LEBANON, Ill. – The McKendree University football team will look to start a new win streak this coming Saturday, Oct. 23 as they travel to Southwest Baptist for its annual Battle of the Bearcats at Plaster Stadium in Bolivar, Mo. Kickoff for Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference contest is set for 1 p.m.
 
McKendree enters Saturday's game having won three of its last five games to move its record to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in GLVC play. Last Saturday, McKendree scored 24 second quarter points to hold a 24-21 lead at half, but Missouri S&T rallied to score 16 of the 23 second half points to post a 37-31 win in McKendree's annual homecoming game at Leemon Field. The loss was just the third for McKendree in its last 25 homecoming games as they are 22-3 in homecoming contests since restarting football in 1996.
 
In the loss to the Miners, redshirt sophomore quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) passed for a single game school record 408 yards, but his three interceptions proved to the difference as Missouri S&T scored 17 of their 37 points off those miscues. Along with the 408 yards passing and three inceptions, Pullen also had three touchdown passes and rushed for another score as he tied a career high with 440 yards of total offense.
 
Pullen currently ranks third in the league in passing as he is averaging 234.0 passing yards per game and is tied for sixth in scoring as he averages 6.9 points per game and is second in the league and 24th in Division II in total offense as he averaged 272.4 yards per game and since the beginning of GLVC play, Pullen is averaging 320.8 passing yards per game and 375.3 yards of total offense per game and has accounted for 17 touchdowns as he has thrown for 12 scores and rushed for another five scores. Entering Saturday's action, he is fourth on the school's career total offense chart with 4,942 yards and is just 58 yards shy of becoming just the third Bearcat player to record 5,000 yards of total offense.
 
For the game against Missouri S&T, McKendree gained a season high 566 yards on offense and allowed just 397 yards on defense to the Miners. On the season, McKendree is third in the league in total offense at 422.4 yards per game, third in rushing at 194.9 yards per game, fourth in passing offense at 227.5 yards per game and sixth in scoring at 29.1 points per game.  The Bearcats offense has gained over 500 yards of offense in two consecutive games and three times in its last four games.
 
Saturday's game with Missouri S&T also featured two Bearcat receivers tallying over 100 yards receiving as redshirt sophomore Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) caught nine passes for 141 yards, while redshirt junior Steven Towns, Jr. (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) caught five passes for 128 yards and caught two of Pullen's three touchdown passes. Bachman and Towns, Jr. also tallied over 100 yards receiving earlier this season against William Jewell.
 
Heading into Saturday's game, Towns, Jr. and Bachman rank in the Top 7 of the school's career receptions chart and in the Top 10 of the career receiving yards chart as the duo have combined for 168 career receptions and 2,448 career receiving yards as Towns, Jr. is tied for seventh in career receptions with 83 and third in career receiving yards with 1,400, while Bachman is sixth in career receptions with 85 and 10th in career receiving yards with 1,048.
 
Senior running back Jace Franklin IV (Springfield, Ill./Minnesota State) led the Bearcats in rushing with 483 yards and is averaging 6.3 yards per carry and 80.5 yards per game and is sixth in career rushing at McKendree with 1,926 yards and is just 74 yards shy of becoming the sixth Bearcat to gain 5,000 career rushing yards and is currently 32nd among active Division II players with 2,122 yards rushing spread between both McKendree and Minnesota State. In addition to Franklin, redshirt freshman Brady Feldmann (Highland, Ill./Highland) is second in rushing with 328 yards as he is averaging 4.1 yards per carry, while second-year freshman Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Chatham) has gained 311 yards rushing and is averaging 103 all-purpose yards per game and is fifth in the league in kickoff returns as he is averaging 22.8 yards per return.
 
Defensively, McKendree comes into Saturday's game fourth in the league in total defense as they are allowing 404.9 yards per game, fifth in rushing defense as they are allowing 175.6 yards per game and are fourth in passing defense as they are allowing 229.3 yards per game and are fifth in the league in sacks with 18 and fourth in passing efficiency defense (139.6 rating). McKendree has had two or sacks in a game four times, including a season high five sacks against both Lake Erie and Walsh.
 
Leading the way defensively for the Bearcats is senior linebacker Michael Tucker (Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale Prep) as he leads the team in tackles with 62, including 39 solo stops and has had eight tackles for a loss, four sacks and has recovered two fumbles. In addition to Tucker, redshirt sophomore linebacker KeShon Spraggins (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) is second in tackles with 45 and has had four sacks and three pass break-ups, while sophomore defensive lineman Sidney Houston (Cahokia, Ill./East St. Louis) has had 43 tackles and leads the team in both sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (6.5). Houston is third in the league in sacks as he averages 0.69 per game, while Tucker is sixth in the league in tackles as he averages 7.8 tackles per game.
 
