(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Oct. 29)—The McKendree University posted season-high totals in points and total offense on its way to a 55-3 win Saturday afternoon in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at Lincoln University.
 
The Bearcats piled up 556 yards of total offense and topped the 50-point mark for the first time this season in pushing their win streak to a season-high three games. McKendree improves to 6-3 overall and is now 4-2 in the GLVC. The Bearcats will look to continue their winning ways next Saturday (Nov. 5) on the road against in-state foe Quincy University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
 
Making his first career start at quarterback, Reece Metcalf (Mount Carmel, IL/Mount Carmel) completed 20-of-23 pass attempts for 338 yards. He connected on his first 10 throws and also added 40 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
 
For the second straight week, junior running back Preston Thompson (Markham, IL/Tinley Park) topped the 100-yard mark, posting career-high totals of 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Thompson scored the Bearcats' first three touchdowns to help McKendree build a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter.
 
Senior kicker Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic) booted a pair of field goals while converting seven extra points on a day when he became the all-time kick scoring leader at McKendree. With his 13 points at Lincoln, O'Block boosted his career total to 261, surpassing the previous mark of 253 set by Stephen Webb, who played for the Bearcats from 2002-05.
 
McKendree's defensive unit also provided the final two touchdowns of the afternoon against the Blue Tigers. Junior defensive back Derrick Curry (Glen Ellyn, IL/Montini Catholic) recovered a fumble in the Lincoln end zone with just over six minutes to play, and freshman linebacker Michael Tucker (Chicago, IL/North Lawndale College Prep) capped the victory with a 33-yard interception return for a score three minutes later. The Bearcats limited Lincoln to just 168 yards of total offense on the day, which is a season-low for a McKendree opponent. The Bearcats also had four takeaways in the victory.
 
"It was great to see another complete team effort out there today," said McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock. "We always talk to our players about being the 'next man up', to be ready when your number is called. For guys like Reece and Preston, and even Michael and Derrick, these are guys who prepared well and were able to step in and perform when it was their turn to get on the field. That is what makes wins like we had today even more meaningful."
 
Just like it did a week earlier in its 40-7 home win over Missouri S&T, McKendree scored on each of its first two possessions at Lincoln. After the defense forced the Blue Tigers into a three-and-out on the first drive of the game, the Bearcats started its first drive of the day at its own 48-yard line. Runs of 11 and 21 yards by Thompson were followed by a 16-yard completion from Metcalf to sophomore tight end Skylar Paulson (Lanark, IL/Eastland) to put the ball at the Lincoln four-yard line. Thompson took a handoff on the next play and scored, with O'Block's extra point giving the Bearcats a quick 7-0 lead.
 
Thompson added runs of 16, 16 and 25 yards on the Bearcats' next possession, and he finished the drive with a one-yard plunge to extend the McKendree advantage to 14-0 midway through the first quarter. Thompson recorded his third scoring run of the afternoon, a seven-yarder on the first play of the second period, to give the Bearcats a 21-point cushion.
 
O'Block made it 24-0 on a 31-yard field goal with 9:34 left until halftime. That kick was the one that gave O'Block the Bearcats' kick scoring record. After Lincoln's Alex Templeton drilled a 48-yard field goal with 1:51 remaining until intermission to give Lincoln (1-8, 0-6 GLVC) its only points of the day, McKendree responded by executing the two-minute drill to grab a 31-3 lead just before the half. Metcalf went 4-for-4 for 68 yards on the drive, which he punctuated with a one-yard quarterback keeper with 43 seconds on the clock to give the Bearcats a 28-point bulge at the break.
 
Junior quarterback Elcee Burke III (Chicago, IL/Simeon) provided the only scoring of the third quarter with a one-yard touchdown run to stretch the Bearcats' lead to 38-3. O'Block tacked on a 22-yard field goal in the early stages of the fourth quarter before the McKendree defense produced the final two touchdowns of the day. First, Lincoln fumbled on a rushing play at its own two-yard line. The ball bounced into the Blue Tigers' end zone, where Curry outraced two Lincoln players to recover the ball for the touchdown and a 48-3 McKendree lead.
 
On the ensuing possession by Lincoln, Tucker stepped in front of a pass at the Blue Tigers' 33-yard line, sidestepped two would-be tacklers and tip-toed down the right sideline for the score with 3:24 to play. That marked the Bearcats' second interception return for a touchdown this season.
 
Senior linebacker A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) led a balanced defensive effort for McKendree with eight tackles. Junior defensive back Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep) and junior defensive lineman Darion Simmons (Peoria, IL/Peoria) each added five stops. Simmons and junior defensive end Tobias Cook (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) each had 1 ½ sacks on the day for the Bearcats, who had sacked Lincoln quarterback Andrew McIntyre four times on the day. Senior defensive end Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) had the other sack on the afternoon, pushing his career total to 43 ½ at McKendree.