Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 25)—The McKendree University football team built a 24-point lead after three quarters of play, then held off a comeback bid by visiting Missouri S & T as the Bearcats held on for a 27-24 Homecoming victory Saturday afternoon at Leemon Field.
 
Missouri S & T scored the first 17 points of the fourth quarter to pull within a touchdown before sophomore kicker Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic) gave McKendree a two-score lead thanks to a 39-yard field goal with 1:20 to play. The Bearcats won their second consecutive game to move to 2-6 on the year and 2-3 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. McKendree also improves to 18-1 in Homecoming contests since the revival of the football program in 1996. 
 
"I was very proud of our guys, especially early on in the game," said McKendree head coach Mike Babcock. "Our defense came out strong and played lights out in the first half, constantly putting pressure on their quarterback (Lamar Wilkes). There were a lot of three-and-outs, and I was extremely happy to see that. Offensively, being able to move the ball both by run and pass kept them off-balance and really allowed us to get in a flow."
 
Junior quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) once again led McKendree in both passing and rushing. Fisher tied his own record set earlier this season against Saint Joseph's College with 34 completions in Saturday's contest. He went 34-of-49 for 295 yards, completing passes to eight different receivers. Fisher also rushed for a game-high 84 yards on 17 carries, with two scores on the ground.
 
"I thought Isaac really did a great job of running our offense today," said Babcock. "He led his receivers well today and got the ball in the right place at the right times. As we've seen him do the last couple weeks, Isaac really used his running skills to set up the pass."

In addition to his individual numbers against Missouri S & T, Fisher set new McKendree season records for total yards (2,441), pass attempts (338), completions (205) and passing yards (1,972), breaking marks that he set last season for the Bearcats. 
 
As a team, McKendree rolled up 454 yards of total offense. The Bearcats also came up just one play shy of their record-breaking total of a week ago, running 92 plays against Missouri S & T. McKendree also posted a season-high with just over 38 minutes of possession time.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, McKendree limited Missouri S & T to just 56 yards of total offense while pitching a shutout through the first three quarters. The Bearcats sacked Wilkes three times and added a pair of interceptions in the contest. Sophomore defensive lineman Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park), who set a team record with 5 ½ sacks in last week's win at Southwest Baptist University, added three more sacks against the Miners.
 
McKendree scored on the opening possession when O'Block capped a 10-play drive with a 26-yard field goal less than four minutes into the contest. Fisher made it 10-0 when he scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper with 22 seconds left in the first period.
 
On its first possession of the second quarter, McKendree drove into the red zone and faced a fourth-and-goal from the Missouri S & T two-yard line. Fisher ran a quarterback draw and broke the plane of the end zone for his second score of the day, and the point after by O'Block gave the Bearcats a 17-0 advantage with 11:12 left until halftime.
 
The Bearcats maintained that 17-point lead at the intermission, then added another touchdown midway through the third quarter when freshman running back Myles Hammonds (Lee's Summit, MO/Park Hill South) scored from three yards out for a 24-0 McKendree lead.
 
Meanwhile, the McKendree defense held the Missouri S & T offense in check over the first 45 minutes. For the Miners' first 10 possessions of the game, the Bearcats forced seven punts while recording a pair of interceptions. The remaining drive ended with halftime. Missouri S & T registered just four first downs in that span.
 
Missouri S & T (3-5, 2-3 GLVC) started its comeback in the first minute of the fourth quarter with a 40-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Peter Simpson to Melvin Stovall. The Miners then added a one-yard scoring run from Charles Bournes and a 23-yard field goal from Nolan Mannino to trim the deficit to 24-17 with just under three minutes to play.
 
McKendree took the ensuing kickoff and marched 60 yards in seven plays. O'Block converted his 39-yarder to push the Bearcats out to a 27-17 lead with 1:20 left. Freshman running back Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) had a 33-yard run into Missouri S & T early in the drive, and Fisher followed on the next play to set the Bearcats up at the Miners' 21-yard line in the closing minutes. Missouri S & T then added one final score with 8.7 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.
 
Freshman wide receiver Darius Crochrell (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) caught a season-high eight passes for 75 yards from Fisher to lead the McKendree receiving corps. Junior wide receiver Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) added seven receptions for 72 yards, while junior wide receiver Pat Doty (Springfield, IL/Springfield) had six grabs on the day.
 
Sophomore linebacker A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) led the Bearcats' defense with seven tackles, while he also had a third-quarter interception in the effort. Junior linebacker George Hill (Chicago Heights, IL/Rich Central) and senior linebacker Bryce Colvin (East Peoria, IL/East Peoria) each collected five tackles for McKendree. Freshman Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep) had the other interception on the day for the Bearcats.
 
McKendree will close out the home portion of its 2014 schedule next Saturday (Nov. 1) by hosting William Jewell College in GLVC play. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The Bearcats will honor their senior players in a special pre-game ceremony on Senior Day.