CLEVELAND, Miss. – McKendree University Football hit the road for the first time in the 2021 season here Saturday evening as the Bearcats held a lead early in the second quarter and battled for two-plus quarters before eventually falling 45-17 to Delta State University in non-conference action in Parker Field at McCool Stadium.
 
With the setback, McKendree falls to 0-2 on the season, while Delta State, who received 46 votes in this week's AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, improved to 2-0 with the victory.
 
Despite the setback, the Bearcats led by as 10 points early in the second quarter and outgained the Statesmen 276-206 in the first half, before Delta State scored 38 unanswered points over the final 35 minutes of the game to post the home win.
 
"It was exciting to watch the guys play both offensively and defensively, it was some of the best I've seen in a while, but we just couldn't finish," McKendree head coach Mike Babcock said following the game. "Our guys played hard to the end and I'm proud of them."
 
The Bearcats scored on its opening possession of the game as they drove 37 yards in eight plays, including 17 yards on a pass play completion from sophomore quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) to second year freshman running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) and completed the scoring on a 43-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, Mo./Washington) just three-plus minutes into the game.
 
Kastl is now 3-for-3 on the season on field goals and is a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points through two games on the year.
 
After holding the Statesmen to a three-and-out on its next possession, the Bearcats drove 83 yards in six plays and capped the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to redshirt sophomore receiver Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) to give McKendree a 10-0 lead with 7:31 left in the opening quarter. The big play on the drive was a 61-yard run by Leflore. The 61 yard run is the longest play so far this season for the Bearcats.
 
Delta State would get on the scoreboard on its third offensive series as the Statesmen capped an eight-play, 69-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown dive by Patrick Shegog to drop McKendree's lead to 10-7. The drive was continued after Delta State executed a fake punt on a fourth-and-nine play from their own 32-yard line.
 
The Bearcats would take advantage on a fumble by the Statesmen on a punt early in the second quarter to take 17-7 lead. Following the fumble, the Bearcats drove 76 yards in five plays and scored on a 23-yard touchdown run by Pullen. The score by Pullen came on a third-and-nine play.
 
Later in the second quarter, the Statesmen once again committed a fumble on a punt return that set the Bearcats up on their own 41-yard line. But after a run for no gain by senior running back Jace Franklin IV (Springfield, Ill./Minnesota State) and two straight incompletions by Pullen, the Bearcats were forced to punt.  
 
The Statesmen, though, would find their offensive groove late in the second quarter as Tyler Kennedy caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Shegog to complete a 61-yard drive to drop McKendree's lead to 17-14 with 4:58 left in the quarter.
 
Following the Bearcats next possession, the Statesmen took their first lead of the game on a 65-yard pass from Shegog to Dohnte Meyers to give the home team a 21-17 lead with 1:44 remaining in the opening half.
 
After the Bearcats went three-and-out on the opening possession of the third quarter, the Statesmen drove 49 yards in three plays and scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Shegog to Rico Owens to give DSU a 28-17 lead just two minutes into the third quarter.
 
Delta State added a 20-yard field goal with 4:01 left in the third quarter to extend its lead to 31-17.
 
In the fourth quarter, Delta State added two more touchdowns on a 13-run by Shegog and a 7-yard run by Kory Gainwell to complete the scoring,
 
For the game, McKendree finished with 309 yards of offense, but only 33 yards came after halftime.  
 
The Bearcats got 181 of their offensive yards on the ground for the game as Leflore finished 63 yards on four carries, while redshirt freshman running back Brady Feldmann (Highland, Ill./Highland) added 61 yards on 12 carries.
 
Pullen, who left the game midway through the third quarter after getting late hit out-of-bounds, went 12-for-32 passing for 118 yards and added 20 yards rushing for 138 yards of total offense. The 138 yards pushed Pullen into fourth place on the school's total offense chart with 3,322 yards. Pullen passed Daryle Jones, who gained 3,187 yards in his career.
 
Bachman caught four passes for 31 yards and added another 33 yards on two kickoff returns.
 
Michael Tucker paced the Bearcat defense with 14 tackles and two tackles for loss, while redshirt sophomore defensive back Darrwin Perkins (Crete, Ill./Marian Catholic) added five tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery. Tucker's 14 tackles are the most in a game since redshirt junior defensive back Devon Myles (Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse College Prep) had 16 tackles against Southwest Baptist on Oct. 26, 2019. 
 
The Bearcats won the turnover battle as Delta State had two fumbles and an interception, while the Bearcats had one fumble and an interception for the game. In addition, the Bearcats held an advantage in time of possession (32:49 to 27:19).
 
Shegog paced the Delta State offense as he was 16-for-33 passing for 272 yards for three touchdown passes and added 88 yards rushing and two more scores in the win.
 
Owens had 59 rushing, while Meyers caught four passes for 110 yards for the Statesmen, who finished the night with 473 yards of offense as they gained 201 yards rushing on 39 carries and passed for 273 yards.
 
The Bearcats will return home next Saturday, Sept. 18 as they host Lake Erie College for a 1 p.m. non-conference contest at Leemon Field on the McKendree campus. Lake Erie is 2-0 on the season following their 31-20 road win Saturday over Franklin Pierce.