(MURFREESBORO, N.C., Sept. 22)—The McKendree University football team closed out the non-conference portion of its 2018 schedule on Saturday with a 55-45 loss Saturday afternoon at Chowan University.
 
A trio of McKendree seniors had big days on the offensive side of the ball as the Bearcats dropped their second consecutive non-conference game to fall to 2-2 on the season. McKendree will kick off Great Lakes Valley Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 29) with a visit to Quincy University. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
 
Senior quarterback Reece Metcalf (Mount Carmel, IL/Mount Carmel) accounted for five touchdowns on the day for McKendree. Metcalf threw for four scores, marking his fourth straight multi-TD passing performance to open the 2018 season. He also added a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Metcalf was 27-of-44 through the air for 305 yards. It was his second 300-yard passing game in as many weeks.
 
Senior running back Preston Thompson (Hazel Crest, IL/Tinley Park) became the 21st player in McKendree history to collect 1,000 yards on the ground as he rushed for a game-high 146 yards on 20 carries. Thompson boosted his career total to 1,113 yards with his effort against Chowan. Senior wide receiver Josh Revay (Livermore, CA/Granada) matched a career-high with eight receptions against the Hawks. Revay had 113 receiving yards and hauled in two first-half touchdown passes.
 
"I really give a lot of credit to Chowan," said McKendree football coach Mike Babcock. "They took advantage of some opportunities throughout the game that swung the momentum in their favor. They sustained drives when they needed to, yet were able to produce some big plays as well. At the same time we did not make the most of our chances. We need to put in a good week moving forward as we get ready for GLVC play at Quincy,"
 
After junior wide receiver Matt Cole (Chicago, IL/Curie) returned the opening kickoff to midfield, McKendree needed just seven plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Metcalf capped the drive with an 18-yard scoring strike to Revay, and sophomore kicker Josh Lazaro's (Bradley, IL/Bradley-Bourbonnais) extra point pushed the Bearcats to an early advantage. Chowan (1-2) struck moments later on a 79-yard TD pass from Bryce Witt to Paul Gooden to knot the contest at 7-7.
 
On the ensuing possession, Metcalf threw a four-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Steven Leadlove (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) to help McKendree regain a 14-7 advantage. The Bearcats added to their lead on the first play of the second quarter as Metcalf and Revay connected on a 15-yard TD pass to stretch the margin to 21-7. Lazaro then kicked the first of his three field goals on the day, a 27-yarder with 10:35 remaining until halftime, to build the McKendree lead to 24-7.
 
Witt then had back-to-back touchdown runs to trim the Chowan deficit to 24-21 with just over a minute left before the break. McKendree quickly marched down the field and used a 25-yard field goal from Lazaro with 11.5 seconds on the clock to enable the Bearcats to take a 27-21 lead into the locker room.
 
Chowan scored on its first two possessions of the second half to take its first lead of the afternoon at 35-27. McKendree countered with a scoring drive of its own in the final minutes of the third quarter. With the Bearcats facing a third-and-goal at the Hawks' one-yard line, Metcalf barreled his way into the end zone, then found senior wide receiver Jalyn Williams (Carbondale, IL/Carbondale) for the two-point conversion that evened the game at 35-35 with 22 seconds remaining in the period.
 
The teams traded scores early in the fourth quarter, with the Bearcats' TD coming thanks to a 39-yard scoring strike from Metcalf to Williams with 10:37 to play. Chowan answered with a touchdown to regain a 49-42 advantage. Lazaro kicked a 33-yard field goal with 7:05 left to get McKendree back within 49-45, but Witt's second touchdown pass of the game with 5:35 on the clock helped seal the victory for the Hawks. Witt threw for 439 yards against the Bearcats on Saturday.
 
Sophomore running back Jace Franklin (Sprinfield, IL/Williamsville) added 75 yards on 13 rushes for McKendre. Williams and Franklin each had five catches on the day. Defensively, junior linebacker Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), registered a team-best eight tackles for the Bearcats, while junior defensive back Jason Bennett added seven stops along with an interception.
 
BEARCAT TRACKS                
**For the first time in program history, McKendree has scored at least 34 points in each of its first four games of the season.

**Reece Metcalf (Mount Carmel, IL/Mount Carmel) has now thrown for a career-high 17 touchdown passes in 2018. He set a new McKendree mark for the most TD passes to start a season, eclipsing the record of 14 established by Isaac Fisher (Washington, IL/Washington) in 2015.

**Preston Thompson's (Hazel Crest, IL/Tinley Park) 1,113 career rushing yards place him 18^th in program history. Jason Jackson sits in 17^th place with 1,241 yards.

**The 100 combined points scored on Saturday represent the highest-scoring game in McKendree football history. The previous mark was 96 points, which was set in a 53-43 Bearcats' victory at Southwest Baptist University during the 2014 campaign.