BOX SCORE

(BOURBONNAIS, Ill., Nov. 12)—The McKendree University football team built a 13-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Olivet Nazarene University rallied to post a 17-13 victory over the Bearcats Saturday afternoon in Bourbonnais, Ill.
 
The host Tigers scored twice within a four-minute span to grab the lead for good and added an insurance field goal in the final minutes to rally for the win. McKendree nearly completed a drive for the potential go-ahead score in the last 30 seconds, but a fourth-down pass from junior quarterback David Bergschneider (Pleasant Plains, IL/Pleasant Plains) (Pleasant Plains, Ill./Pleasant Plains) to senior wide receiver Myron Hicks (Sauk Village, IL/Bloom Trail) (Sauk Village, Ill./Bloom Trail) fell incomplete in the back of the end zone to end the Bearcats' rally.'
     
McKendree drops to 1-8 on the year, while Olivet Nazarene finishes its season with an overall record of 5-6.
 
“You've got to hand it to (Olivet Nazarene),” said McKendree head football coach Carl Poelker. “They made some adjustments in the second half and took advantage of a key turnover. I thought we showed some competitive fire on that last drive. David was able to make some plays to take us down the field, but Olivet came up with the defensive plays when they needed them.”
 
Junior kicker Josh Pruitt (Orlando, FL/Boone) (Orlando, Fla./Boone) kicked a 34-yard field goal on McKendree's first possession of the game to give the Bearcats a 3-0 lead. The only other score of the first half came five minutes into the second quarter, when Bergschneider threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Richard Bailey (Mascoutah, IL/Mascoutah) (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) to extend the margin to 10-0. Pruitt's second field goal of the afternoon pushed McKendree to a 13-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
 
Olivet Nazarene began its comeback when quarterback Rico Prestia connected with Kyle Walker on a one-yard scoring strike with 1:34 left in the third period. Then, following a McKendree turnover, Michael Ho-Lewis found Josh Howells in the end zone on a five-yard TD pass on the halfback option to tie the game at 13-13. Andrew Muzljakovich added the extra point with 12:45 left to give Olivet Nazarene its first lead of the day at 14-13.
 
The Tigers then used a time-consuming drive to march down the field, and Muzljakovich booted a 23-yard field goal to stretch the Olivet Nazarene lead to 17-13 with 2:11 to play. McKendree took the ensuing kickoff and marched downfield, and converted a big fourth-down play when Bergschneider hooked up with junior wide receiver Nick Jones (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) (Murphysboro, Ill./Murphysboro) for 38 yards down to the Tigers' 23-yard line.
 
After a pass interference penalty moved the ball down to the Olivet Nazarene six-yard line, the Bearcats had four attempts for the potential go-ahead score. But the Tigers' defense stopped McKendree, and Bergschneider's throw to Hicks with 30.9 seconds was just out of reach.
 
“I thought Myron had that ball at the end,” said Poelker. “We had the play and the match-up we wanted. We just ran out of room there (on the sideline).
 
Bergschneider completed 11-of-29 pass attempts for 131 yards. Senior running back Chris Montgomery (Avondale, AZ/Mascoutah) (Avondale, Ariz./Mascoutah) rushed for a team-high 48 yards on 12 attempts.
 
The Bearcats' defense allowed just 185 yards of total offense to Olivet Nazarene in the loss and also forced a pair of turnovers. Senior linebacker Josh Atwood (Chatham, IL/Glenwood) (Glenwood, Ill./Chatham) was credited with a team-leading six tackles.
 
McKendree will wrap up its 2011 season next Saturday (Nov. 19) by hosting Quincy University at Leemon Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.