GAME DAY LINKS -- 
McKENDREE vs. MISSOURI S&T -- Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, 1 p.m.
Leemon Field, Lebanon, Ill.

WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS

McKENDREE/MISSOURI S&T VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH BABCOCK
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS

MISSOURI S&T GAME NOTES
MISSOURI S&T SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 20)--The McKendree University football team will play host to Missouri S&T in a key Great Lakes Valley Conference contest. Kickoff at Leemon Field is set for 1 p.m. The game will be carried live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, with the pre-game show set for 12:45 p.m.

The Bearcats remained perfect at home with a come-from-behind, 20-16 Homecoming win last Saturday against Saint Joseph's College. McKendree trailed heading 16-7 heading into the final 90 seconds of play, but used a pair of Elcee Burke III (Chicago, IL/Simeon) touchdown passes sandwiched around a blocked punt by John Alvin III (Fairview Heights, IL /Belleville East) to rally for its 20th win in 21 Homecoming contests dating back to the 1996 season. Burke found Skylar Paulson (Lanark, IL/Eastland) in the back of the end zone on a four-yard touchdown pass with 42.3 seconds on the clock to put the Bearcats in front to stay. The win pushed McKendree's record to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in GLVC play. 

The victory also kept the Bearcats' home record unblemished at 4-0. McKendree has won its last six games and 10 of its last 11 contests played on the Leemon Field turf dating back to the 2014 season. The Bearcats will look to keep their winning ways intact on Saturday against one of the top offensive teams in the conference. Missouri S&T checks in at 4-3 on the year and 3-1 in league play. Missouri S&T leads the GLVC in scoring offense at 38.7 yards per game. 

Last week, Missouri S&T rolled to a 65-16 win in its own Homecoming game against Lincoln University. The Miners posted 530 yards of total offense and found the end zone nine times while hitting the 60-point mark for the second time in 2016. Deshawn Jones rushed for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Tyler Swart threw for four scores against the Blue Tigers. 

Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting on the gridiron between the two programs since 2012. The Miners hold a 3-1 edge in the series with the Bearcats. In last season's contest played in Rolla, Mo., McKendree grabbed a 17-0 lead before Missouri S&T reeled off 27 unanswered points on its way to a 34-27 triumph. The two teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense, including 504 by the Bearcats. The lone McKendree victory in the four previous meetings came the last time the teams tangled at Leemon Field, a 27-24 win in 2014. 

Following Saturday's game, McKendree will be on the road for a pair of GLVC tilts. The Bearcats will visit Lincoln next Saturday (Oct. 29) before heading north to take on Quincy University on Nov. 5. McKendree will have one home game left after that, the Nov. 12 Senior Day match-up with Truman State University.

INSIDE THE McKENDREE/MISSOURI S&T GAME
THE HEAD COACHES
McKENDREE: Mike Babcock is in his fourth season as the head coach of the McKendree Bearcats (21-17 at McKendree and overall).

MISSSOURI S&T: Tyler Fenwick is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Missouri S&T Miners (19-20 at Missouri S&T and overall).

THE SERIES (Since 1996)
Missouri S&T holds a 3-1 advantage in the series against McKendree, which includes a 34-27 victory by the Miners last year in Rolla, Mo.:
   2012 -- Missouri S&T 31, McKENDREE 0 (at Leemon Field)
   2013 -- Missouri S&T 31, McKENDREE 21 (at Rolla, Mo.)
   2014 -- McKENDREE 27, Missouri S&T 24 (at Leemon Field)
   2015 -- Missouri S&T 34, McKENDREE 27 (at Rolla, Mo.)

McKENDREE -- LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats scored 13 points in the final 1:26 of play to rally for a 20-16 Homecoming win last Saturday at Leemon Field against Saint Joseph's College. The rally started when Elcee Burke threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Balster (Springfield, IL/Springfield) with 1:26 left to trim the Bearcats' deficit to 16-14. After McKendree held the Pumas without a first down on the ensuing drive, the Bearcats forced a punt, which was blocked by John Alvin. Weston Brown (Murrieta, CA/Murrieta Valley) scooped up the losse ball and returned it 30 yards to the SJC three-yard line. Two plays later, Burke connected with Skylar Paulson (Lanark, IL/Eastland) on the game-winning four-yard TD pass with 42.3 seconds on the clock to cap the comeback win. Burke threw three touchdown passes on the day, which is a career-high. Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) rushed for exactly 100 yards for the third consecutive game. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) registered a game-high 16 tackles, while Tobias Cook (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) added nine stops along with a forced fumble. Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) grabbed his third interception of the season on the Pumas' final drive.

