GAME DAY LINKS -- McKendree vs. William Jewell -- Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, Noon -- Greene Stadium, Liberty, Mo.
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McKENDREE/WILLIAM JEWELL PREVIEW WITH COACH BABCOCK
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
WILLIAM JEWELL SEASON STATISTICS
WILLIAM JEWELL GAME NOTES

(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 24)--The McKendree University football team will put its 2-0 record on the line as the Bearcats open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Saturday at William Jewell College. Kickoff is set for 12 noon at Greene Stadium in Liberty, Mo.

McKendree remained undefeated and closed out its non-conference schedule this past Saturday with a 27-24 come-from-behind win at Leemon Field against Northwood University. The Bearcats rallied from an 11-point deficit with just over 11 minutes to play to pull out the victory. Senior quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) led the charge as he threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to senior wide receiver Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) in the final period that punctuated the comeback effort. The duo hooked up on a 26-yard scoring play with 2:28 remaining to take the lead for good. Sophomore wide receiver Dustin Walls (Champaign, IL/Centennial) was Fisher's favorite target on the afternoon as he caught six passes for 124 yards. Walls had a TD reception in the win. Junior linebacker A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) helped lead the defensive charge with 13 tackles while junior defensive lineman Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) was back in 2014 form as he registered three quarterback sacks against the Timberwolves. 

For the second consecutive week, Fisher was named as the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week. In addition to his 369 passing yards and three scoring tosses, Fisher ran for a team-leading 65 yards on 10 carries. He is the first McKendree football player to collect conference honors in consecutive weeks since the Bearcats joined the league in 2012. Fisher registered his fifth career 300-yard passing contest in Saturday's win. 

William Jewell enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 0-3. The Cardinals dropped their GLVC opener last Saturday at Saint Joseph's College by a score of 34-9. Nick West hit Bulla Graft on a 17-yard TD pass just before the end of the third quarter for the only touchdown of the day for William Jewell. West threw for 219 yards against the Pumas as Anthony Mullins hauled in five receptions for 77 yards on the day. Parker Wood notched a team-best 12 tackles for the Cardinals. 

McKendree leads the all-time series 3-0 against William Jewell, but the last two games were not decided until the later stages of each contest. Two years ago -- in the Bearcats' only visit to Greene Stadium -- McKendree built a 20-point lead but had to rally to notch a 29-24 victory over the Cardinals. Last season at Leemon Field, the teams were tied at 20-20 in the third quarter before the Bearcats pulled away late for a 41-20 triumph. Fisher threw for 217 yards and rushed for 120 yards to help lead McKendree's offensive effort. 

Following the William Jewell match-up, McKendree will be at home for its next two games -- the Homecoming meeting with Southwest Baptist University on Oct. 3 and a battle with the three-time defending GLVC champions from the University of Indianapolis on Oct. 10. 

INSIDE THE McKENDREE/WILLIAM JEWELL GAME
THE HEAD COACHES
McKENDREE: Mike Babcock is in his third season as the head coach of the McKendree Bearcats (11-12 at McKendree and overall). Babcock came to McKendree from Colorado State University-Pueblo, where he spent the five years as an offensive assistant coach. From 2009-12, Babcock served as the ThunderWolves' quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. 

WILLIAM JEWELL: Shawn Weigel is in his first season as the head coach of the William Jewell Cardinals (0-3 at William Jewell and overall). 

