LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University will look to win its second straight game here Saturday, Sept. 24 as the Bearcats play host to Walsh University for a 1 p.m. game on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day and First Responders Day at Leemon Field on the McKendree campus. The Bearcat Sports Network will provide live video of the game beginning with Colin Suhre's pregame show beginning at 12:50 p.m. at www.glvcsn.com/mckendree.
 
The Bearcats come into the contest sporting a 2-1 overall record after collecting a come-from-behind 38-37-win last Saturday at Lake Erie College. McKendree trailed by 12 points with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter when the Bearcats rallied to score two touchdowns in a span of three minutes to earn the road victory. The Bearcats began the comeback with a 65-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) to sophomore receiver Yogi Flager, Jr. (Belleville, Ill./Butler University) with 3:27 remaining and then sealed the win on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to redshirt junior receiver Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) with 23 seconds left in the contest.
 
Saturday's game will be the second home game this season for the Bearcats as they opened its home schedule with a 58-34 setback on Sept. 10 against Delta State.
 
In the win against Lake Erie, the Bearcats were outgained for the  third straight game as the Storm gained 523 yards of offense to McKendree's 396 yards of offense. The Bearcats passed for 294 yards and gained 102 yards on the ground, while Lake Erie had 283 yards passing and 240 yards rushing.
 
The win at Lake Erie also named the 50th all-time win for McKendree head coach Mike Babcock, who is in his 10th season at the helm of the Bearcat program. Babcock is 50-41 as McKendree's coach.
 
On defense, the Bearcats picked off two passes, including a 27-yard interception by sophomore defensive back Ethan Young (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville), forced a fumble and had five tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks.
 
Pullen finished the game 26-for-39 passing for 294 yards and had three touchdowns and one interception and added 59 yards rushing on 14 carries with two rushing scores, including the first score of the game. For the game, Pullen recorded 353 yards of total offense in the game and pushed his career total to 6,913 yards.
 
With his three touchdown passes, Pullen pushed his career total to 57 and with his two rushing scores, he has now had a hand in 79 career touchdowns, which is second-most in school history and fifth among active Division II players.
 
On the season, Pullen currently ranks as the NCAA Division II national leader in completion percentage (76.3 percent), completions per game (30.0), points responsible for (72) and points responsible for per game (24.0). Additionally, he is third in passing touchdowns (10), passing yards (985), fifth in both total offense (348.3) and passing yards per game (328.3) and 10th in passing efficiency (169.3).
 
Pullen is 90-for-118 passing for 985 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions and is completing 76.3 percent of his passes and has gained 60 yards rushing on 38 carries and has scored two times.
 
Flager, Jr., leads the way in receiving with 23 catches for 341 yards and is averaging 14.8 yards per reception and 113.7 yards per game and has hauled three touchdown catches and is averaging 7.7 receptions per game. In his last game against Lake Erie, Flager, Jr. caught eight passes for 152 yards.
 
Bachman is second on the team in receiving as he has caught 20 passes for 164 yards and has had three touchdown receptions and is averaging 6.7 receptions per game and is just 14 receptions shy of the school's career mark for receptions of 150 currently held by Cameron James. Bachman is also fourth among active Division II players in receptions per game as he is averaging 5.3 per game on the year.
 
Sophomore running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) had a big night against Lake Erie on kickoff returns as he returned  six kickoffs for 146 yards, including a 59-yard return to set up a 34-yard field goal by junior kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, Ill./Washington) to give the Bearcats a 10-0 lead just a little under five minutes into the game. Leflore finished the game with 169 all-purpose yards.
 
On the season, Leflore is averaging 175.6 all-purpose yards per game and is averaging  29.7 yards per kickoff return and has caught 14 passes for 136 yards and has gained 183 yards rushing on 38 carries and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and 61.0 yards per game.
 
Through three games, the Bearcats are second in the league in scoring as they are averaging 34.3 points per game and have score over 30 points in all three games this season and four straight games dating to last season. In addition, the Bearcats lead the league in total offense (433.0 yards per game) and passing yards per game (328.3 yards per game) and leads the league and is fourth in Division II in third-down conversions (58.1 percent).
 
