GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. WEST LIBERTY -- Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, 1 p.m. -- Leemon Field, Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS

McKENDREE/WEST LIBERTY VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH BABCOCK
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
WEST LIBERTY GAME NOTES
WEST LIBERTY SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 8)--The McKendree University football team looks to build on its season-opening win from last Thursday by hosting West LIberty University in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at Leemon Field. Kickoff between the Bearcats and Hilltoppers is set for 1 p.m. The contest will air live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, beginning with the pre-game show at 12:45 p.m.

McKendree won its regular-season opener for the second consecutive year thanks to a 33-19 come-from-behind triumph last Thursday night at Leemon Field against Angelo State University. The Bearcats trailed 19-9 at the intermission before a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown from junior cornerback Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep) ignited a run of 24 unanswered points to rally for the win. McKendree also rode a strong relief effort from junior quarterback Elcee Burke, who was subbing for injured starter Brendan Fred. In a little more than a quarter of work, Burke threw for 75 yards and a score while adding 56 yards on the ground, 31 of which came on a spectacular scoring run late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. 

The Bearcats' defense played a huge role in last Thursday's win, coming up with six takeaways against the Rams. Powell led the charge with a pair of interceptions on the night. Senior linebacker A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) found himself in the middle of the action most of the night, leading all players with 14 tackles. He now has 290 career tackles at McKendree and needs five more to tie Brandon Nigro for the Bearcats' career record. 

With the win, McKendree has now won 14 of its last 16 regular-season contests dating back to the 2014 season. 

West Liberty nearly rallied from a 19-point deficit in its season opener last Saturday at Concord University but came up just short in a 32-25 loss. The Hilltoppers, who were 5-6 last season, have now dropped their season lid-lifter in six of the past seven years. West Liberty will be looking for a measure of revenge against McKendree on Saturday after the Bearcats rolled to a 50-27 triumph in last year's meeting in West Virginia. In that contest, Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) set a Bearcats' program record with six touchdown passes. 

INSIDE THE McKENDREE/WEST LIBERTY GAME
THE HEAD COACHES
McKENDREE: Mike Babcock is in his fourth season as the head coach of the McKendree Bearcats (18-14 at McKendree and overall). 

WEST LIBERTY: Roger Waialae is in his 12th season as the head coach of the West Liberty Hilltoppers (67-56 at West Liberty and overall). 

THE SERIES (Since 1996)
McKendree won the only meeting between the two programs, which came last season in West LIberty, W.Va., in the Bearcats' 2015 season opener. 
   2015 -- McKENDREE 50, West Liberty 27 (at West Liberty, W.Va.)

McKENDREE -- LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to post a 33-19 victory over Angelo State University last Thursday in the 2015 season opener at Leemon Field. McKendree scored 24 unanswered points in the second half to overcome a 19-9 deficit at the break to collect the win. Defensively, the Bearcats forced six turnovers, picking off three passes while recovering three fumbles. Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep) led the way with a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned 50 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. In all, McKendree scored 24 of its 33 points off Angelo State turnovers. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) registered a game-high 14 tackles, including three for loss. Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) had eight stops and an interception against the Rams. Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park), who had five tackles, notched three of the Bearcats' six quarterback sacks in the contest. After subbing for injured starter Brendan Fred, quarterback Elcee Burke completed 6-of-8 pass attempts for 75 yards with a touchdown while running for 56 more yards and a score. Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) broke the Bearcats' single-game record with 34 carries on the night, gaining a game-high 81 yards in the process. 

WEST LIBERTY -- LAST TIME OUT
The Hilltoppers nearly overcame a 19-point, third-quarter deficit but came up short in a 32-25 loss at Concord University to open the 2015 campaign last Saturday. Dakota Conwell connected on 19-of-33 passes for 254 yards with three touchdowns on the day. His favorite target was Anton McCallum, who had eight catches for 103 yards with a pair of TD grabs. Conwell also led West Liberty on the ground with 61 yards on 23 carries. Cordell Felder and Garrett Vulcano shared team-high honors on the defensive side with nine tackles. Solomon Dixon chipped in with seven solo stops along with a pair of pass break-ups. 

LAST MEETING -- McKENDREE vs. WEST LIBERTY
On Sept. 12, 2015 in West Liberty, W.Va., McKendree built a 30-13 halftime lead and never looked back on its way to a 50-27 triumph against the Hilltoppers in the Bearcats' 2015 regular-season opener. McKendree piled up 582 yards of total offense on the day, with Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) doing most of the damage. Fisher set a program record by throwing six touchdown passes against West Liberty, including four in the first half. He was 27-of-36 on the day for 353 yards in his record-setting effort while adding 125 rushing yards on 16 carries. Dustin Walls (Champaign, IL/Centennial) hauled in six passes for 93 yards to lead the Bearcats' receiving corps. Walls and Sean Dowling (Chatham, IL/Glenwood) each caught two touchdown tosses from Fisher on the day. Defensively, A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) found his way into the record books by registering 22 tackles against the Hilltoppers. Wentland eclipsed the previous mark of 21 set by the late Cory Wilson in a 2003 game at Saint Xavier University. George Hill (Chicago Heights, IL/Rich Central) added eight tackles on the day for McKendree. 

BEARCAT TRACKS
THE RARE BACK-TO-BACK: Today's game will mark just the third time since McKendree revived its football program prior to the 1996 season that the Bearcats will play their first two games of the regular season at Leemon Field. McKendree opened with consecutive home games during the 2004 and 2006 seasons. 

ON A (NON-CONFERENCE) ROLL: McKendree has won its last three non-conference games dating back to last season. That is the longest such streak for the Bearcats since winning four consecutive non-conference tilts spanning the 2009-10 seasons. 

