GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at ANGELO STATE -- Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, 6 p.m.
LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field -- San Angelo, Texas

LISTEN LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
WATCH LIVE (Angelo State Broadcast)
ANGELO STATE PREVIEW WITH COACH BABCOCK

McKENDREE GAME NOTES
FINAL 2016 McKENDREE STATISTICS
ANGELO STATE GAME NOTES
FINAL 2016 ANGELO STATE STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Aug. 30)—The McKendree University will make its longest regular-season road trip in program history to kick off the 2017 campaign Thursday evening at Angelo State University. The Bearcats will tangle at 6 p.m. at LeGrand Stadium at 1^st Community Credit Union Field in San Angelo, Texas. Thursday's season opener can be heard live for free on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, with the pre-game show beginning at 5:45 p.m.
 
McKendree is coming off consecutive eight-win seasons after posting an 8-3 overall record in 2016. The Bearcats were 6-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, finishing third in the final league standings. McKendree was perfect at home last year, winning all six of its games played on the Leemon Field turf. However, the Bearcats will look to reverse their road play from a year ago, when the team won just two of its five outings away from Lebanon.
 
Thursday's contest will open the 22^nd season on the gridiron for McKendree after the Bearcats' program was revived for the 1996 season. McKendree is 13-8 (.619) in season-opening contests during that span. The Bearcats have opened three of the last four seasons with a victory.
 
This will mark the second straight year that McKendree and Angelo State will square off in the regular-season for each squad. Back on Sept. 1, 2016 at Leemon Field, the Bearcats reeled off 24 unanswered points in the second half to rally for a 33-19 win over the Rams. Senior cornerback Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep) sparked the second-half outburst with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the second interception of the night for Powell, who tied for the team lead with three picks in 2016.
 
Senior Elcee Burke, who came on in relief at quarterback in the third quarter, threw for a score and ran for a 31-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the comeback win for McKendree.
 
Angelo State wrapped up its 2016 season with a 5-6 overall record and a 4-5 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The match-up with McKendree will mark the first of seven home games for the Rams, who went 2-2 at LeGrand Stadium a year ago. Quarterback Jake Faber, who threw for 886 yards and six touchdowns in 2016, started against the Bearcats at Leemon Field and went 10-of-19 for 95 yards with three interceptions in the contest.
 
Since 1964, Angelo State is 29-23-1 in season openers. The Rams are 41-12 in home openers during that span, including victories in 10 of their last 11.
 
Beginning with Thursday night's game at Angelo State, McKendree will play three of its first four games on the road in 2017. The Bearcats will host Kentucky State University in the home opener next Saturday (Sept. 9) at Leemon Field before hitting the road for a non-conference affair at Hillsdale College in Michigan on Sept. 16, followed by the GLVC opener at William Jewell on Sept. 23.
 
FINAL 2016 Record --
McKENDREE: The McKendree University Bearcats went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference during the 2016 season.
ANGELO STATE: The Angelo State University Rams posted an overall record of 5-6 and a mark of 4-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
The Head Coaches --
McKENDREE: Mike Babcock begins his fifth season as the head coach of the McKendree Bearcats (25-17 at McKendree and overall).
ANGELO STATE: Will Wagner enters his seventh season as the head coach of the Angelo State Rams (36-31 at Angelo State and overall).
 
The Series (since 1996) --
The Bearcats won the only previous meeting between the two programs, which came in the season opener for both squads last season at Leemon Field:
2016 -- McKENDREE 33, Angelo State 19 (at Leemon Field)
 
