BOLIVAR, Mo. - McKendree University Football was again the cardiac kids here Saturday afternoon as the Bearcats rallied from 12-point fourth deficit to post a 45-42 come-from-behind win over Southwest Baptist in the annual Battle of the Bearcats at Plaster Stadium.

With the win, McKendree improves to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while SBU falls to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in the league. The win was McKendree's second straight road win when trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter as they scored 30 points in the fourth quarter two weeks ago to post a 51-48 road win over Quincy (Ill.) University. 

"I think today showed that we're not out of it until we're out of it. If you look at us in the first quarter, everybody was down, we had penalties and gave up some big plays and we're kind of all in our head, but we finally settled down and did what we needed to do and some guys stepped up at the end and we able to make some plays," McKendree head coach Mike Babcock said following his 48th win as the Bearcats coach. 

Redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Sprycha (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) hauled in his second touchdown pass of the game from redshirt sophomore quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) with 2:28 left in the game to give McKendree a 43-42 lead. Pullen would add run the ball into the end zone for a 2-point conversion to give the Bearcats a 45-42 lead. 

On the ensuing possession, SBU drove 59 yards in 10 plays and on a fourth-and-2 play from the MCK 3-yard line with 22 seconds left, freshman defensive back Ethan Young (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) deflected a pass from SBU's Copper Callis in the end zone to seal McKendree's win. 

"The game come down to one big play and Ethan made a great play on that fourth down stop," added Babcock, when asked about Young's pass break-up to seal the win. 

Sprycha's touchdown came nearly four-plus minutes after Pullen connected with redshirt sophomore receiver Tyler Siever (Carlyle, Ill./Carlyle) for a 24-yard touchdown pass to pull McKendree within 42-37. 

Following Siever's second touchdown of the game, McK's defense stepped up for a big three-and-out as on third-down redshirt senior defensive lineman Isaiah Ward (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) and freshman defensive lineman Sam Amponsah (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) sacked Callis for an 8-yard loss to force a punt. 

For the game, McKendree outgained SBU, 479-430, including holding a 164-113 advantage in the fourth quarter. It marked the fifth straight game the McKendree gained over 450 yards of offense. 

"I thought we settled down offensively in the fourth quarter and we able to target things a little better," said Babcock. "I thought our pass game was good. I thought Turner played one heck of a game, especially at the end. It was great to see one of our redshirt freshman Jordan Sprycha do a great job at coming up with the touchdown winning play."

Pullen went 24-for-42 passing for 323 yards and had four touchdowns and no interceptions. In addition, he added 31 yards rushing on 11 carries and scored on a 1-yard plunge just 76 seconds into the fourth quarter to cut SBU's lead 35-30. With his 354 yards of total offense in the game, Pullen moved into fifth place on the school's single season total offense chart with 2,258 yards. He has also now accounted for 63 career touchdowns after having a hand in five scores on Saturday.

Redshirt sophomore receiver Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) caught 10 of Pullen's 24 completed pass for 123 yards and moved into third on the school's single season reception chart with 59. The single season record for receptions is 64 by Dewayne Gatti in 2013. 

In addition to Bachman, redshirt junior receiver Steven Towns, Jr. (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) added three receptions for 51 yards, while Siever also caught three passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns. On day, Pullen completed passes to 10 different receivers. 

On the ground, McKendree had 156 yards rushing on 42 carries as second-year freshman running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Chatham) led the way with 47 yards on 10 carries, while senior running back Jace Franklin IV (Springfield, Ill./Minnesota State) added 43 yards on nine carries and is now just 31 yards shy of becoming the sixth Bearcat to rush for 2,000 career yards.

Along with his 47 yards rushing, Leflore accumulated a career high 199 all-purpose yards as he returned four kickoffs for 143 yards and caught one pass for nine yards, while Bachman added 148 all-purpose yards. 

Defensively, the Bearcats held SBU to 324 yards passing and 106 yards rushing. McKendree also forced a two turnovers and recovered a fumble as both teams had just one lost fumble on the day. The Bearcats also had two sacks and six tackles for loss. 