MISSOURI S&T -- LAST TIME OUT
The Miners rolled to a 65-16 win last Saturday at home against Lincoln University. Missouri S&T collected 530 yards of total offense on its way to the Homecoming triumph. Deshawn Jones rushed for a game-high 136 yards and two touchdowns to help show the way. Tyler Swart completed 13-of-20 pass attempts for 215 yards along with four touchdowns. Braxton Graham led all receivers with five catches for 114 yards. Graham hauled in a pair of TD catches, including a 44-yarder in the second quarter. Mickey Sarner and Bret Curtis led a balanced defensive effort for the Miners with six tackles each. As a team, Missouri S&T had 10 quarterback sacks against the Blue Tigers.

THE LAST MEETING -- McKENDREE vs. MISSOURI S&T
On Oct. 24, 2015 in Rolla, Mo., McKendree saw a 17-point, second-quarter lead slip away as host Missouri S&T rallied to grab a 34-27 win over the Bearcats. The Miners reeled off 27 unanswered points spanning the second and third quarters to hand McKendree just its second -- and final -- loss of the season. The two squads combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense as McKendree piled up 504 yards on the day while Missouri S&T posted 498 yards. Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) topped the 300-yard mark in passing for the fifth time on the season as he threw for 304 yards and a pair of scores while rushing for another. Sean Dowling (Chatham, IL/Glenwood) had a team-high six receptions for 84 yards and caught one of Fisher's two TD passes. Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) rushed for a team-leading 84 yards on the day, 65 of which came on the first play from scrimmage. Cruz Navarro (Escondido, CA/Escondido), A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) and Tyler House (Los Angeles, CA/Glenelg) each posted 11 tackles for the Bearcats. For Missouri S&T, Dalton Major rushed for a game-high 144 yards on 28 carries. Quarterback Lamar Wilkes was 12-of-15 through the air for 211 yards. Braxton Graham and Spencer Elrod each caught four passes in the contest. Nate Brown paced the Miners' defensive effort with 11 tackles, while Landon Compton added 10 stops.

BEARCAT TRACKS
BEARCATS vs. THE SHOW-ME STATE: McKendree has a record of 14-10 against teams from the state of Missouri since 1996. The Bearcats were 4-1 against programs from the Show-Me State a year ago. McKendree will have five games against Missouri schools in 2016, and is currently 1-1 in such contests so far this year.

CARDIAC 'CATS: Last Saturday's 20-16 come-from-behind Homecoming victory over Saint Joseph's was historical in the modern era of McKendree football. It marked the first time since the program was revived in 1996 that the Bearcats scored in the final minute when trailing to rally for a win. McKendree has been tied with an opponent on several occasions heading into the final minute of reg- ulation before scoring for the win. The last time that happened was in the 2010 regular-season opener, when Austin Fisher threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Nick Jones with 17 seconds remaining to lift the Bearcats past the University of the Cumberlands, 34-27, in the Big River Bowl held in Dyersburg, Tenn.

PASSING GRADE: McKendree enters today's game having thrown at least one touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games. That streak dates back to the Missouri S&T game in Rolla, Mo., last October.

EDWARDS ON THE MARK AGAIN: Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) rushed for 100 yards in the Bearcats' Homecoming win over Saint Joseph's. That marked the third consecutive week that Edwards gained exactly 100 yards on the ground. He is also the first McKendree player to top the century mark in rushing yards for three consecutive weeks since Daryle Jones -- the Bearcats' all-time leading rusher -- accomplished the feat during the 2004 campaign.

