GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at TRUMAN STATE -- Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, Noon
Stokes Stadium -- Kirksville, Mo.
LISTEN LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
WATCH LIVE (Truman State Broadcast)
LIVE STATS
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
TRUMAN STATE GAME NOTES
TRUMAN STATE SEASON STATISTICS
GLVC STATISTICS
VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH MIKE BABCOCK
(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 1)—The McKendree University football team hits the road for a Great Lakes Valley Conference test at Truman State University on Saturday. The Bearcats and Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 25 in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II coaches' poll, will tangle at Stokes Stadium in Kirksville, Mo., with kickoff set for noon. The Bearcat Sports Network (
www.glvcsn.com/mckendree) will air the game live, with the pre-game show beginning at 11:45 a.m.
McKendree picked up its fourth win in five outings last Saturday with a 24-14 victory at Leemon Field against Southwest Baptist University. Playing the contest in a steady rain throughout, the Bearcats took to the ground to defeat the visitors, piling up 211 yards on the ground. Freshman running back
Jayden Mitchell (St. Louis, MO/Parkway Central) led the charge with a career-high 133 yards on 27 carries with a pair of touchdowns against Southwest Baptist.
The win pushed McKendree to the .500 mark both for the season and in GLVC play. The Bearcats head to Truman State with a 4-4 season mark and a 2-2 ledger in conference action. McKendree is using a balanced offense attack this season, averaging 175 rushing yards per game and 197 passing yards per outing. Junior running back Jace Franklin continues to lead the Bearcats in rushing with 611 yards. Freshman quarterback
Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville) has completed just under 59 percent of his pass attempts for 1,537 yards with 17 touchdowns. Pullen's favorite target is senior wide receiver
Matt Cole (Chicago, IL/Curie), who leads McKendree with 31 receptions for 649 yards with eight touchdowns.
In addition to his receiving exploits, Cole is one of the top kick returners in the GLVC. He leads the conference at 29 yards per kick return and is also averaging 25.8 yards on four punt returns this season. Cole has produced a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown along with a 74-yard punt return for a score in 2019.
On the defensive side of the ball, Gipson paces the Bearcats with 74 tackles. Myles is next at 66 stops, while senior linebacker
Kennith Wilson (Chicago, IL/Simeon) is third on the team with 60 tackles. Senior defensive end
Michael Smith (Smithton, IL/Freeburg) leads McKendree with seven tackles for loss, and junior defensive end
Brandon Purnell (Chicago, IL/Simeon) has collected a team-best five quarterback sacks.
Following Saturday's game at Truman State, McKendree will have just two regular-season games remaining for the season. The Bearcats will host Quincy University for Senior Day on Nov. 9 before closing out the year at Missouri S&T a week later in Rolla, Mo.
ABOUT TRUMAN STATE
The Bulldogs enter Saturday's game with a 7-1 overall record and a 4-1 mark in GLVC action. Truman State has won its last two games, including a 49-27 triumph at William Jewell College last Saturday. The Bulldogs built a 35-14 lead at the half and never looked back on their way to victory. Quarterback Jaden Barr threw for 216 yards while Jordan Salima rushed for a game-high 102 yards and scored four times in leading Truman State to the win. The Bulldogs' defense also got into the scoring column at William Jewell as Griffin Becker intercepted a second-quarter pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Sam Reeves and Travis Myerson each recorded seven tackles to lead the Truman State defense against the Cardinals.
Salima has produced 606 rushing yards and nine touchdowns to lead Truman State. Barr has thrown for 1,444 yards with 11 touchdowns in eight games. Barr has completed nearly two-thirds of his pass attempts this season. Salima and Jordan Ellis share team-high honors in receptions with 26. Ellis has scored six times in 2019, while Spencer Newell has five TD catches.
Defensively, Reed McBroom shows the way for the Bulldogs with 50 tackles, including 5 ½ for loss. Myerson is close behind with 49 stops and Jordan Siegel is third on the squad with 41 tackles. Reeves has team-high totals of nine tackles for loss and seven quarterback sacks this season.
Truman State holds a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series with McKendree that dates back to 2011. The Bulldogs have won each of the past two meetings, including last year's 45-38 decision at Leemon Field. That game was delayed twice by lightning and took more than four hours from kickoff to final whistle to complete. McKendree's
Preston Thompson (Hazel Crest, IL/Tinley Park) (129 yards) and Jace Franklin (111 yards) each topped the century mark on the ground for the Bearcats, while
Blake Benoist (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) had a team-leading 11 tackles in the effort.
