GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE vs. LINDENWOOD -- Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, 1:05 p.m.
Leemon Field -- Lebanon, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE VIDEO ON McKENDREE FACEBOOK PAGE
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
LINDENWOOD GAME NOTES
LINDENWOOD SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS
VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH MIKE BABCOCK
(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 4)—The McKendree University football team will close out a four-game home stand Saturday afternoon when the Bearcats play host to Lindenwood University in a Great Lakes Valley Conference battle. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. at Leemon Field.
Story lines abound for Saturday's contest, which will feature the first meeting on the football field between McKendree and Lindenwood since the 1997 season. The two programs will be featured as the NCAA Division II Football Showcase Game of the Week. The game will be carried on a variety of social media platforms, including the official Facebook pages for McKendree, NCAA Division II and the GLVC. The feel will also be shown live on the NCAA Division II Twitter account, and will also stream through the GLVC Sports Network.
Saturday will also mark Homecoming at Leemon Field. The Bearcats are playing their 24th Homecoming tilt since returning to the football field in 1996. McKendree has won each of its last five contests played in front of the returning alumni in Lebanon, including last year's 47-31 triumph over William Jewell College.
The last time McKendree and Lindenwood met on the football field came more than two decades ago at Leemon Field. In the Bearcats' season opener on Sept. 13, 1997, McKendree rolled to a 33-0 win over the Lions. The teams have split their two previous meetings as Lindenwood outlasted the Bearcats 35-27 on Sept. 7, 1996 in St. Charles, Mo. That contest marked McKendree's return to the gridiron for the first time since 1950.
In addition, both teams will be looking to improve on their 1-3 season records heading into Saturday's match-up. McKendree registered its first win of 2019 last Saturday by battling past Chowan University, 42-35. Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville) factored in all six touchdowns on the day for the Bearcats, throwing for five and adding a one-yard TD plunge with 4:45 remaining that proved to be the game-winning score against the Hawks. Pullen, who was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week, completed 19-of-22 passes for 344 yards. Matt Cole (Chicago, IL/Curie) only caught three passes against Chowan, but all three went for touchdowns of 68, 45 and 63 yards in the win.
Jason Bennett led the Bearcats' defense with 11 tackles and an interception, while Kennith Wilson (Chicago, IL/Simeon) chipped in with 10 stops. Devon Myles (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) helped out with nine tackles while grabbing the other interception in the win for McKendree. Both interceptions led to touchdowns on the offensive end for the Bearcats.
Through four games, Pullen has thrown for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is the first quarterback in McKendree program history to throw a touchdown pass in each of his first four starts under center. Tyler Siever (Carlyle, IL/Carlyle) has caught 15 passes, while Cole and Steven Towns, Jr. (Normal, IL/Normal Community), are close behind with 13 receptions apiece.
Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), continues to pace the Bearcats' defense with 38 tackles, while Myles and Bennett are tied for second on the squad with 30 stops each. Both Myles and Bennett have grabbed a pair of interceptions in the first month of the campaign.
After wrapping up the four-game home stand on Saturday, McKendree will hit the road for its next two outings. Kicking off the road trip will be the Bearcats' final non-conference tilt of the year next Saturday at Wheeling Jesuit University.
ABOUT LINDENWOOD
The Lions were defeated last Saturday in non-conference action at Davenport University, 35-24. Lindenwood held a 21-10 lead entering the fourth quarter before the host Panthers used a 25-point outburst over the final 15 minutes to rally for the win. Cade Brister completed 20-of-36 pass attempts for 164 yards with a touchdown. Brister was also the team's leading rusher with 33 yards on 18 carries. Payton Rose and Dalton Grohler each caught four passes in the effort for Lindenwood. Drew Seers and Grady Daniels each recorded seven tackles at Davenport to lead the Lions.
Brister has thrown for 1,019 yards with 11 touchdowns through four games for Lindenwood. Brister is also the Lions' leading rusher with 179 yards. Najee Jackson leads the Lindenwood receiving corps with 24 catches, while Erik Henneman is next with 21 receptions. Rose has 15 catches, including four for touchdowns.
Seers has posted a team-leading 39 tackles for Lindenwood, while Daniels is next with 31 stops. The Lions' balanced attack on defense features 13 different players with at least 10 tackles through the first month of the 2019 season.
