Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 1)—The McKendree University football team pushed its win streak to three consecutive games thanks to a 41-20 victory Saturday afternoon at home against William Jewell College.

The Bearcats scored the final 21 points of the contest to break open a 20-20 tie with the Cardinals to pick up their 10^th win in their last 11 Senior Day contests. McKendree moves to 3-6 overall and 3-3 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. McKendree will be on the road for its final two games of the 2014 season, beginning with a meeting next Saturday at Lincoln University. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. in Jefferson City, Mo.
 
The win on Saturday marked the Bearcats' first three game win streak since putting together a four-game run late in the 2010 season. It is also the first time that McKendree has reeled off three straight victories in GLVC play.
 
"I was really pleased with our team effort today," said McKendree football coach Mike Babcock. "We came out offensively and moved the football with consistency. I thought this was our best defensive effort of the year as well. We constantly put pressure on the quarterback and didn't give up the big play. We also had some big stops in the second half after we regained the lead. It's also great to send our seniors out with a win in their final home game today."
 
McKendree allowed a season-low 20 points with big performances from several key players. Sophomore linebacker A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) registered a career-high 18 tackles, and is now just one shy of the Bearcats' season record for tackles. Wentland pushed his season total to 107 to become just the second player in McKendree history to top the century mark for tackles in a year. Brandon Nigro set the Bearcats' program mark with 108 tackles back in 2011.
 
Sophomore defensive lineman Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) also continued his assault on the McKendree record book. Baar posted a career-high 12 tackles, including seven for loss. In addition, Baar collected 3 ½ more quarterback sacks against William Jewell, giving him 12 ½ over the last three games and 13 total for the year. He has tied the team's single-season mark of 13, which was set by Oku Satcher two different times, in 1999 and again in 2001. Freshman linebacker Austin Weltha (Bloomington, IL/Bloomington) had a season-best 11 tackles in Saturday's win, including 10 solos.
 
Junior linebacker George Hill (Chicago Heights, IL/Rich Central), who had six tackles on the day, made perhaps the biggest play of the game with a one-handed interception at the Bearcats' 23-yard line with William Jewell driving early in the fourth quarter down by 14 points.
 
Offensively, McKendree rolled up more than 500 yards of total offense for the second time in three weeks. The Bearcats collected 502 yards against William Jewell, including 285 in the rushing department. Junior quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) threw for 217 yards on 24-of-36 passing with two touchdowns while gaining a game-high 120 yards on the ground with another score. Fisher ran for 101 yards in the first half as the Bearcats raced to a 20-3 lead late in the second quarter.
 
"Isaac continues to do good things in running our offense," said Babcock. "He was able to establish the run early which opened up the passing game once again."
 
Senior running back Ryan Herring (Fairview Heights, IL/Belleville East), who returned Saturday after missing the last two weeks due to injury, gained 84 yards on just 10 carries, while sophomore running back Kevin Witcik (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) added 61 yards on five attempts. It was Witcik's 25-yard scoring run with 5:59 remaining in the third quarter that gave McKendree the lead for good at 27-20.
 
Fisher capped an 82-yard drive on the Bearcats' next possession with a three-yard TD run to extend the McKendree lead to 34-20. Fisher helped the Bearcats seal the win with just under two minutes to play as he connected with junior tight end Tobias Cook (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) for an 18-yard scoring pass. It was the second scoring connection on the day from Fisher to Cook, who combined for a 17-yard TD strike late in the first quarter.
 
Sophomore kicker Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic) gave McKendree a 3-0 lead with a 29-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Just over two minutes later, Fisher found Cook for the 17-yard TD to stretch the Bearcats' lead to 10 points. William Jewell cut its deficit to 10-3 on a 34-yard field goal from Brandon Womack in the opening seconds of the second quarter.
 
On the ensuing possession, McKendree pushed its lead to 17-3 on a two-yard scoring run by freshman running back Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia). O'Block added a 24-yard field goal with just under four minutes remaining until halftime to push the Bearcats' advantage to 20-3.
 
Following a short punt from McKendree late in the first half, the Cardinals scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Nick West  to Anthony Mullins with five seconds on the clock to cut the Bearcats' lead to 20-10 at the intermission. William Jewell (4-5, 4-2 GLVC) then used a 23-yard field goal from Womack and another TD strike from West to Mullins to tie the game at 20-20 with 9:13 left in the third quarter.