GAME DAY LINKS --
LIVE VIDEO (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES

(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 26)--The McKendree University football squad will open its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule on Saturday evening when Saint Joseph's College comes to Leemon Field for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The contest can be seen live on the Bearcat Sports Network, beginning with the pre-game show at approximately 5:30 p.m. Joe Zydlo will have the call of Saturday's game, which marks the first of two straight home games for McKendree. It will also mark the final home night game of the season for the Bearcats.

McKendree will be tasked with posting its first victory of the 2014 season against a team picked to finish third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference race in 2014. The Bearcats are 0-3 overall following last Saturday's 32-27 loss at Northwood University in Michigan. McKendree posted 427 yards of total offense in the contest, including a season-high 326 yards through the air. 

Saint Joseph's, which finished the 2013 season with a record of 8-3, brings an unblemished 3-0 record to Leemon Field on Saturday. The Pumas are coming off a 42-17 Homecoming win last Saturday against Alderson Broaddus University. 

McKENDREE...LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats were edged last Saturday on the road at Northwood University in the final non-conference game of the year, 32-27. Dewayne Gatti (Pasadena, CA/Bonita) set a program record with 12 receptions in the contest, and became the all-time leader in pass catches during the first half, boosting his career mark to 87. Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) also set team records by completing 31-of-51 pass attempts at Northwood. Fisher threw for 326 yards and a touchdown as well. Ryan Herring (Fairview Heights, IL/Belleville East) rushed for a team-high 72 yards and scored a TD. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem), who led the Bearcats with 10 tackles on the day, picked off a Timberwolves' pass and raced 29 yards for a score. Bryce Colvin (East Peoria, IL/East Peoria) also had 10 tackles while Harrison Skokos (Bradenton, FL/Lakewood Ranch) contributed eight stops.

SAINT JOSEPH'S...LAST TIME OUT
The Pumas pushed their record to 3-0 on the season with a 42-17 Homecoming victory last Saturday over Alderson Broaddus University. Saint Joseph's rallied from a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter and scored the final 35 points of the contest to pull away for the win. Saint Joseph's had two running backs who gained more than 100 yards in the effort as Braxton Shelton rushed for a game-high 156 yards on 21 carries with three TDs, while Kobi Cook added 116 yards and a score. Tate Borlik threw for 136 yards and a touchdown for the Pumas. Jamyl Scott led the Saint Joseph's defense with 11 tackles, while Drew Byrd and Tracy Whitehead each chipped in with five stops. Whitehead also had an interception for the Pumas.

THE SERIES (SINCE 1996)
The Pumas have won both previous meetings against the Bearcats, including last year's 31-13 decision on Oct. 26 at Rensselaer, Ind.:
2012 -- Saint Joseph's 24, McKENDREE 19 (at Leemon Field)
2013 -- Saint Joseph's 31, McKENDREE 13 (at Rensselaer, Ind.)

LAST MEETING -- McKENDREE VS. SAINT JOSEPH'S
On Oct. 26, 2013 in Rensselaer, Ind., McKendree trailed by just one at the half before Saint Joseph's took control in the final 30 minutes to notch a 31-13 victory. Dewayne Gatti (Pasadena, CA/Bonita) posted nine catches and 110 receiving yards against the Pumas, while Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) completed 21-of-34 pass attempts for 209 yards with a touchdown pass. Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic) booted a pair of field goals in the effort, including a season-long 42-yarder in the first quarter. Reuben Bowlby (Lincoln, IL/Lincoln) added four catches for 38 yards, while Ryan Herring (Fairview Heights, IL/Belleville East) rushed for 27 yards on the day. George Hill (Chicago Heights, IL/Rich Central) paced the Bearcats' defense with eight tackles at Saint Joseph's. For the Pumas, Tate Borlik threw for 134 yards and score, while Kobi Cook rushed for a game-high 115 yards with two TDs. Braxton Shelton added 94 yards on the ground for Saint Joseph's, while Jessie Pourch was in on a team-high 11 tackles in the contest. 

