LEBANON, Ill. – After spending the last two weeks playing at home, the McKendree University football team will return to the road for a 1 p.m. Great Lakes Valley Conference battle in Rolla, Mo., against Missouri S&T in Jackling Field at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

The Bearcats enter Saturday's game sporting a 4-3 overall record and 1-2 mark in the GLVC after suffering its second straight setback last Saturday at home as they fell 63-62 in overtime to Quincy University. In that game, the Bearcats scored a season high 62 points and led 49-28 at the half, before Quincy would outscore McKendree, 28-13 in the second half and overtime to post the come-from-behind victory.

McKendree's home loss last weekend to Quincy followed its 38-23 loss at home two weeks ago to then eighth-ranked Indianapolis. Prior to the loss to UIndy, McKendree had reeled off three consecutive victories, including opening GLVC play with a 45-34 win at William Jewell on Oct. 1.

Against Quincy, the Bearcats offense gained 565 yards of offense as they passed for 376 yards and rushed for a season high 189 yards on 22 carries and averaged 8.6 yards per rush. McKendree scored on seven of its nine first half possessions and the 62 points were the most scored by the Bearcats since tallying 62 points in a 62-34 win at home against Quincy on Nov. 9, 2019.

Redshirt junior quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) continued his strong play on the season as he was 36-for-48 passing for 376 yards and tied a career high with five touchdown passes and added 42 yards rushing for a season-high 418 yards of total offense. The 376 passing yards pushed his career total to 7,668 yards and is now just 840 yards shy of Isaac Fisher's career school record passing yard mark of 8,508 yards, while the 25 touchdown passes pushed Pullen within two of Fisher's career school record of 27 touchdown passes.
 
Pullen comes into Saturday's game with Missouri S&T leading all of Division II in completion percentage (73.6 percent), completions per game (31.0), passing touchdowns (25), passing yards (2,456), passing yards per game (350.9), points responsible for (168), points responsible for per game (24.0) and total offense (369.7) and is fourth in passing efficiency at 168.7. He has thrown for 300 or more yards in a school record four consecutive games and has a streak of 15 consecutive games with a touchdown pass dating to last season.

As a team, McKendree leads Division II in completion percentage (73.6 percent) and is sixth in first downs offense (171), third in passing offense (350.9), sixth in red zone offense (93.5 percent), eighth in scoring (39.9) and 12th in total offense (461.7).

The receiving corps has been led by redshirt junior Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) and sophomore Yogi Flager, Jr. (Belleville, Ill./Butler University). Bachman has caught a GLVC-leading 59 passes for 545 yards and had had six touchdown passes and is averaging 77.9 yards per game and is third nationally in receptions per game with 8.4, while Flager, Jr., leads the league in receiving yards (747), receiving touchdowns (9), receiving yards per game (106.7) and is second in the receptions per game (6.7). Bachman is currently fourth among active Division II players in receptions per game as he averages 5.9 per game in his career.

Against Quincy last week, Flager, Jr. caught six passes for 112 yards and had two touchdown receptions, while sophomore Diontay Griffin (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) caught eight passes for a career-high 138 yards and had one touchdown catch.

Sophomore running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) also caught eight passes for 73 yards and gained a career-high 134 yards on 11 carries and averaged 12.2 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns on runs of 41 and 72 yards. Along with his 73 yards receiving and 134 yards rushing, Leflore finished the game with 264 all-purpose yards.

On the season, the Bearcats are averaging 110.9 yards per game rushing as they have gained 776 yards rushing on 203 carries. Leflore leads the way with 459 yards rushing on 83 carries and is now just 16 yards shy of becoming the 23rd Bearcat running back to gain 1,000 career rushing yards. He has gained 984 yards rushing on 179 carries as a Bearcat.

Two other Bearcats have gained over 100 yards rushing on the season as Pullen has collected 132 yards on 60 carries, while redshirt sophomore Jayden Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway Central) has gained 124 yards rushing on 34 carries and has scored three times.
 
Special teams played a role in Saturday's game against Quincy as Flager, Jr., who was named the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, returned a punt a school record 95 yards for a touchdown to give the Bearcats a 28-14 lead late in the first quarter. The 95-yard punt return was tied for the longest punt return this season in Division II and was the first punt return for a touchdown since Matt Cole recorded a 74-yard return for a score against William Jewell in 2019. The previous school record punt return was 90 yards set by Derrick Curry against Truman State in 2016.

Against Quincy, McKendree recorded a total of eight returns for 227 yards as they had seven kickoff returns for 132 yard and one punt return for 95 yards. The 227 yards in returns were a season high for the Bearcats.

On defense, the Bearcats are third in the league and 19th nationally in turnover margin (+6) and they have forced 13 turnovers, including picking off eight passes, which is tied for first in the league. In addition, the Bearcats have recorded 35 tackles for loss, eight sacks and 16 pass break-ups.

