Box Score
BOX SCORE

(TIFFIN, Ohio, Sept. 1)—The McKendree University football team led twice in its season-opening game at Tiffin University on Saturday, but the host Dragons rallied to post a 23-13 victory at Frost-Kalnow Stadium.
 
The Bearcats grabbed a late first-half lead on a five-yard scoring run by freshman running back Jeruel Taylor (University Park, IL/Marian Catholic), then overcame a three-point halftime deficit on a 50-yard interception return for a score by senior linebacker Zach Haselhorst (Trenton, IL/Wesclin) early in the third quarter. But Tiffin notched the go-ahead score midway through the third quarter, then used a defensive touchdown of its own late in the contest to seal its first victory since the 2010 campaign.
 
McKendree, now 0-1 on the year, will host Henderson State University in the home opener next Saturday (Sept. 8) at Leemon Field. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
“This really played out like a typical first game,” said McKendree head football coach Carl Poelker, who is in his 17^th year on the Bearcats' sideline. “Anything that could happen in the game, did happen in the game. There were some mistakes made by everybody – players and coaches alike – but we got through them. I think that after a week of film and making the little adjustments we need to make, we can be the kind of team we are capable of being.”
 
The contest was scoreless until the final three minutes of the first half. McKendree capped off an 11-play, 70-yard drive by a pair of impressive runs from Taylor. First came a 10-yard scamper that put the ball at the Dragons' five-yard line, then a five-yard burst up the middle for the Bearcats' first points of the new season with 2:34 left in the second quarter.
 
The point after was blocked, and Tiffin's Kyle Yoder picked up the loose ball at the six-yard line and raced down the left side for the two-point conversion, giving the Bearcats a 6-2 advantage. The Dragons took then ensuing kickoff and marched 69 yards in just five plays, using a 36-yard touchdown strike from James Capello to Bertram Marks to grab a 9-6 lead just 66 seconds after the McKendree score.
 
Tiffin took the second-half kickoff and drove to midfield, where Capello floated a second-down pass into the arms of Haselhorst, who raced untouched into the end zone just 1:06 into the second half. Senior Matt Kendall (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon) added the extra point to give McKendree its final lead of the day at 13-9.
 
Capello hooked up with Obadiah Dykes on a three-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter to help Tiffin take the lead for good at 16-13. Logan Snell then provided the final score for the Dragons as he intercepted a pass from senior David Bergschneider (Pleasant Plains, IL/Pleasant Plains) and went 31 yards for the final points of the day with 2:47 remaining.
 
Bergschneider competed 8-of-18 passes for 93 yards for McKendree. Bergscheider was intercepted three times on the day, and all three came on tipped passes. Junior Jacob Wagner (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) led the Bearcats' rushing attack with 43 yards on 11 carries, while Taylor collected 34 yads on nine attempts in his first game.
 
Haselhorst led all players with 12 tackles, including 3 ½ for McKendree Sophomore linebacker Bryce Colvin (East Peoria, IL/East Peoria) and junior linebacker Javar Murphy (Chicago, IL/Marian Catholic) each chipped in with seven stops.