BEARCAT TRACKS
BEARCATS vs. THE HOOSIER STATE: McKendree has a record of 10-12 all-time against teams from the state of Indiana. The Bearcats have played an Indiana school each year since the program was revived in 1996 except for the 2006 campaign. McKendree has posted a record of 3-7 in home against teams from its neighbor to the east. 

CONFERENCE IN SESSION: Since the revival of the McKendree football program in 1996, this will be the 16th season that the Bearcats will be holding a conference affiliation. McKendree was 10-3 in conference openers during its days as a member of the Mid-States Football Association-Midwest League from 1998-2010. The Bearcats are 1-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference openers, falling at home to Missouri S & T in 2012 before rebounding to take its league opener last year at William Jewell College, 29-24.

DOUBLING UP: McKendree has reached double figures in the scoring column in 161 of its last 172 games. 

21 AND OVER: McKendree sports a 105-21 record when scoring at least 21 points in a game. The Bearcats are 81-17 in their last 98 contests when reaching the 21-point mark.

CATCHING UP WITH THE BEARCATS' RECEPTIONS LEADER: Senior wide receiver Dewayne Gatti (Pasadena, CA/Bonita) had a record-setting day against Northwood University in more ways than one. With a 12-yard reception on a fourth-down play in the second quarter, Gatti surpassed Myron Hicks as the Bearcats' career receptions leader. Gatti enters tonight's game with 87 catches at McKendree, eclipsing the old mark that Hicks set from 2008-11. In addition, Gatti had 12 catches at Northwood, breaking the single-game record he set for the Bearcats in the 2013 season opener at home against Tiffin University. 

HERRING CONTINUES MARCH UP CAREER RUSHING LIST: Senior running back Ryan Herring (Fairview Heights, IL/Belleville East) became the 18th player at McKendree to rush for 1,000 yards in a career. Herring added to his total with 72 yards at Northwood, and now has 1,175 yards with the Bearcats to sit in 15th place on the all-time list. The next three players on the Bearcats' career rushing list are:
12) Dominique Jones -- 1,344 yards
13) Jason Yelton -- 1,255 yards
14) Jason Jackson -- 1,241 yards

FISHER FACTS: Junior quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) set new game records at Northwood for pass attempts (51) and pass completions (31) in a contest. He also threw for 326 yards, marking the second time in his career that Fisher has surpassed 300 yards in a game. 

MORE FISHER FACTS: Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) currently sits in second place on the Bearcats' career list for pass attempts (578), pass completions (339), passing yards (3,735), touchdown passes (29) and total offensive yards (3,994). He trails only his older brother Austin in each of the categories. Here are the numbers Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) needs to take over the top spot in each career category at McKendree:
PASS ATTEMPTS: Needs 57, record is 634
PASS COMPLETIONS: Needs 4, record is 342
PASSING YARDS: Needs 598, record is 4,332 yards
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: Needs 11, record is 39
TOTAL OFFENSIVE YARDS: Needs 333, record is 4,326 yards

THIS DATE IN BEARCAT FOOTBALL HISTORY
Sept. 27, 2008
McKendree dropped a 59-0 decision at Ohio Dominican University, marking the first time the Bearcats were shut out in 12 seasons, spanning 125 games. McKendree collected 196 yards on the ground, led by Tommy Gayfield's 53 yards on just three carries. Reggie Cloyd led the Bearcats' defensie with 12 tackles, while Antonio Greer added 10 stops with eight solos. 

Sept. 27, 1997
A six-yard touchdown run by Louis Harden with just under five minutes to play provided the game-winning score as McKendree held off the University of Evansville at Leemon Field, 30-26. The Bearcats trailed 20-7 at the half, but a run of 16 unanswered points pushed McKendree out in front early in the fourth quarter at 23-20. After the Purple Aces scored to pull back out in front by three, the Bearcats capitalized on an Evansville fumble to post the go-ahead touchdown. Ryan Jimison recovered a fumble at the Purple Aces' nine-yard line, and Harden scored two plays later. The Bearcats' defense stopped Evansville's final drive at the McKendree 35-yard line in the final minute to help preserve the win. Harden rushed for a team-leading 90 yards on 19 carries, while Jason Schneider led the defensive charge for the Bearcats with nine tackles and an interception.