THE SERIES (Since 1996)
McKendree has won all three meetings against William Jewell in the all-time series, including last year's contest at Leemon Field:
   2012 -- McKENDREE 35, William Jewell 20 (at Leemon Field)
   2013 -- McKENDREE 29, William Jewell 24 (at Liberty, Mo.)
   2014 -- McKENDREE 41, William Jewell 20 (at Leemon Field)

McKENDREE -- LAST TIME OUT...
The Bearcats rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to post a 27-24 come-from-behind victory last Saturday at Leemon Field against Northwood University. Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) connected with Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) on a pair of touchdown passes in the final 11:12 of play to help McKendree remain undefeated heading into Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Fisher threw for 369 yards on the day, completing 29-of-44 pass attempts. He threw three TD passes on the day, with the other going to Dustin Walls (Champaign, IL/Centennial), who had six catches and a team-high 124 receiving yards against the Timberwolves. James matched Walls with six catches while adding 112 yards in the effort. James also became the Bearcats' career leader in receptions, boosting her four-year total to 110 catches to pass Dewayne Gatti (Pasadena, CA/Bonita), who had 104 during his two seasons at McKendree. Sean Dowling (Chatham, IL/Glenwood) led the Bearcats with seven grabs against Northwood. Fisher was the leading rusher on the day for the Bearcats with 65 yards on 10 carries. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) paced the McKendree defensive effort once again with 13 tackles, while Cruz Navarro (Escondido, CA/Escondido) added 10 stops. Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) registered three quarterback sacks against Northwood. 

WILLIAM JEWELL -- LAST TIME OUT...
The Cardinals kicked off the GLVC portion of their 2015 schedule last Saturday with a 34-9 loss at Saint Joseph's College. Nick West connected with Bulla Graft on a 17-yard scoring pass just before the end of the third quarter to account for the only touchdown of the afternoon for William Jewell. Brandon Womack drilled a 34-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half for the Cardinals. West completed 20-of-37 pass attempts for 219 yards. His favorite target was Anthony Mullins, who hauled in five passes for 77 yards. Bulla added four grabs for 67 yards including his TD reception. Parker Wood notched a team-best 12 tackles for the Cardinals, while Isaac Dozier was right behind with 11 stops, including two for loss. Kolby Fennewald helped out with 10 tackles against the Pumas. 

THE LAST MEETING, McKENDREE vs. WILLIAM JEWELL
On Nov. 1, 2014 at Leemon Field, McKendree scored the final 21 points of the contest to pull away for a 41-20 victory on Senior Day over William Jewell. Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) posted game-high totals of 217 passing yards and 120 rushing yards against the Cardinals. Fisher was 24-of-36 through the air and tossed a pair of touchdowns passes. He connected with Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) six times for 29 yards on the day, while Tobias Cook (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) had both TD grabs in the effort. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) finished the day with a season-high 17 tackles, while Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) had a huge afternoon with 12 tackles, including six for loss with 4 1/2 quarterback sacks. The win was the third consecutive triumph for the Bearcats during their season-ending five-game win streak in 2014. 

BEARCAT TRACKS
FISHER REPEATS AS GLVC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) earned his second consecutive Offensive Player of the Week award for his performance against Northwood University on Sept. 19. Fisher was 29-of-44 for 369 yards with three touchdowns through the air while rushing for 65 yards on 10 carries. Fisher has topped the 400-yard mark in total offense in each of the Bearcats' first two regular-season contests. He is the first McKendree football player to collect consecutive GLVC Player of the Week accolades since the Bearcats joined the league in 2012. 

20 SEASONS OF FOOTBALL: 2015 marks the 20th season of football at McKendree since the program was revived in 1996. 

CONFERENCE IN SESSION: Since the revival of the McKendree football program in 1996, this will be the 17th 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 1-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference openers, with the team's lone win in that span coming in a 29-24 decision at William Jewell College in 2013. 

BEARCATS vs. THE SHOW-ME STATE: McKendree has a record of 9-8 against teams from the state of Missouri. The Bearcats are 4-4 in such contests, which includes victories in each of their two Missouri road games during the 2014 season (53-43 at Southwest Baptist University and 56-36 at Lincoln University).  

GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES: A win today over William Jewell would give McKendree its first 3-0 start since the 2003 season. 

200 AND COUNTING: The Sept. 12 contest at West Liberty marked the 200th football game played by McKendree since bringing back its football program in 1996. 

DOUBLING UP: McKendree has scored at least 10 points in a game in 170 of its last 182 outings. 