Leading the way defensively for the Bearcats is redshirt sophomore Andrew Sherry (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) as he leads the team in tackles with 13, all of which have been solo stops and has had a tackle for a loss of two yards. Sophomore defensive back Brandon Wilson, Jr. (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) has had 12 tackles, including nine solo stops and freshman defensive lineman Tanner Hollerich (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) has had 11 tackles and leads the team in tackles for loss with three and also leads in sacks with two.
 
Young has picked off two passes, while redshirt junior defensive back Darrwin Perkins II (Crete, Ill./Marian Catholic) is tied for the team lead in pass break-ups with two and has blocked a kick on the year.
 
Saturday's game will mark the fourth of five non-conference games this season for the Bearcats and the second consecutive game for McKendree against an opponent from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) as last week's foe, Lake Erie, is also a member of the GMAC.
 
The game with Walsh will mark just the third-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron with McKendree having won both games. The Bearcats earned a 24-10 last season at Walsh and picked up a 26-23 overtime win in North Canton, Ohio, in 1998. In addition, the contest will mark the 22nd all-time contest for the Bearcats against a team from the Buckeye State. The Bearcats are 11-10 all-time against teams from the state of Ohio and has won their last two games against Ohio schools.
 
Following Saturday's game, the Bearcats will open the Great Lakes Valley Conference portion of its schedule next Saturday, Oct. 1 in Liberty, Mo., against William Jewell College. That game will be the first of six straight GLVC games for the Bearcats in the 2022 season.
 
ABOUT WALSH
The Cavaliers comes into Saturday's road contest with McKendree sporting an 0-3 overall record after suffering a 28-13 setback at home last Saturday against Quincy University. That loss to Quincy followed a 35-17 win at Hillsdale (Mich.) and a 42-0 win in its season opener at home against Tiffin. Walsh was picked to finish in the Preseason GMAC Coaches poll.
 
Walsh, who is coached by fourth-year head coach John Fankhauser, comes into action on Saturday having scored just 30 points in three games and are averaging 286.0 yards per game as they are averaging 89.0 yards rushing and 197 yards per game. The Cavaliers have thrown six interceptions but has not tossed a touchdown pass and has scored four rushing touchdowns. Against QU, Walsh outgained the Hawks, 353 to 345 and held a 19-16 edge in first downs.
 
The Cavaliers offense is led by the play redshirt senior quarterback Thomas Vatter. On the season, Vatter is 58-for-101 passing for 591 yards and has had six interceptions and is averaging 197.0 passing yards per game and has a completion percentage of nearly 58 percent and is averaging 182.0 yards of total offense per game.
 
Walsh's running game is paced by the play of redshirt junior running Tai Carter and redshirt sophomore Domenhic Jennings. Carter has gained 117 yards rushing and is averaging 2.8 yards per carry and 39.0 yards per game, while Jennings is averaging 3.7 yards per carry and 37.3 yards per game.
 
Redshirt senior receiver Tyre Gray and redshirt sophomore Keyshawn Johnson lead Walsh's receiving corps as they have combined to catch 22 passes for 223 yards.
 
Defensively, Walsh is allowing 35.0 points per game and 387.3 yards per game. The Cavaliers' defense has recorded 18 tackles for loss, four sacks and has picked off three passes.
 
Leading the way defensively is redshirt sophomore strong safety Diego Bremer. Who has had 18 tackles,  including 11 solo stops. Redshirt senior linebacker Stephen Baugh has had 18 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and one sack, while redshirt freshman linebacker Cam Hollobaugh has had 15 tackles, three tackles for a loss and has had one interception. Walsh's opponents are converting just 45 percent (19-for-42) of its third-down attempts.

On special teams, redshirt freshman Garrett Kashner is averaging 37.1 yard per punt and has downed seven punts inside the 20-yard line, while redshirt senior kicker Charles Hanchett is 3-for-6 on field goals and is 3-for-3 on extras points. Redshirt junior Nolan Johnson is averaging 21.6 yards per kickoff return, while redshirt freshman Kharion Davis has returned two punts for an average 11.5 yards per return.