LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University Football outscored Northern Michigan 20-14 in the second half of its 2021 season opener here Saturday on a rain-soaked turf at Leemon Field, the Bearcats second half rally would fall just short as the Wildcats earned a 27-20 victory.

After being held scoreless and limited to 40 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes of Saturday's opener, the Bearcats would score 13 unanswered points in the third quarter to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter and after the teams traded touchdowns early in the final period, NMU would seal the win with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Drake Davis to Tyquan Cox with 6:20 left in the game.

"One of the big positives from the game is the guys didn't quit. Down 13-0 at the half, but were able to come back and tie the game and then go down 20-13 and then come back and tie the game, but unfortunately some of those details, some of the little things prevented us from getting the win, but that is something we need to fix for next week," McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock said following Saturday's game.

Following Cox's score, the Bearcats offense took over the ball at their own 43-yard line following a 41-yard kickoff return by second-year freshman running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood), but the next three offensive plays resulted in a loss of five yards and forced the ball back to the Wildcats with 4:33 left in the game and one timeout remaining.

On the ensuing drive by NMU, the Bearcats had the Wildcats in a third-and-10 situation from the Wildcats 8-yard line, but an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Bearcats gave NMU a first down and then runs of 18 yards and 12 yards by Cox cemented NMU's second consecutive season opening victory over the Bearcats, who earned a 30-9 win over McKendree to open the 2019 season in Marquette, Mich. 

McKendree would score their first points of the season on its first possession of the third quarter as they drove 73 yards in eight plays and capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge from redshirt sophomore quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville). The drive featured two long plays as Pullen connected with redshirt junior receiver Steven Towns, Jr. (Normal, Ill./Normal Community) for a 30-yard pass play, while Leflore got the Bearcats to the six-yard line on his 29-yard rush on a fourth-and-three play. 

Pullen's score seemed to ignite the Bearcat defense as on the Wildcats' next possession, junior defensive lineman BreeZian Wilson (Torrence, Calif./El Camino) recovered a fumble by Cox on the NMU 32-yard line. 

Five plays after the fumble, the Bearcats pulled within 13-10 following a 39-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, Ill./Washington) with 3:42 left in the quarter.

On the next NMU possession, the Wildcats ran three plays for one yard and were forced to punt again and on the punt, redshirt sophomore Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) returned it 19 yards to the NMU 32-yard line. Three plays later, Kastl would tie the game on his 43-yard field goal with 17 seconds left on the clock.

The Wildcats would retake the lead on their next possession as Davis hooked up with Yale Van Dyne for an 18-yard touchdown to give the visitors a 20-13 lead nearly two minutes into the final quarter. 

McKendree would start the next drive in good field position following a 30-yard kickoff return from Leflore, who finished with 139 all-purpose yards on the day. Leflore's return helped set up another scoring drive for the Bearcats as Pullen connected with Towns, Jr., for a 23-yard diving catch in the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game at 20 with 9:13 remaining. 

NMU, who was playing their first football since Nov. 16, 2019, as the Wildcats did not play during the 2020-21 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would answer back on its next possession as Cox caught his 20-yard touchdown pass from Davis for the game winning score. 

On the day, McKendree's offense finished with 182 yards, including gaining 142 of them after halftime. 

"Offensively, at times we were able to put the ball where we needed, but the problem was we couldn't move the ball in the first half," said Babcock, who fell to 44-34 as McKendree's coach. "In the first half, we were having trouble playing catch, finding those first downs."

Leflore paced the Bearcats ground attack with 68 yards on 12 carries, while redshirt freshman Brady Feldmann (Highland, Ill./Highland) added 23 yards on five carries. Leflore also accounted for 136 all-purpose yards as he returned two kickoffs for 71 yards. 

Pullen, who was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, finished the game 11-for-22 passing for 102 yards with Towns, Jr., catching seven of those passes for 89 yards. 

King paced NMU's offense as he carried the ball 17 times for 158 yards, while Deandre Caldwell added 71 yards on five carries. Cox added 37 yards in rushing and tallied another 72 yards on three kickoff returns for a total of 118 all-purpose yards.

Davis finished the game 11-for-18 passing for 179 yards, with Van Dyne and Wyatt Davis combining for a total of five catches for 120 yards. 

After gaining 222 yards in the opening two quarters, the Wildcats offense only mustered 170 yards of offense in the second half, with 110 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter. 

McKendree's defense was paced by three players with seven tackles each. Those three players with seven tackles were redshirt sophomore linebacker KeShon Spraggins (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South), fifth-year senior linebacker Michael Tucker (Chicago, Ill./North Lawndale Prep) and sophomore defensive lineman Sidney Houston (Cahokia, Ill./East St. Louis). Houston added a sack and three tackles for a loss in the contest.

The Bearcats will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 11 as they travel to Cleveland, Miss., for a 6 p.m. game against Delta State University.