LEBANON, Ill. – Redshirt junior quarterback Turner Pullen (Shelbyville, Ill./Shelbyville) accounted for nearly 400 yards of total offense and had a hand in three touchdowns, while redshirt junior receiver Jacob Bachman (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) caught seven passes for 116 yards to become the school's all-time leader in pass receiving yards as he eclipsed Matt Cole's mark of 1,618 yards by one yard as Bachman has now recorded 1,619 career receiving yards as McKendree University football rolled to a 46-10 non-conference win over Walsh University here Saturday afternoon at Leemon Field.
 
With its second consecutive win, the Bearcats improve to 3-1 on the season, while Walsh falls to 0-4 on the year. The three wins are just one shy of the total amount of wins that McKendree won last season as they posted a 4-7 overall record.
 
Pullen, who started the game 12-for-12 passing, completed 24-of-35 passes for 390 yards and had three passing touchdowns and did not throw an interception, nor get sacked in Saturday's victory on First Responders and Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. Pullen also added five yards rushing for a total of 395 yards of total offense. With those totals on Saturday, Pullen pushed his career passing yards total to 6,587 yards and his offensive yards total to 7,315 yards. In addition, his three touchdown passes pushed his career total to 60, which is four shy of Isaac Fisher's all-time school mark of 64.
 
"I think the pass game is going really well this season. I think we have some stellar wide receivers, tight ends, running backs everybody at the skill position," McKendree head coach Mike Babcock said following his 51st win as the Bearcats' coach. "Turner (Pullen) is having a really good season so far. Would really like to get our run game going better, but its hard when we've had some key injuries on the offensive line, but we're trying to find ways to balance the offense out, but luckily for us, the pass game is going in our direction right now."
 
Pullen entered Saturday's game as the NCAA Division II football national leader in completion percentage (76.3 percent), completions per game (30.0), points responsible for (72 points) and points responsible for per game (24.0 points per game) and was third in both passing TDs (10) and fifth in both passing yards per game (328.3) and total offense per game (348.3).
 
For the day, McKendree's offense finished with 472 yards on the day as along with 390 passing yards, they added 82 yards rushing on 26 carries, while the 46 points were a season high for the Bearcats and the most points scored by McKendree in a home game since scoring 52 points last season against William Jewell.
 
"These are the kind of games you want. It was a tough one for a quarter-and-a-half and my hats off to Walsh, they were probably one of the most physical teams we've played to date. They run hard and it took us a little bit to get going on both sides of the ball, but it was nice to have an unbelievable second half on both sides and come away with a big win," McKendree head football coach Mike Babcock said following the game.
 
Along with a strong offense, the Bearcats defense stepped up on Saturday as they held Walsh's offense to just 10 points and allowed a season low 304 yards in the win. McKendree's defense also forced four turnovers, including redshirt sophomore defensive back Andrew Sherry (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) picked off a pass returned it 34 yards for a score to give the Bearcats a 39-7 lead late in the third quarter.
 
"Getting turnovers is a big thing we stress and it's taken a couple of games. I thought we had some nice one's last game, but this go around, the floodgates opened up and we were able to make some big plays defensively when it came down to it," Babcock added about his team's defensive performance.
 
Sherry's interception return for a touchdown was the first for the Bearcats since Isaiah Ward returned an interception 22 yards against Quincy on Nov. 4, 2017.
 
The four forced turnovers by McKendree were the most by the Bearcats in a game since forcing four turnovers last season at Delta State. On the season, the Bearcats now have a +4 turnover margin on the season.
 
In addition, the 304 yards of offense is the fewest allowed by McKendree this season and the fewest since allowing 278 yards last season against William Jewell.
 
In addition to Bachman, sophomore receiver Yogi Flager, Jr. (Belleville, Ill./Butler University) continued to be Pullen's big play receiver as he caught five passes for 119 yards and had two touchdown receptions. A third receiver was just eight yards shy of 100 receiving yards as redshirt junior Tyler Siever (Carlyle, Ill./Carlyle) caught three passes for 92 yards, including a 73 yard reception on McKendree's final scoring drive of game midway through the fourth quarter.
 