McKendree -- Last Time Out...
The Bearcats closed the 2016 season back on Nov. 12, 2016 with a convincing 41-14 victory on Senior Day at Leemon Field against Truman State University. The win was the fifth in a row for McKendree, marking the second time in three years that the Bearcats closed a season on a five-game win streak. McKendree rolled up a 31-7 lead early in the third quarter and never looked back in cruising to the win. Preston Thompson (Markham, IL/Tinley Park) rushed for a game-high 131 yards on 17 carries to lead the Bearcats' offensive attack. Reece Metcalf (Mount Carmel, IL/Mount Carmel) went 16-of-23 through the air for 157 yards with a pair of TD passes. Special teams played a big role in the win as McKendree set a program record with three blocked punts in the outing. Derrick Curry (Glen Ellyn, IL/Montini Catholic) also registered a 90-yard kickoff return for a score. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) closed out a stellar career with a game-high 12 tackles, while Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) became the NCAA Division II career sack leader with a takedown of Truman State quarterback Jaden Barr in the second quarter. Baar finished his career with 46 1/2 career sacks.
 
Angelo State -- Last Time Out...
The Rams wrapped up their 2016 season in high-scoring fashion thanks to a 70-21 home win over the University of Texas-Permian Basin. Angelo State rolled up 580 yards of total offense in the shootout, which featured more than 1,000 combined yards of total offense between the two schools. Angelo State broke open a close game by reeling off 42 unanswered points to take a 49-7 lead. Jake Faber threw for 282 yards and three scores while adding 94 rushing yards and a trio of rushing TD's. Lawson Ayo and Josh Stevens each had a team-best four receptions in the win, while Mark Munson grabbed a pair of touchdown passes. Justin Jackson reached double figures to pace the Rams' defense with 11 tackles.
 
LAST MEETING -- McKendree vs. Angelo State...
On Sept. 1, 2016 at Leemon Field, McKendree rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to notch a 33-19 victory over Angelo State in the season opener for both squads. The Bearcats outscored the Rams 17-0 in a decisive third quarter to take the lead for good. Nate Powell (Chicago, IL/King College Prep)'s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter helped fuel the comeback, while Elcee Burke threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the closing minutes to seal the win for the Bearcats. Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) rushed for a game-high 81 yards on a school-record 34 carries, while Burke finished 6-of-8 through the air for 75 yards. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) paced the McKendree defensive effort with 14 tackles, while Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) chipped in with eight stops.
 
PRE-SEASON NOTES --
BEARCATS TABBED THIRD IN 2017 GLVC PRE-SEASON POLL: McKendree was picked to finish third in the 2017 Great Lakes Valley Conference race when the league's pre-season poll was released in late July. The Bearcats have posted consecutive eight-win seasons and went 6-2 in GLVC action a year ago.
 
SIMMONS GARNERS PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICA MENTION FROM LINDY'S: Senior defensive lineman Darion Simmons (Peoria, IL/Peoria) was the lone McKendree representative selected to the 2017 Lindy's NCAA Division II Pre-Season All-America Team. Simmons earned second-team honors after a breakout season in 2016, when he posted career-highs with 15 1/2 tackles for loss and 11 1/2 quarterback sacks.
 
FISHER RETURNS TO McKENDREE SIDELINES AS ASSISTANT COACH: Former McKendree standout quarterback Isaac Fisher has rejoined the Bearcats' program in 2017 as a graduate assistant football coach. Fisher, the 2015 GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, holds every McKendree career and single-season passing record, and is also the program's career leader with 10,257 yards of total offense in his four-year career.
 
BEARCAT TRACKS --
FOR OPENERS...: McKendree has posted a record of 13-8 (.619) in season-opening games, dating back to the Bearcats' return to the gridiron in 1996. The Bearcats have won each of their last two season openers (50-27 at West Liberty in 2015 and 33-19 at home against Angelo State in 2016). In road openers, McKendree has a record of 9-12 (.429) during that same 21-year span.
 
BEARCATS vs. THE LONE STAR STATE: McKendree has only played one opponent from Texas -- and that occured in last year's season opener at Leemon Field against Angelo State University. The Bearcats rallied in the second half for a 33-19 triumph.
 
THROWBACK THURSDAY: The 2017 season opener will mark the third time in program history that the Bearcats will kick off a new year with a Thursday night contest. McKendree is 1-1 in those previous match-ups, falling to Ferris State University in 2014 before the win over Angelo State in 2016.
 
