(KIRKSVILLE, Mo., Nov. 2)—The McKendree University football team had its three-game win streak snapped with a 45-17 setback Saturday afternoon at Truman State University.
 
Senior wide receiver Matt Cole (Chicago, IL/Curie) became the Bearcats' single-season leader in touchdown receptions as he hauled in a pair of long scoring grabs in the contest. Cole finished the day with six catches for 136 yards, while freshman quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville) was 22-of-31 for 292 yards to go along with his two TD passes to Cole as McKendree slips to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. The Bearcats will play their final home game of the season next Saturday (Nov. 9) against Quincy University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Leemon Field.
 
"We knew going into the game that this was going to be a very physical team that we were facing in Truman State," said McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock. "They are a solid, all-around team and it starts with great coaching and senior leadership. They have those attributes and it showed on the field today. I felt going into the game that we were ready to play, but we just didn't execute in all three phases of the game today."
 
Truman State, ranked No. 25 in the latest American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Division II poll, scored on seven of its first 10 possessions against McKendree, building a 21-7 lead at the half and a 35-7 cushion after three quarters of play. The Bulldogs' Jordan Salima rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns to mark his third consecutive 100-yard game against the Bearcats.
 
After Truman State took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, McKendree answered on its next possession to knot the score. Nine plays following the Bulldogs' score, Cole raced past the Truman State secondary, and Pullen found him in stride at the goal line for a 40-yard touchdown connection. Junior kicker Josh Lazaro (Bradley, IL/Bradley-Bourbonnais) tacked on the extra point to bring McKendree even at 7-7 with 2:54 remaining in the opening period.
 
That marked Cole's ninth touchdown catch of the year, breaking the Bearcats' year-old mark of eight he shared with Jalyn Williams (Carbondale, IL/Carbondale) entering Saturday's contest.
 
In the first minute of the second quarter, Truman State's Salima scored the first of his three touchdowns on the day with a 22-yard run to put the Bulldogs in front to stay at 14-7. Salima's run led to a burst of 35 straight points by Truman State as it took a 42-7 lead in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
 
Freshman kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, IL/Washington) got McKendree into the scoring column in the second half when he kicked a 20-yard field goal with 9:43 remaining to trim the deficit to 42-10. Following a Bulldog field goal, the Bearcats needed just one play to close out the scoring for the afternoon. The duo of Pullen and Cole hooked up again for a long TD pass, this time on a 60-yard bomb with 5:05 on the clock.
 
The connection between Pullen and Cole marked the fifth time in the 2019 season that the tandem combined for a scoring pass of at least 50 yards.
 
Four different McKendree defenders reached double figures in tackles at Truman State. For the second straight game, sophomore defensive back Devon Myles (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) paced the Bearcats in stops with 11. Senior linebackers Ricco Gipson, Jr. (Godfrey, IL/Alton), Kennith Wilson (Chicago, IL/Simeon) and Jason Bennett, Jr. (Peoria, IL/Peoria), each added 10 tackles against the Bulldogs.