. McKendree slips to 0-4 on the year and will be on the road for its next two games, beginning with next Saturday's contest (Oct. 8) at Saint Ambrose University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Brady Street Stadium in Davenport, Iowa.
 
McKendree senior quarterback Austin Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) completed 19-of-33 pass attempts for 163 yards with a touchdown pass. Fisher's four-yard scoring strike to senior tight end Jacob Strausbaugh (Belleville, IL/Belleville East) with 9:25 left until halftime gave the Bearcats a 10-0 lead. But Truman State turned a pair of McKendree turnovers into nine points later in the second quarter, and a 23-yard field goal by Derek Koon on the final play of the first half gave the Bulldogs a 12-10 advantage at the intermission.
 
Truman State (2-3) then added a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to build a 15-point lead. McKendree tried to rally in the fourth quarter, and appeared to have cut its deficit with 4:33 left when Fisher threw a two-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Nick Jones (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) on a fourth-and-goal play, but an illegal formation penalty against the Bearcats wiped out the score.
 
Fisher was then sacked on the ensuing play by Truman State's Patrick Blackwell, ending McKendree's last scoring threat.
 
For the first time this season, McKendree scored first in a contest when junior kicker Josh Pruitt (Orlando, FL/Boone) booted a 26-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the first half. Senior running back Erik Fohne (Pocahontas, IL/Greenville) played a big role in the scoring drive, rushing four straight times for 20 yards to push the Bearcats into the red zone.
 
After holding Truman State on its next possession, McKendree marched back down the field for its only touchdown of the contest. A 39-yard connection from Fisher to senior wide receiver Myron Hicks (Sauk Village, IL/Bloom Trail) started the drive and put the Bearcats into Bulldogs' territory. Later in the drive, a pair of runs by senior running back Chris Montgomery (Avondale, AZ/Mascoutah) set the Bearcats' up in a second-and-goal from the Truman State four-yard line. Fisher faked the handoff to the right side, rolled to his left and hit Strausbaugh in the end zone in the early stages of the second quarter. Pruitt's extra point gave the Bearcats their 10-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs then took advantage of a fumble by Hicks, who was fighting for first-down yardage after a reception, to get on the scoreboard. On the first play following the turnover, quarterback J.B. Clark connected with Anthony Brown (Swansea, IL/Belleville West) on a 37-yard touchdown pass to pull within 10-6. McKendree junior defensive lineman Theo Odom (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard West) blocked the point after try.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, Jones fumbled the ball on the return, and Truman State's Jeff Klott recovered the loose ball. The Bulldogs drove to the McKendree two-yard line, and after a goal-line stand by McKendree, cut the deficit to 10-9 on a 19-yard field goal by Koon.
 
After Koon's second field goal of the day gave Truman State its two-point advantage at the half, Donald Harvey and Harnish Ayora each posted scoring runs of five yards to build the lead to 25-10 for the Bulldogs.
 
Montgomery led the Bearcats' rushing attack with 52 yards on 15 carries. Fohne added 38 yards on 13 attempts. Fisher connected with nine different receivers in the game with Hicks, Strausbaugh, Jones and freshman wide receiver Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) each grabbed three passes for McKendree.
 
Defensively, senior linebacker Brandon Nigro (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way Central) registered a team-high 10 tackles for McKendree. Nigro moved into fourth place on the Bearcats' career tackles list, boosting his career total to 234. Senior linebacker Jason Rejfek (Arlington Heights, IL/John Hersey) chipped in with eight tackles, while senior linebacker Josh Atwood (Chatham, IL/Glenwood) posted seven tackles, including six solos. 
 
McKendree will bring a three-game win streak against Saint Ambrose into next week's contest. The Bearcats won last year's meeting, 21-14, which was also played in Davenport.