21 AND OVER: McKendree sports a 112-22 record (.836) when scoring at least 21 points in a game. The Bearcats are 88-18 (.830) in their last 106 contests when reaching the 21-point mark.    

SUPER SEVEN: Dating back to the midway point of the 2014 season, McKendree has won its last seven regular-season contests. That marks the Bearcats' longest win streak since a nine-game tear to close out the 2009 regular season.  

PILING ON THE POINTS (AND YARDS): Over the Bearcats' current seven-game win streak, McKendree has averaged 40.3 points per game, along with 519.4 yards of total offense per outing. The Bearcats have gained at least 500 yards in total offense in four of those seven contests, while McKendree has reached the 50-point mark three times over that same span. 

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Sept. 12 win at West Liberty marked the first time in the Mike Babcock era that the Bearcats posted three interceptions in the same contest. It fact, it was the most interceptions in a game for McKendree since a four-INT effort at Leemon Field against Central State University late in the 2012 campaign. 

FISHER FACTS: The 369 yards through the air by Fisher versus Northwood marked his fifth career 300-yard passing game, and second in a row (he had 353 yards at West Liberty). Also, Fisher continued to move his way up the program's career rushing list. Fisher now has 1,136 rushing yards with the Bearcats, which is good for 15th on the all-time list. Jason Jackson sits in 14th place in the team's career rushing chart with 1,241 yards, while Jason Yelton is 13th all-time with 1,255 yards. 

FISHER FACT OF THE WEEK: Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) has thrown nine touchdown passes in his first two games of the 2015 season. That total is higher than 
McKendree has posted in 15 different SEASONS since the revival of the football program in 1996. 

YARD(AGE) WORK: In addition to his record six passing touchdowns in the Sept. 12 game against West Liberty, Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) also established a new McKendree record for total offense in a game, piling up 478 yards versus the Hilltoppers. 

CATCHING UP WITH CAMERON: Senior wide receiver Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) became the Bearcats' career receptions leader with six grabs against Northwood. He now has 110 catches in his McKendree career, passing the mark of 104 set last year by Dewayne Gatti (Pasadena, CA/Bonita). In addition, James caught two touchdown passes in the Northwood contest to boost his career total to 12. James is now tied with Brett Gross (1996-99) for the Bearcats' career lead in the category. 

SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?: The triumph at West Liberty marked the first win for McKendree in a road opener since the 2009 season. Since the revival of the football program in 1996, the Bearcats have won their road opener eight different times. In each of those seasons, McKendree closed the year with a winning record. In fact, the Bearcats averaged better than eight wins per season in those instances. 

THIS DATE IN BEARCAT FOOTBALL HISTORY
Sept. 26, 2009
McKendree pushed its win streak to four games with a hard-fought, 17-12 win at Leemon Field over No. 14-ranked Saint Ambrose University. The Bearcats, who came in with a No. 16 rating, scored on their first play from scrimmage when Austin Fisher hit Nick Fuhler with a 55-yard TD pass down the left sideline. After the Fighting Bees used a trio of field goals to grab a 9-7 lead, Fisher scrambled out of the pocket late in the third quarter and lofted a nine-yard scoring strike to Byron Gettis in the back of the end zone to give McKendree the lead for good. Jordan Fark sealed the victory with a 41-yard field goal for the only points of the fourth quarter. The Bearcats' defense then took matters from there, stopping Saint Ambrose's final two drives to preserve the win. 

Sept. 26, 1998
The Bearcats earned their first-ever victory in Mid-States Football Association-Midwest League play thanks to a 31-21 triumph at Leemon Field against Trinity International University. McKendree piled up 404 rushing yards against the Trojans as five different players gained at least 64 yards on the ground. Brent Baker picked off a pass with time running out in the first half and raced 95 yards for a touchdown to give McKendree the lead for good at 18-14. A 42-yard scoring run by Scott Compton with 2:10 remaining helped the Bearcats ice the win.