THEY CALL IT THE STREAK: McKendree closed out the 2016 season by winning its last five games. It marked the second time in the past three seasons that the Bearcats reeled off five consecutive wins to end a season. McKendree also won its final five contests back in 2014.
 
SACK MASTERS: As a team, McKendree led all NCAA Division II institutions in quarterback sacks per game. The Bearcats racked up a school-record 53 sacks in 2016, which equaled out to 4.82 sacks per contest. 
 
HOME PERFECTION: McKendree won all six of its home games during the 2016 season. That marked the first time since the 2010 campaign that the Bearcats closed a season wtih an unblemished record at home.
 
EDWARDS CONTINUES CLIMB UP ALL-TIME RUSHING LIST: In 2016, 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 has pushed his career total to 1,455 yards, which is currently 11th on the program's all-time list:
7) Isaac Fisher -- 1,749 yards
8) Allen Walter -- 1,692 yards
9) Joe Beimfohr -- 1,652 yards
10) Jacob Rohman -- 1,592 yards
11) Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) -- 1,455 yards
12) Marlone Chenault -- 1,448 yards
13) Ryan Herring -- 1,437 yards
14) Lamont Benn -- 1,436 yards
 
21 AND OVER: McKendree sports a 124-25 record (.832) when scoring at least 21 points in a game.
 
'CATS IN THE DOG DAYS: Tonight's game at Angelo State will mark the fifth contest all-time for McKendree played in the month of August. The Bearcats are 2-2 in the previous four August outings:
1998 -- Quincy 27, McKENDREE 17 (Aug. 29)
2002 -- McKENDREE 55, Quincy 20 (Aug. 31)
2009 -- Ottawa 31, McKENDREE 21 (Aug. 29)
2010 -- McKENDREE 34, Cumberlands (Ky.) 27 (Aug. 28)
 
UNDER THE LIGHTS: McKendree will be playing its 23rd night game since reviving the football program in 1996. The Bearcats have a record of 14-8 (.636) under the lights over that span. Tonight's game at Angelo State will also mark the first of four night contests for the Bearcats, with the other late starts coming at Hillsdale College on Sept. 16, at Missouri S&T on Oct. 21 and at home versus Quincy University on Nov. 4.
 
UNI-TRACKER: McKendree used five different uniform combinations during the 2016 season. Below are the records for the Bearcats while wearing each combo. We will again track the McKendree football record in 2017 while wearing certain combinations.
**Graphite Jersey/Purple Pants: 2-0
**Graphite Jersey/Graphite Pants: 4-0
**White Jersey/Purple Pants: 0-2
**White Jersey/Graphite Pants: 1-1
**White Jersey/White Pants: 1-0
 
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: 90 yards by Derrick Curry (Glen Ellyn, IL/Montini Catholic) vs. Truman State, 2016*
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: 78 yards by Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland) vs. West Liberty, 2016
* -- Touchdown
 
This Date in Bearcat Football History...
Aug. 31, 2002
McKendree kicked off its 2002 season with a 55-20 drubbing of Quincy University. The Bearcats racked up a season-high 581 yards of total offense, which included 419 rushing yards on the road against the Hawks. Mark Albertini tied a then-school record by rushing for three touchdowns, while Tyler Pankey threw for a career-best 162 yarsd and two touchdowns. McKendree's special teams unit also contributed to the victory as the Bearcats blocked two punts and an extra-point attempt. Darius Green paced the McKendree defense with eight tackles. The win served as a precursor for one of the most successful seasons in program history, as the Bearcats went on to notch a school-record 11 victories and reached the semifinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series for the first (and only) time. Two weeks following the season-opening win at Quincy, the Bearcats traveled to central Kentucky and knocked off the NAIA's top-ranked team, Georgetown College, on a last-second field goal by freshman Stephen Webb.