On special teams, senior punter Andrew Anckle (Riverview, Fla./SIU-Carbondale) is second in the league in punting as he averages 39.4 yards per punt and has put seven punts inside the 20-yard line and has had two punts of 50 or more yards. In addition to Anckle, redshirt sophomore kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, Ill./Washington) is first in the league in field goals as he average 1.1 made field goals per game and is tied for third in the league in kick scoring as he averages 6.6 points per game. As a team, McKendree is third in the league in kickoff returns as they average 22.6 yards per return and are fifth in the league in punt returns as they average 11.0 yards per return.
 
Meanwhile, Southwest Baptist comes into Saturday's game with McKendree sporting a 3-5 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the GLVC following its 48-24 loss last Saturday at Lindenwood. The loss to Lindenwood snapped a two-game winning streak for SBU and in fact, they have won three of its last five games with the losses coming at home to UIndy (77-10) and Lindenwood.
 
Following Saturday's game, McKendree will return home to host Truman State for a 1 p.m. Senior Day game at Leemon Field.
 
ABOUT SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Southwest Baptist comes into action this Saturday having won three of its last five games since opening the season by losing its first three games, including a 63-14 loss in the week two at then No. 1 ranked and defending Division II national champion West Florida. The Bearcats are fresh off a 48-24 loss last Saturday at Lindenwood to snap a two game win streak. In SBU's five losses, they have lost by an average of 33.8 points as they have allowed 54.8 points in their five losses.
 
Against Lindenwood last Saturday, SBU outgained the Lions, 350-326, but was outscored 35-3 in the second quarter of its 48-24 setback. LU's 35 point flurry in the second quarter erased a 14-3 SBU lead after the one quarter. SBU scored just 10 points the remainder of the game.
 
Junior quarterback Cooper Callis paced the SBU offense with 274 yards passing as he was 32-for-45 passing and two touchdowns. Sophomore Preston Carson caught eight of Callis' passes for 101 yards, while senior Jarrett Massie caught a game-high 12 passes for 80 yards. On the ground, SBU gained just 76 yards with sophomore Abel Carter rushing for 58 yards on 21 carries.
 
Defensively, senior linebacker Coleton Smith paced SBU with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and recorded two sacks and forced two fumbles.
 
Southwest Baptist enters play Saturday as one of the top passing teams not only in the GLVC, but in Division II as the Bearcats are averaging 332.9 passing yards per game, which is fifth in Division II. In addition, SBU is second in Division II in red zone offense as they are 22 for 23 in red zone scoring on the season and has scored 18 touchdowns in the red zone.
 
Leading the way offensively for SBU is Callis, who is second in Division II in both passing yards (2,617) and passing yards per game (327.1) and is ninth in Division II in touchdown passes with 23. On the year, Callis is 215-for-316 passing for 2,617 yards and is completing 68 percent of his passes and has an efficiency rating of 157.8, which leads the GLVC. Callis is also averaging 323.1 yards of total offense and has had a hand in 25 of SBU's 28 touchdowns.
 
Callis' top target on the season is Carson as he has caught 45 passes for 616 yards and is averaging 77.0 receiving yards per game and has had five touchdown receptions. In addition to Carson, junior Cassian Foreman has caught 37 passes for 589 yards and is averaging 73.6 yards per game and is tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions with six, while Massie and freshman Jordan Kent have each caught 35 passes on the season as Massie has gained 319 yards and has had two touchdown receptions and Kent has gained 591 yards and has had six touchdown receptions.
 
Carter leads the way on the ground for SBU with 239 yards rushing and is averaging 3.4 yards per carry and has had two rushing scores.
 
On defense, SBU is allowing 40.6 points per game and allowing 430.8 yards per game, including allowing 214.2 rushing yards per game and 216.5 passing yards per game. Additionally, SBU has had 12 sacks and have picked off four passes and have forced 12 fumbles and has recovered five of those fumbles.
 
Smith leads the way on defense for SBU as he has recorded 107 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and has had two pass break-ups and four quarterback hurries. In addition to Smith, junior linebacker Aaron Harris has had 45 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack, while sophomore Brenden Smith has recorded 44 tackles and one tackle for loss.
 
On special teams, freshman kicker Logan Turner is a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals with a season long kick of 51 yards and is 25-for-26 on extra points. Kent is third in the league in all-purpose yards as he averages 136.9 per game, which includes 320 kickoff return yards.
 
McKendree holds a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series, including a 24-14 win in the most recent meeting at Leemon Field in 2019. McKendree has won three straight games in the series since SBU picked up its only win in the series as they earned a 35-7 victory on his home field.