GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at WHEELING -- Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, 1 p.m.
Bishop Schmitt Stadium -- Wheeling, W.Va.
LISTEN LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
WATCH LIVE (Wheeling Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
WHEELING GAME NOTES
WHEELING SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS
VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH MIKE BABCOCK
(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 10)—For the first time in more than a month, the McKendree University football team will not have all the comforts of home the night before a contest.
After closing out a four-game home stand last Saturday against Lindenwood University, the Bearcats will head east to Wheeling, W.Va., for its final non-conference tilt of the 2019 regular season on Saturday at Wheeling University. The teams are set to square off with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT at Bishop Schmitt Stadium.
McKendree -- which is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference – played its only road game to date on Sept. 7 at Northern Michigan University. The Bearcats will look to jump back into the win column following a 45-37 setback last Saturday at Leemon Field against Lindenwood. The two teams combined for 1,114 yards of total offense and 82 points in the GLVC battle that was featured as the NCAA Division II Showcase Game of the Week.
Matt Cole (Chicago, IL/Curie) earned GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week honors following another outstanding performance on the gridiron. Cole set a program record with 284 all-purpose yards, which included a 100-yard kick return for a score in the third quarter. He led all players with seven receptions for 155 yards, adding two more TD catches in the process. Cole has scored three touchdowns in each of the Bearcats' last two games.
Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville) threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns against the Lions. Pullen now has nine TD tosses over his last two contests and 14 on the year, which ranks sixth among all NCAA Division II signal-callers.
Jace Franklin IV (Sprinfield, IL/Williamsville) registered a career-high 136 rushing yards last Saturday, and in the process became the 22
nd player in McKendree program history to gain 1,000 career yards on the ground.
Through five games, Cole has 20 receptions for 456 yards, averaging a whopping 22.8 yards per catch. He also has six TD grabs in 2019, and is just two shy of the program mark of eight set just last year by
Jalyn Williams (Carbondale, IL/Carbondale). Pullen has completed just over 60 percent of his pass attempts for 1,150 yards to go along with his 14 touchdown passes. Defensively,
Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), still leads the Bearcats with 46 tackles, with
Kennith Wilson (Chicago, IL/Simeon) close behing at 41 stops.
Devon Myles (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) in third on the team with 40 tackles. Both Myles and Jason Bennett share the team lead with two interceptions.
Saturday's game marks the first of a two-game road swing for McKendree. The Bearcats will head west next week as they jump back into GLVC action at William Jewell College. McKendree's next home contest will come on Oct. 26 versus Southwest Baptist University.
ABOUT WHEELING
The Cardinals are in search of their first win of the 2019 season. Wheeling, which played a club schedule in its first season of competition in 2018, enters Saturday's game with a record 0-5, with all five games coming against Mountain East Conference foes.
Last weekend, the Cardinals dropped a 51-12 decision at home to the University of Charleston. Tucker Strachan was 18-of-32 through the air for 192 yards with two touchdowns. His favorite target was Jaquaun Davidson, who had seven receptions for 123 yards with TD grabs of 20 and 61 yards in the effort. Chris Canaday led the Cardinals' defense with nine tackles, including eight solos. Aaron Finch chipped in with eight stops as well.
trachan has thrown for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns in five games for Wheeling. Ryan LaFollette has caught a team-high 35 passes for 342 yards, while Davidson has added 27 receptions for 352 yards with six touchdown grabs. On the ground, Sy Alli has rushed for 137 yards, averaging just over three yards per attempt. Defenslvely, Rich White has a team-best 39 tackles, while Chris Canaday and James Reese are next with 25 stops each. Reese also has 6 ½ tackles for loss which includes four quarterback sacks.
Saturday's game will mark the first meeting on the football field between McKendree and Wheeling.
