LEBANON, Ill. – The Bearcats will wrap up the 2023 season as they host the William Jewell Cardinals on Saturday, November 11
th.
Game Information
Senior Day
The program will be honoring nine seniors before kickoff for their time and dedication to the program. Those seniors are going to be
Drew Crooks,
Ryan Kastl,
Caleb Fisher,
Josh Bleich,
Matt Murphy,
Michael Showers,
Ben Sommer, BreeZian Wilson and
Trevon Stokes.
What's At Stake?
With a Bearcat win over the Cardinals, and some help around the league, McKendree has a chance to be named Co-GLVC champions. In order for this to happen, the Bearcats will need Southwest Baptist to defeat UIndy and Missouri S&T to defeat Truman State.
This scenario would see McKendree, Indianapolis and Missouri S&T all sitting at 5-2 in GLVC play. The highest ranked team will get the NCAA Division II playoff automatic qualifier bid. With the other two teams remaining, a tiebreaker would be used to determine the GLVC representative to the America's Crossroads Bowl in Hammond, Indiana on December 2
nd.
Series History
The Bearcats and Cardinals have met ten times previously. McKendree holds a perfect 10-0 record dating back to 2012 when the series began.
Scouting the Bearcats
The McKendree University Bearcats are currently on a four-game win streak and sit with an overall record of 4-5 (4-2 GLVC). This comes after they defeated the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds 21-16, who was ranked eighth in the AFCA poll last week. The win was McKendree's first over a ranked opponent in their Division II history and their first win over the Greyhounds in now 12 games.
After catching five passes for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns,
Kendall Abdur-Rahman was named GLVC Offensive Player of the Week. He now has 22 catches for 307 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
Quarterback
Caleb Fisher is 149-of-233 passing for 1,462 yards and 16 touchdowns. On the ground,
Eddie Clark is the top back with 114 carries for 416 yards and four touchdowns.
Scouting the Cardinals
The William Jewell Cardinals come into the final week of the season with a record of 2-7 (1-5 GLVC). They have lost their last five games with their last win coming on September 30
th against Upper Iowa University by the score of 30-13. Last week, they hosted Southwest Baptist University and fell by the score of 71-3. The lone points was a Paul Geelen 35-yard field goal in the early portion of the 3
rd quarter.
On the season, CJ Ward is 113-of-186 passing for 1,338 yards and 14 touchdowns. Their top receiver has been Deldrionn Amos who has caught 39 passes for 493 yards and six touchdowns. Kaundre McCullough is the leading rusher with 125 carries for 600 yards and four touchdowns.
