GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at QUINCY -- Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, 6 p.m.
QU Stadium -- Quincy, Ill.

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

(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 27)--The McKendree University football team will enter Great Lakes Valley Conference play for the first time Saturday evening when the Bearcats travel north to Quincy, Ill., to meet Quincy University. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at QU Stadium. The game will be carried live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, beginning with the pre-game show at 5:45 p.m.

McKendree, now 2-2 on the season, will look to rebound from its 55-45 loss last Saturday in the final non-conference game of the season at Chowan University. The Bearcats piled up a season-high 556 yards of total offense but could not overcome the offensive-minded Hawks, who erupted for 34 points in the second half. Reece Metcalf (Mount Carmel, IL/Mount Carmel) continued his torrid pace to begin the 2018 campaign as he accounted for five touchdowns at Chowan, including four TD tosses. Metcalf, who leads all NCAA Division II quarterbacks with 17 TD passes, threw for 305 yards at Chowan and added a one-yard touchdown plunge in the mix. With 1,177 yards through the air, Metcalf leads the GLVC and is 12th in the nation in passing yards. He also tops the conference in passing efficiency (179.2 rating). 

Metcalf's favorite target at Chowan was Josh Revay (Livermore, CA/Granada), who matched a career-high with eight catches that went for 113 yards. Revay also caught a pair of touchdown passes, giving him five on the season. He leads all GLVC receivers in yards per game at 74 per game, while he is second in receptions per game at 5.8. 

Preston Thompson (Hazel Crest, IL/Tinley Park) became the 21st player in McKendree football history to rush for 1,000 career yards during the Chowan contest. He finished with a game-high 146 yards against the Hawks, giving him 1,113 for his four seasons in a Bearcat uniform. Through four games, Thompson is the only running back in the GLVC averaging better than 100 yards per game at 101.8. 

Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), registered a team-leading nine tackles at Chowan. He leads the Bearcats with 40 total tackles on the season and is tied for fourth in the league in tackles per game at 10.0. Gipson averaged just over 10 stops per contest last season. 

Josh Lazaro (Bradley, IL/Bradley-Bourbonnais) matched a career-high with three field goals at Chowan, giving him five for the season. Lazaro moved into the GLVC in kick scoring at 8.0 PPG, and is also tied for second in the conference in overall scoring. In just 15 games at McKendree, Lazaro has already kicked 15 field goals. 

Saturday's game will mark the seventh season for McKendree as members of the GLVC. The Bearcats are 4-2 in conference openers during that span, with victories in each of the last three. Last season, McKendree rolled to a 54-28 win at William Jewell to kick off conference action. 

Following the trip to Quincy, McKendree will return to the friendly confines of Leemon Field next Saturday for a GLVC match-up against Truman State University. The Bearcats and Bulldogs will battle beginning at 1 p.m. in Lebanon. 

ABOUT QUINCY
The Hawks will bring a 1-3 overall record into Saturday's contest against McKendree. Quincy was defeated last Saturday at home by Davenport University, 26-10. The Hawks had pulled within three points at 13-10 early in the second half, but the visiting Panthers scored the final 13 points of the afternoon to spoil Homecoming at Quincy. Tionne Harris was a dual threat at quarterback for Quincy as he was 11-of-25 in the passing department for 75 yards while adding a game-high 111 rushing yards on 18 attempts. Chris Brinson caught three passes for 24 yards against Davenport. Brinson is currently the leading rusher for the Hawks with 321 yards, while Harris has scored all six TDs on the ground for Quincy. 

Defensively, the Hawks are paced by Cody Leonard, the leading tackler in NCAA Division II through the first month of the 2018 season. Leonard recorded 19 tackles versus Davenport to boost his season total to 55. Leonard's 13.8 tackles per game tops all Division II defenders. 

McKendree holds a 15-4 edge in the all-time series against Quincy. The Bearcats have won each of the last five meetings with the Hawks, including last season's 42-14 McKendree triumph at Leemon Field on Nov. 4, 2017. The Bearcats trailed 14-13 at the half before reeling off 29 unanswered points to notch the win.