Box Score (INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Oct. 11)—The McKendree University football team was defeated in a Great Lakes Valley Conference road contest Saturday night at the University of Indianapolis, 52-7.
 
The host Greyhounds scored on eight of their nine possessions against the Bearcats and never looked back in cruising to the win. With the loss, McKendree falls to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will hit the road again next Saturday (Oct. 18) to face a first-time conference opponent in Southwest Baptist University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Bolivar, Mo.
 
"Indianapolis showed why they are two-time defending GLVC champions," said McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock. "They are an extremely well-coached football team, they are disciplined, and they come at you full-speed on both sides of the ball. They were able to capitalize on some big plays early in the game and the momentum built from there. We were not at the top of our game in terms of execution tonight, and Indy made us pay for that."
 
McKendree was able to avoid the shutout with 8:27 remaining, when sophomore running back Kevin Witcik (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. It was Witcik's first score of the season, and sophomore kicker Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic) added the point after attempt to help pull the Bearcats within 45-7.
 
Meanwhile, Indianapolis (5-1, 3-0 GLVC) scored touchdowns the first five times it had the football, and added a 29-yard field goal by Scott Miller with just 46 seconds left in the first half to give the Greyhounds a 38-0 lead at the intermission. The connection of quarterback Connor Barthel to wide receiver Reece Horn enjoyed a big night against McKendree. Barthel was 17-of-22 for 312 yards with four first-half TD passes. Three of Barthel's touchdown passes went to Horn, who had nine receptions on the night for 175 yards.
 
Matt Ripp rushed for a game-high 104 yards on 17 carries and added a pair of TDs on the ground for Indianapolis, which piled up 556 yards of total offense compared to 186 yards for McKendree.
 
Witcik collected a career-high 83 rushing yards to lead McKendree in the contest. Junior quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) completed 14-of-22 pass attempts for just 73 yards. Fisher was also sacked four times by the Greyhounds' defensive unit. Junior wide receiver Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) had three catches to lead the way for the Bearcats.
 
Defensively, junior linebacker Alec Gerdes (Normal, IL/Normal) posted a game-high 13 tackles for McKendree. Sophomore linebacker A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) contributed eight stops, while junior linebacker George Hill (Chicago Heights, IL/Rich Central) registered the Bearcats' lone takeaway against Indianapolis, a fourth-quarter interception of Barthel.