INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – McKendree University and the University of Indianapolis football teams engaged in an offensive shootout here Saturday evening as the two teams combined for 85 points and 1,199 yards of total offense as the Bearcats fell 57-28 to the Greyhounds in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at Key Stadium on the UIndy campus.

With the setback, McKendree falls to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the GLVC, while UIndy improves to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the league. The loss snapped the Bearcats two game winning streak.

In the game, the Bearcats offense finished with 462 yards of offense as they rushed the ball 36 times for a season-high 273 yards and passed for 189 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play on their 65 plays on the night. The teams combined for 45 points and 691 yards of offense in the first half. 

"There were big plays all around tonight for both teams, especially in the first quarter," McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock said following the game. "I thought we were able to do some really good things at times and the score doesn't really represent who were are as we had three extra-points blocked, which is something we need to clean up moving forward. I really liked our fight tonight as a team."

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) accounted for 293 yards of total offense as he gained 104 rushing on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns and was 18-for-28 passing for 189 yards and one touchdown pass and one interception. Pullen accounted for three of McKendree's four scores in Saturday's game and has now accounted for 49 scores in his Bearcat career.

In addition to Pullen, senior running back Jace Franklin IV (Springfield, Ill./Minnesota State) added 71 yards on five carries to become the eighth Bearcat to rush for 2,000 yards in a career, while second-year freshman running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Chatham) added 66 yards on 10 carries.

Redshirt sophomore receiver Tyler Siever (Carlyle, Ill./Carlyle) had a career day as he caught three passes for 83 yards, including a 53-yard reception in the first quarter that led to the Bearcats second touchdown of the game. In addition to Siever, redshirt sophomore receiver Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) caught six passes for 49 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass from Pullen in the third quarter and he added 52 yards on returns to finish with 104 all-purpose yards in the game, while redshirt junior receiver Steven Towns, Jr. (Normal, Ill./Normal Community), who was this week's GLVC Offensive Player of the Week, was targeted 11 times and caught four passes for 31 yards on the game.

The first quarter of Saturday's game featured a combined total of 35 points and 399 yards of total offense, including four of the scoring plays going for 65 or more yards, including a 68-yard touchdown run by Pullen for the Bearcats first score of the game.

After Toriano Clinton got the scoring started on a 20-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the game, the Bearcats came right back and used a 68-yard touchdown run by Pullen to pull within 7-6 with 10:30 left in the opening quarter. The extra-point attempt by sophomore kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, Ill./Washington) was blocked and returned by the Greyhounds' Trevon Hall for a safety to make it 9-6.

On the ensuing possession by the Greyhounds, Jon Eineman caught an 87-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Stancombe to give UIndy a 16-6 lead with 9:31 left in the first quarter.

The Bearcats, though, would pull within 16-12 following a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Pullen to cap an 11-play, 78-yard drive. The big play on the drive was a 53-yard pass from Pullen to Siever. The point-after by Kastl, though, was blocked again by the Greyhounds.

Following Pullen's touchdown run, Clinton came right back and scored on a 75-yard run to give UIndy a 23-12 lead with 3:49 left in the opening quarter.

The Bearcats pulled within 23-15 following a 35-yard field goal by Kastl to complete a nine-play, 47-yard drive about five minutes into the second quarter, but later in the quarter, Kastl's 32-yard field goal with 6:47 left in the second quarter was wide left.

UIndy, who was held to 134 yards of offense in the second quarter after tallying 242 yards in the first quarter, took over the ball with 2:09 left in the second quarter with a 23-15 lead and preceded to drive 99 yards in nine plays and pushed its lead to 30-15 following a 22-yard pass from Stancombe to Frank Bentley with 16 seconds remaining in the half.

"That drive before the end of the half was a big one for UIndy as it seemed to be a big swing in the game," Babcock added.

The Greyhounds, who were playing their Homecoming game on Saturday, pushed its lead to 37-15 following a 22-yard touchdown run by Clinton on their first offensive possession of the second half.

On the ensuing possession, though, the Bearcats responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to Bachman to cut UIndy's lead to 37-22. The drive featured two big plays with the first one being a 19-yard pass from Pullen to freshman receiver Diontay Griffin (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) and a 13-yard run on a fourth-and-8 play by Pullen to keep the drive alive.

Clinton added his fourth touchdown of the game on UIndy's next possession as he scored on a 77-yard touchdown run to give the Greyhounds a 44-22 lead with 6:06 left in the third quarter.

UIndy's lead grew to 50-22 following a 36-yard touchdown pass from Stancombe to Alonzo Derrick with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

McKendree got on the scoreboard once again midway through the fourth quarter as redshirt senior quarterback Elijah Oltean (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) scored on a 1-yard sneak to drop UIndy's lead to 50-28 with 7:31 left in the game. The point-after by Kastl was blocked for the third time on the night. Oltean's score was set up following a 57-yard fumble return by redshirt junior defensive back Kenneth Garrett, Jr. (Memphis, Tenn./Whitehaven) as UIndy was in the red zone.

The Greyhounds would cap the game's scoring on a 28-yard run by Lenny Bennett with 1:39 left in the game. Bennett's score gave UIndy a 57-28 lead.

For the game, UIndy rushed for 432 yards and scored five rushing touchdowns and that came against a Bearcat defense that entered the game third in the league in rushing defense and finished with 737 yards of offense as they averaged 10.8 yards per play. 

Clinton finished the night with 287 yards on 20 carries and averaged 14.4 yards per carry, while Bennett added 110 yards on 15 carries for the Greyhounds.

Stancombe was 17-for-25 passing for 305 yards and had three touchdown passes and no interceptions. Eineman led the way receiving with two catches for 105 yards, while Bentley caught four passes for 67 yards and Derrick added three receptions for 68 yards.

Garrett and senior linebacker Michael Tucker (Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale Prep) each had eight tackles to pace the Bearcats defense, while redshirt junior defensive back Devon Myles (Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse College Prep) added seven tackles in his first game of the season. The Bearcats had three tackles for loss and no sacks in the game. McKendree entered the game third in the league in sacks on the season.

Both teams committed a turnover on the night as McKendree has now had just four lost turnovers on the season as they have lost one fumble and have had three interceptions. McKendree entered Saturday's game 11th in Division II in turnover margin at plus-7 on the year.

The Bearcats will remain on the road next Saturday, Oct. 16 as they travel to Quincy, Ill., for a 3 p.m. GLVC contest at Quincy University. The Hawks are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the league following its 33-28 loss Saturday at Lindenwood University.

"We just have to keep on fighting and get our guys ready to play against a very good Quincy team on the road next Saturday. It should be another challenge for us," added Babcock.