Three McKendree players finished with seven tackles in the game as senior linebacker Michael Tucker (Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale Prep) had seven tackles, including four solo stops and added 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry, while redshirt junior defensive back Kenneth Garrett, Jr. (Memphis, Tenn./Whitehaven) had seven tackles, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry and sophomore defensive lineman Sidney Houston (Cahokia, Ill./East St. Louis) had seven tackles in the win. 

It appeared early on in Saturday's game that the Bearcats of SBU would have the upper had as they scored 21 of the game's first 31 points to lead 21-10 with 3:01 left in the second quarter, before McKendree scored at the end of the first half on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to Sprycha to drop SBU's lead to 21-17 at the half. 

On the first possession of the third quarter, redshirt freshman Caleb Barry (Kirkwood, Mo./Kirkwood) moved the Bearcats of McKendree within a point on his 34-yard field goal just three-plus minutes into the third quarter. Barry was 3-for-3 on the day on field goals and is 4-for-5 over his last two games on field goals in place of the injured Ryan Kastl (Washington, Ill./Washington). 

SBU scored the game's first points on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Callis to Preston Carson with 9:28 left in the first quarter. The drive began following a fumble on a completed pass to Towns, Jr. 

On the ensuing kickoff, Leflore appeared to tie the game as he returned the kick 97 yards for a touchdown, but before scoring, he was flagged for a unsportsmanlike penalty that negated the score and gave the Bearcats the ball at the SBU 19-yard line. Eight plays later, Barry connected on a 27-yard field to cut SBU's lead to 7-3 with 5:25 left in the opening quarter. 

SBU would answer right back as they drove 67 yards in eight plays and capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown pass from Callis to Jarrett Massie to give the home team Bearcats a 14-3 lead. 

McKendree would pull within 14-10 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to Siever with 11:10 left in the second quarter, but SBU would extend its lead to 21-10 following a 15-yard touchdown pass from Callis to Carson, who finished the game with 10 receptions for 165 yards, with 3:01 left in the second quarter. 

After Barry's field goal to open the scoring in the third quarter, Abel Carter capped an 8-play, 90-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to give SBU a 28-20 lead with 7:24 left in the quarter. 

The Bearcats of SBU would push its lead to 35-20 following a 4-yard touchdown run by Eric Knight with 5:50 left in the third quarter. The score came two plays after SBU blocked a punt by McKendree senior punter Andrew Anckle (Riverview, Fla./SIU-Carbondale). 

Following Knight's touchdown, McK would respond as they drove 58 yards in seven plays and capped the drive with a 22-yard field goal by Barry to drop SBU's lead to 35-22 with 3:27 left in the third quarter. 

Pullen's scoring run just 78 seconds into the fourth quarter brought McKendree within 35-30. The rushing touchdown was Pullen's team-leading ninth rushing touchdown on the season. Pullen's rushing touchdown was set up when SBU's Chris Fuzeme muffed a punt at the SBU 13-yard line. 

Callis gave SBU a 42-30 on its next possession as he connected with Isaac Scroggins for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 11:40 left in the fourth quarter. 

Scroggins' score would be the final points of the game for SBU as McKendree would score 15 straight points to post the comeback win. 

Callis was 28-for-35 passing for 324 yards and had four touchdown passes and was sacked twice and added 51 yards rushing for a total of 375 yards of total offense. 

Carter, who gained 28 yards rushing, also finished with 243 all-purpose yards as he returned seven kickoffs for 199 yards. 

Coleton Smith paced the SBU defense with 14 tackles, including seven solo stops and added one tackle for loss and had seven quarterback hurries. 

The Bearcats will return home to Leemon Field next Saturday, Nov. 6 as they host Truman State for Senior Day. Kickoff for the Truman State game is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

"We have a lot seniors. 18-19 seniors that are going to be walking next week and I've got some of the best leaders that I've had here in a long time and I want them to leave here with a victory and that is what's on the table next week," Babcock added.