Leading the way for the Bearcats defense is redshirt sophomore defensive back Andrew Sherry (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way West), who has had 40 tackles, including 35 solo stops and has had one tackle for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and two pass break-ups. Sophomore defensive back Brandon Wilson, Jr. (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) is next in tackles with 31 tackles and has had one interception.

Sophomore defensive back Ethan Young (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) is tied for first in the league in interceptions with three, while sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Stoneburner (Effingham, Ill./Effingham) leads in tackles for loss with 4.5 and freshman defensive lineman Tanner Hollerich (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) leads in sacks with two and has had three tackles for loss.

Flager, Jr. is one of five Bearcats to earn GLVC Player of the Week honors this season as Pullen was named the Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3, while redshirt junior linebacker Luca Gualdoni (Johnston City, Ill./Johnston City), Sherry and freshman linebacker Logan Turbyfill (Cottage Hills, Ill./Civic Memorial) have each earned Defensive Players of the Week.

Meanwhile, Missouri S&T comes into Saturday's game sporting a 3-4 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the league following its 41-14 win last Saturday at William Jewell. The Miners have lost three of their last five games overall with the wins coming against William Jewell and at home against Quincy (31-24). Missouri S&T, who is hosting Homecoming this weekend, will be playing its first home game since Oct. 1 as they have played their last two games away from home.
 
Following Saturday's game at Missouri S&T, the Bearcats will return home to Leemon Field to conclude the home portion of its schedule by hosting Southwest Baptist for both Homecoming and Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Lebanon, Ill.

ABOUT MISSOURI S&T
The Miners, who were picked to finish fifth in the Preseason GLVC Coaches' poll, have won just twice in their last games with both of those wins coming in GLVC play as they opened league play with a 31-24 home win over Quincy and then picked up a 41-14 road win last Saturday at William Jewell. S&T's only loss in league play came Truman State (36-14) two weeks ago. S&T opened the season by winning just one of its first four games, which was a 17-14 overtime win at NCAA FCS member Drake University. 

Against William Jewell last Saturday, the Miners jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and finished the game with a season-high 364 yards in the road GLVC win. The Miners passed for 186 yards and rushed for 178 yards, including redshirt freshman Cameren Smith recording his second straight 100 yard rushing game as he gained 114 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown. Smith leads S&T in rushing on the season with 422 yard and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and 60.3 yards per game. Additionally, he has scored five rushing touchdowns. 

Senior quarterback Staton King went 18-for-29 passing for 186 yards and had two touchdown passes against the Cardinals. On the season, King is 67-for-112 passing for 697 yards and has thrown six touchdowns and three interceptions. He has an efficiency of 124.4 percent and has added 41 yards rushing for a total of 738 yards of total offense. He is averaging 147.6 yards of offense per game. 

Two Miners have recorded over 200 yards receiving on the season as junior Isaiah Wright leads the way with 22 catches for 256 yards and is averaging 11.6 yards per reception and has had one touchdown catch. Junior CJ Jamron has caught 13 passes for 271 yards and is averaging 20.8 yards per reception and has caught four of S&T's nine passing touchdowns on the year. Jamron had two of his four touchdown catches on the season last week at William Jewell. 

Perhaps the biggest strength of the Miners this season has been its defense as S&T is allowing 22.7 points and 327.1 yards per game. In last week's win at William Jewell, S&T's defense allowed only 141 yards, which is the second-fewest ever given up by an the Miners defense in a GLVC game as they allowed 132 yards to Quincy in 2012.

Leading the way defensively for S&T is fifth-year senior strong safety Stefan Camplin as he has recorded 51 tackles, including 30 solo stops and has had three tackles for loss and broken up four passes. Senior linebacker Ben Straatmann has had 49 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks and an interception. Straatmann, who led Division II in sacks last season with 14, is fifth in Division II in tackles for loss this season as he averages 2.4 per game and is 14th in sacks as he averages one per game. 

As a team, S&T has recorded 59 tackles for a loss, 25 sacks, have forced seven fumbles, and picked off five passes. In addition, S&T has blocked four kicks, which is 12th best in Division II. Over the last two seasons, the Miners have blocked 14 kicks. 

Junior return specialist Gideon Niboh is among the national leaders in punt returns as he is currently fourth in Division II in punt returns as he averages 19 yards per return and has returned two punts for touchdowns on the year, including a 60-yard return last week at William Jewell. He is just the third Miners player to return two punts for a score twice in the same season. 

Missouri S&T holds a 6-3 lead in the all-time series against McKendree and the Miners have won three straight games in the series, including collecting 37-31 win last season at Leemon Field. The last two match-ups in the series have come down to the final play of the game. In 2019, S&T collected a 51-50 win after stopping the Bearcats on a two-point conversion try with no time left on the clock and then last year's game was won after a pass from Pullen into the end zone for the tying touchdown fell incomplete.