GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at CHOWAN -- Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, 1 p.m. ET
Garrison Stadium -- Murfreesboro, N.C.

CHOWAN VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH BABCOCK
LISTEN LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
WATCH LIVE (Chowan Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
CHOWAN GAME NOTES
CHOWAN SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 20)--The McKendree University football team will close out the non-conference portion of its 2018 season with its longest road trip of the season. The Bearcats will travel to Murfreesboro, N.C., for a Saturday meeting against Chowan University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET (noon CT) at Garrison Stadium. The game will be carried live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, beginning with the pre-game show at 12:45 p.m. ET (11:45 a.m. CT). 

McKendree will look to rebound from its first loss of the season last Saturday, a 47-41 setback at home against Bowie State University. Reece Metcalf (Mount Carmel, IL/Mount Carmel) continued his strong start to the 2018 season by matching a school record with six touchdown passes against the Bulldogs. He threw for four of his scores over the final 22:05 of play as McKendree nearly rallied from a 28-point deficit. Metcalf also threw for a career-best 354 yards on 25-of-44 passing at Leemon Field. For his efforts, Metcalf garnered his second straight Great Lakes Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Thanks to his six-TD performance against Bowie State, Metcalf now has 13 touchdown passes on the season. That matches his total from the entire 2017 campaign. Metcalf enters Saturday's contest at Chowan leading all NCAA Division II passers in passing TDs, points responsible for (78) and points responsible for per game (26.0 PPG). He is also fourth in the nation with a 193.7 passer rating.

Preston Thompson (Hazel Crest, IL/Tinley Park) gained a team-best 51 yards on the ground against Bowie State, pushing his career total to 967. Thompson needs 33 yards to become the 21st player since McKendree revived its football program in 1996 to rush for 1,000 career yards. 

Offensively, McKendree leads the GLVC in scoring offense (36.3 PPG), total offense (452 YPG), passing offense (290.7 YPG) and passing efficiency (193.6 rating). The Bearcats also top the league in third-down conversions at 53.7 percent. Among NCAA Division II programs, McKendree is tied for the top spot in red zone offense, scoring on all 11 of its trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line. 

Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), matched a career-high with 14 tackles in last week's contest versus Bowie State. Through three games, Gipson paces the Bearcats' defense with 31 tackles. Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) is second on the squad with 19 stops, while Jason Bennett has posted 17 tackles. 

Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland) had another big week punting the football for McKendree, averaging 46.3 yards on six kicks with a long of 64 yards. Wolke sits 14th in NCAA Division II wih his 44-yard average through three contests. 

Following the Chowan contest, McKendree will make the 14-hour trip back to Lebanon to begin preparations for GLVC play next Saturday. The Bearcats will visit Quincy University Sept. 29 with kickoff set for 6 p.m. 

ABOUT CHOWAN
The Hawks will bring an 0-2 overall record into Saturday's game with McKendree. Chowan was scheduled to play last Saturday at Shaw University, but the game was postponed due to Hurricane Florence and rescheduled for Nov. 10. Both of Chowan's games to date have come against BCS opponents, falling 49-26 to Campbell University and 59-28 to Davidson College.

In addition to putting up 27 points per game, Chowan is averaging 369 yards per game in total offense. Bryce Witt has completed just under 58 percent of his pass attempts for 402 yards with three touchdowns. Torry Baker leads the Hawks with 14 catches for 185 yards with a pair of TD grabs. Sha'von Harkless has logged the other three scoring receptions for Chowan this season. On the ground, Tyrell Freeman has rushed for a team-leading 148 yards on 33 carries. 

Defensively, Chowan is paced by Dre Terry, Josh Berrry and Antwuan Hicks, who share team-high honors with 13 tackles. Hicks also has recorded a pair of fumble recoveries for the Hawks. 

Chowan marks the Bearcats' second consecutive Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) opponent for McKendree. Bowie State is also a member of the CIAA.