GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. SOUTHWEST BAPTIST -- Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, 2 p.m.
Leemon Field -- Lebanon, Ill.

WATCH LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES 
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST GAME NOTES
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS

VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH MIKE BABCOCK

(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 25)—The McKendree University football team looks to stay on its recent roll when the team hosts Southwest Baptist University in the annual Battle of the Bearcats Saturday at Leemon Field. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. The game will be carried live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree, beginning with the pre-game show at approximately 1:45 p.m.
 
McKendree enters Saturday's action having won three of its last four outings. The Bearcats are now 3-4 overall and sit at 1-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. Last Saturday, McKendree jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead and never looked back in cruising to a 42-12 triumph at William Jewell College. Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville) threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score on a one-yard quarterback sneak. Matt Cole (Chicago, IL/Curie) enjoyed another big afternoon with six catches against the Cardinals for 123 yards with touchdown receptions of 26 and 68 yards. Cole – who was named GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday -- also returned a fourth-quarter punt 74 yards to paydirt with just over nine minutes to play.
 
Cole is currently ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA Division II statistical report in 12 different categories. He ranks sixth among players in all-purpose yards, averaging nearly 170 per contest. He is also 13^th with eight receiving touchdowns, which is tied for the Bearcats' single-season record set just last year by Jalyn Williams (Carbondale, IL/Carbondale). Pullen sits in the NCAA top 50 in nine different stat columns. His 17 passing touchdowns are 15^th among all players at that level, and is also 29^th in passing efficiency.
 
Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), led McKendree with nine tackles at William Jewell, giving him 247 in his four-year career with the Bearcats. Gipson has cracked the top five on McKendree's all-time list for tackles, moving past the late Cory Wilson (238 tackles) and Deveon Moss (245 tackles) into the fifth spot. As a team, the Bearcats registered three quarterback sacks against the Cardinals, giving them eight over the last three weeks.
 
Saturday's game will mark the first time McKendree has taken the turf at Leemon Field after wrapping up a four-game home stand on Oct. 5 against Lindenwood. McKendree will return to the road next Saturday for a GLVC trip to Kirksville, Mo., for a match-up at Truman State University.
 
ABOUT SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
The visiting Bearcats are 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the GLVC. Southwest Baptist fought its way past Quincy University last Saturday in Bolivar, Mo., 48-34. Quarterback Brenden Smith threw for 224 yards and rushed for another 83 while putting up two touchdowns in the win over the Hawks. Bryce Cabrera gained a game-high 151 yards on the ground as well. Defensively, Taylor Morgan-Jones paced SBU with nine tackles and a forced fumble, while Cory Hanger chipped in with eight stops and Jeremiah Scroggins added seven tackles and a fumble recovery.
 
Smith leads Southwest Baptist in both passing yards (544) and rushing yards (484). Eric Knight is close behind in the rushing department with 469 yards. Dylan Mountain is the team's second-leading passer with 412 yards. Curtis Cuillard leads the Bearcats with 36 receptions, 409 yards and three receiving touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, Hanger is the leading tackler for SBU with 47 to go along with 15 pass break-ups. Jones-Morgan is next with 33 tackles.
 
McKendree has won four of the five previous meetings against Southwest Baptist, including each of the last two. In the 2018 match-up, McKendree used some late heroics to pull out a 26-23 overtime victory. Antonio Triplett (Florissant, MO/Hazelwood Central) threw a 24-yard TD pass to Jalyn Williams (Carbondale, IL/Carbondale) with 59 seconds left in regulation, then scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper in the extra period to help give McKendree the win.