(KIRKSVILLE, Mo., Nov. 11)—The McKendree University football team saw its three-game win streak come to an end Saturday afternoon in the final game of its 2017 season at Truman State University, 17-14.
The Bearcats raced to a 14-0 lead after scoring on the first play of the second quarter, but the host Bulldogs used a patient rushing attack that controlled the clock over the final three quarters to rally for the win. McKendree closes its season with an overall record of 7-4 and finished tied for second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings at 5-2.
"My hat's off to Coach (Gregg) Nesbitt and Truman State for the way they battled back and kept their composure," said McKendree head coach
Mike Babcock. "They kept picking up yards and some big third downs, especially in the second half. At the same time, their defense limited our opportunities and kept us off the field. Obviously it's not the result we wanted but we fought all the way until the end."
Senior linebacker Austin Weltha registered a game-high 20 tackles, marking the second time this season that he reached the 20-tackle mark. Fellow senior linebacker Kyle Kirkpatrick was in on a career-best 16 tackles, while sophomore linebacker Michael Tucker and sophomore defensive lineman Peyton Renken each contributed 10 stops.
With his 20 tackles, Weltha finished third on McKendree's career list with 286 stops. He also closed the year with a team-leading 128 tackles, which is good for fourth place on the program's single-season chart.
Senior running back Shayeen Edwards wrapped up his McKendree playing career with a team-leading 87 rushing yards on 20 carries. Edwards became just the third Bearcat since 1996 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, posting 1,035 yards to move into second place on the team's single-season list. Edwards registered 2,490 rushing yards in his four seasons with the Bearcats to finish second on the all-time chart.
Saturday's game at Truman State was scoreless until late in the first quarter, when Edwards capped a seven-play, 53-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Edward's 10
th rushing touchdown of 2017, followed by the extra point from freshman kicker Josh Lazaro, gave the Bearcats a 7-0 advantage with 3:09 left in the opening quarter.
On the opening play of the second quarter, junior quarterback Reece Metcalf connected with junior wide receiver Jalyn Williams over the middle on a 48-yard touchdown pass, extending the McKendree lead to 14-0 with 14:51 remaining until halftime.
Truman State (5-6, 4-3 GLVC) then took the ensuing kickoff and returned it to the Bearcats' 48-yard line. Eight plays later, Jordan Salima burst into the end zone from nine yards out to cut the McKendree lead in half at 14-7.
As the first half wound down, the Bulldogs marched deep into McKendree territory and was poised to tie the contest. Truman State reached the Bearcats' one-yard line and had the ball in a first-and-goal situation. Tucker had a tackle for loss back to the four-yard line before he combined with Weltha on another stop behind the line of scrimmage back to the five. After a quarterback scramble put the ball back at the one-yard line, Truman State elected to keep the offense out on the field for a fourth-down play. Tucker and senior defensive back Weston Brown stopped an inside handoff to the Bulldogs' fullback shy of the goal line, ending the scoring threat with 57.5 seconds left until the intermission.
The only score of the third quarter came thanks to a 15-play drive for Truman State that consumed nearly nine minutes. Quarterback Jaden Barr connected with tight end Jake Ellis on a four-yard touchdown pass with 1:42 remaining in the period to knot the score at 14-14.
A 21-yard field goal by Danny Spencer with 9:12 remaining put the Bulldogs in front for good at 17-14. After McKendree's final drive ended with a punt, Truman State reached midfield with just under three minutes left. The Bulldogs were forced to punt, but a muffed punt was recovered by Truman State at the Bearcats' 23-yard line with 2:28 on the clock. Truman State picked up one final first down to run out the clock to preserve the victory.
After McKendree grabbed a 14-0 lead in the contest, Truman State held the ball for nearly 38 minutes in possession time. The Bulldogs had 21 first downs in the game, 19 of which came via the run.