RALLY 'CATS: Last Thursday's come-from-behind victory over Angelo State marked the fourth time in the Mike Babcock Era that the McKendree football team overcame a double-digit deficit to rally for a win. The last time it happened came against Northwood University early in 2015 campaign. The Bearcats trailed the Timberwolves 24-13 before scoring the final 14 points to post a 27-24 triumph at Leemon Field. 

POWELL'S PICK-SIX: Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep) returned his second interception of the Angelo State game 50 yards for a touchdown to spark the Bearcats' rally in the contest. It marked the longest pick-six for McKendree since Zach Haselhorst stepped in front of a pass and returned it 50 yards for a TD in a 2012 game at Tiffin University. 

EDWARDS RUNS TO A McKENDREE RECORD: Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) broke the McKendree program record for carries in a game during the Bearcats' win over Angelo State. Edwards rushed the ball 34 times in the effort, breaking the old mark of 30, which was set by Daryle Jones in a 2004 contest against Saint Ambrose University. 

PILING UP THE POINTS: In its last 16 regular-season games, McKendree has posted a 14-2 record. The Bearcats have scored in double figures in each of those games, and are averaging 39.1 points per contest during that span. McKendree has hit the 50-point mark five times in that stretch. 

FISHER SHINES IN FINLAND: After closing out a record-setting career last fall at McKendree, quarterback Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) continued his playing career professionally this summer as a member of the Wasa Royals of the Maple League (Vaahteraliigc) in Finland. Fisher led the Royals to the league's post-season, completing nearly 60 percent of his pass attempts for 2,477 yards with 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for 546 yards and eight more scores. 

ELITE 11: McKendree will have 11 seniors on its 2016 roster: Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park), Tyler Brewer (Arnold, MO/Fox), Sean Dowling (Chatham, IL/Glenwood), Tyler House (Los Angeles, CA/Glenelg), Brandon Moody (La Habra, CA/Sonora), Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic), Clint Ratermann (Breese, IL/Mater Dei), A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem), Jeremiah Wilkins (St. Louis, MO/Pattonville), Jabaree Winston (Chicago, IL/Simeon) and Brandon Zehr (Pontiac, IL/Pontiac). 

BEARCATS TO FACE FAMILIAR FCS FOE: McKendree will be playing its first Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) opponent since the 2000 season when the team travels to Drake University for a Sept. 17 contest. The last FCS team that the Bearcats faced was...Drake University. In that meeting, the host Bulldogs posted a 28-11 victory over McKendree in the Bearcats' 2000 season opener. 

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: 0-0
**White Jersey/White Pants: 0-0
**White Jersey/Purple Pants: 0-0
**White Jersey/Graphite Pants: 0-0

RECORDS WATCH: Four 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:

A.J. WENTLAND
• Career Tackles -- Second all-time with 290. Brandon Nigro holds the Bearcats' all-time mark with 295 tackles. 

LUCKY BAAR
• Tackles for Loss -- Second all-time with 47. Oku Satcher holds the Bearcats' career record with 59.
• Quarterback Sacks: Second all-time with 32. Oku Satcher is the program's all-time leader with 38. 
• Forced Fumbles: Tied for third with six. Zach Carter and Deveon Moss lead the way with eight.

STEVEN O'BLOCK
• Kick Scoring -- Third all-time with 205 points. Stephen Webb set the Bearcats' career mark with 253. 

SEAN DOWLING
• Receiving Yards -- Sixth all-time with 946. Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) closed his McKendree last year with a program-record 1,614 yards. 

SIX THOUSAND AND COUNTING: With its 33-point outburst in the 2016 season opener against Angelo State, the McKendree football program has now scored more than 6,000 points since returning to the gridiron in 1996. The Bearcats boosted their total points scored to 6,021. 

21 AND OVER: McKendree sports a 119-24 record (.832) when scoring at least 21 points in a game. 

LONGEST PLAYS IN TEAM HISTORY (Since 1996)
RUSH: 90 yards by Brandon Murphy vs. Iowa Wesleyan, 2000*
PASS: 85 yards by Dan Loudenslager to Zach Atkins vs. Georgetown, 2008*
KICKOFF RETURN: 100 yards by Brandon Murphy vs. Olivet Nazarene, 1997*; 100 yards by Ryan Keen vs. Tiffin, 2013*
PUNT RETURN: 86 yards by Adam Clapp vs. Quincy, 2004*
INTERCEPTION RETURN: 100 yards by Lawrence Davis vs. William Penn, 2007*
FIELD GOAL: 51 yards by Jordan Fark vs. University of the Cumberlands, 2010
PUNT: 74 yards by Mark Albertini vs. Saint Francis (Ind.), 1999
* -- Touchdown

THIS DATE IN BEARCAT FOOTBALL HISTORY
Sept. 10, 2011
McKendree dropped a 30-27 heartbreaker in the Bearcats' 2011 season opener at Leemon Field. After trailing by 14 points early in the third quarter, McKendree rallied to tie the contest at 27-27 five-yard touchdown pass from Austin Fisher to Jake Strausbaugh with just 44 seconds left to play. The visiting Pioneers took the ensuing kickoff and marched to the Bearcats' 23-yard line in the closing seconds. A 40-yard field goal attempt was missed wide to the left, but McKendree was flagged for running into the kicker. The second chance resulted in a game-winning 35-yard field goal for Malone with no time on the clock. Fisher threw for a career-high 299 yards with three touchdowns on the day, two of which went to Strausbaugh. Brandon Nigro paced the McKendree defense with a game-high 15 tackles, including three for loss. Michael Romshek added seven stops and an interception for the Bearcats.