EDWARDS CONTINUES CLIMB UP ALL-TIME RUSHING LIST: With his 100- yard effort at Southwest Baptist University, Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) became the 20th player since McKendree revived its football program in 1996 to rush for 1,000 career yards. Edwards enters the Missouri S&T contest with 1,261 yards, which is currently 15th on the program's all-time list: 11) Marlone Chenault -- 1,448 yards 12) Ryan Herring -- 1,437 yards 13) Lamont Benn -- 1,436 yards 14) Dominique Jones -- 1,344 yards 15) Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) -- 1,261 yards 16) Jason Yelton -- 1,255 yards 17) Jason Jackson -- 1,241 yards

WENTLAND CONTINUES TO TACKLE THE BEARCATS' RECORD BOOK: A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) matched his own McKendree program record for tackles in a game with 22 stops in the Bearcats' contest at Southwest Baptist University. Wentland first established the mark in the 2015 regular-season opener at West Liberty University. Wentland continues to add to his McKendree career mark for tackles, which now stands at 381. Wentland also has topped the 100-tackle mark for the third straight year, and has 105 stops entering the Missouri S&T contest. He set another record by reaching 100 tackles in the fastest time in a season (seven games).

SACK MASTERS: As a team, McKendree has registered 31 quarterback sacks so far in 2016. The Bearcats lead the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the category, and top all NCAA Division II programs by averaging 4.43 sacks per game.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Derrick Curry (Glen Ellyn, IL/Montini Catholic) already has 25 punt returns through the Bearcats' first seven games of 2016. That is the most in a season for a McKendree punt returner since current assistant coach Mike Harrison had 25 back in 2005. The Bearcats' single-season record is 42, which was set by Adam Clapp during the 2004 campaign. 21 AND OVER: McKendree sports a 120-25 record (.828) when scoring at least 21 points in a game.

UNI-TRACKER: McKendree made history of sorts against Angelo State by wearing purple uniform pants for the first time in program history. The purple pants give the Bearcats multiple uniform combinations as they can also be worn with the new white road jerseys. We will track the McKendree football record in 2016 while wearing certain combinations.
   **Graphite Jersey/Purple Pants: 1-0
   **Graphite Jersey/Graphite Pants: 3-0
   **White Jersey/Purple Pants: 0-2
   **White Jersey/Graphite Pants: 0-1

RECORDS WATCH: A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) (tackles) and Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (quarterback sacks) have already eclipsed McKendree career records they were chasing entering the 2016 season. The following McKendree players on the 2016 roster have a chance to become the Bearcats' career leader in at least one statistical category. Listed below are those players, with their current rank and the statistics needed to become the all-time leader in the respective categories:

LUCKY BAAR
• Tackles for Loss -- Second all-time with 56.5. Oku Satcher holds the Bearcats' career record with 59.
• Forced Fumbles: Third all-time with seven. Zach Carter and Deveon Moss lead the way with eight.

STEVEN O'BLOCK
• Kick Scoring -- Third all-time with 232 points. Stephen Webb set the Bearcats' career mark with 253.

SEAN DOWLING
• Receiving Yards -- Sixth all-time with 1,242. Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) closed his McKendree career last year with a program-record 1,614 receiving yards.

THIS DATE IN McKENDREE FOOTBALL HISTORY
Oct. 22, 2005
McKendree registered a 27-3 Homecoming victory at Leemon Field against the University of St. Francis (Ill.). Two running backs registered career-high days for the Bearcats as George Smith rushed for 108 yards on 17 carries while Adam Radno gained 81 yards on 10 attempts. Each had a touchdown run as McKendree posted its 10th consecutive victory on Homecoming. A second-quarter field goal by the visiting Saints marked the first points allowed at home all season for the Bearcats, who had outscored their opponents 148-0 entering the contest. The shutout streak for McKendree spanned 209 minutes and nine seconds, which dated back to a 2004 NAIA Football Championship Series game against MidAmerica Nazarene University.

Oct. 22, 2011
McKendree posted its first victory of the 2011 season with a 24-9 Homecoming win at Leemon Field over Trinity International University. The Bearcats built a 24-0 lead through three quarters and made it stand to snap a six-game losing streak to open the year. Chris Montgomery led a balanced rushing attack with 69 yards, including a three-yard run to score the first points of the day. Nick Lutker caught a six-yard touchdown pass from David Bergschneider, while Terry Fenton added a 48-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Jason Rejfek paced the Bearcats' defense with 10 tackles and an interception, while Jamison Wilson contributed nine stops.