Walsh received the ball to open the game and on that opening possession, the Cavaliers drove 75 yards in 11 plays and capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by Dom Jennings to give Walsh a 7-0 lead just a little over five minutes into the game. That was the first time this season McKendree had allowed an opponent to score on their first possession of the game.
 
The Bearcats, though, would answer right back as they drove 65 yards in 11 plays and capped the six minute drive with a 1-yard run by sophomore running back Narkel Leflore (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood). On the drive, Pullen was 7-for-7 passing for 46 yards, including a 25-yard reception to Flager, Jr., on a third-and-10 play.
 
McKendree's defense got into the scoring column early in the second quarter as a bad snap went over Walsh quarterback Tom Vatter's out of the end zone for a safety to give the Bearcats a 9-7 lead.
 
On the ensuing McKendree drive, the Bearcats pushed its lead to 15-7 following a 40-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to Flager, Jr. The extra point by junior kicker Ryan Kastl (Washington, Ill./Washington) was blocked by Walsh's Cam Hollobaugh.
 
Late in the second quarter, the Bearcats defense stopped the Cavaliers short of a first down on a 4-and-2 play from the McK 3-yard line. On the play, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Josh Bleich (Melvin, Ill./Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley) tackled Vatter for a 1-yard gain to turn the ball over on downs to the Bearcats.
 
On that final drive of the half by the Bearcats, they drove 87 yards in 15 plays and capped the drive with a 28-yard field goal from Kastl to give the Bearcats an 18-7 lead at the half. The big plays on the drive were back-to-back passes of 25 yards from Pullen to Flager, Jr., and 37-yards from Pullen to Bachman.
 
The third quarter belonged to the Bearcats as they scored on three of their five possessions in the quarter and the fourth drive resulted in a missed field goal by Kastl.
 
McKendree got the scoring started in the third quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Pullen to sophomore receiver Diontay Griffin (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington). The drive began following a sack and fumble by Vatter at his team's own 43-yard line. The sack was recorded by redshirt sophomore linebacker Denzel Stephens (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood), while freshman defensive lineman Tanner Hollerich (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) recovered the fumble.
 
On the next possession by Walsh, the Bearcats defense came up with another turnover as Sherry forced a fumble by Tyre Gray after he had caught a nine yard pass and the fumble was recovered by junior defensive back Drew Crooks (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington).
 
That fumble led to another score by the Bearcats as Flager, Jr., caught a 10-yard pass from Pullen for his second score of the game.
 
Walsh would commit another turnover on its next drive as Sherry picked up a Vatter pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown to push out to a 39-7 lead with 2:41 left in the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats capped their scoring on its second possession of the quarter that began following an interception by redshirt junior defensive back Darrwin Perkins (Crete, Ill./Marian Catholic). The drive was capped by a 2-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Ronnie Hunsaker (Columbia, Ill./Columbia).
 
Walsh would complete the game's scoring on its final possession of the game as the Cavaliers drove 51 yards in 10 plays but the drive stalled near the red zone and Charlie Hatchett made a 41-yard field goal with 37 seconds left in the game.
 
Vatter finished the game 19-for-27 passing for 165 yards and was sacked twice and pressured numerous times by the Bearcat defense as they had six tackles for loss in the game.
 
In addition to Vatter, the Cavaliers gained 138 yards rushing on the day as Tai Carter had 91 yards rushing on 16 carries, while Logan Scott had 46 yards on three carries.
 
Sherry and Stephens paced McKendree's defense with five tackles each, while seven different Bearcats had a tackle for a loss and Stephens and Bleich each had a sack in the win.
 
The Bearcats will look to win its third straight game next Saturday, Oct. 1 as they open the Great Lakes Valley Conference portion of its schedule for a 1 p.m. game in Liberty, Mo., against William Jewell College.
 
"Hopefully this gives us a little momentum and hopefully it shows we can play a physical game and win big," added Babcock.