BOLIVAR, Mo. — The Southwest Baptist University football team cruised to a 35-7 victory over McKendree on SBU Homecoming, moving their record to 5-0 (3-0 GLVC) for the best start in program history on Saturday afternoon.
After punts by both teams to start the game off, the Bearcats marched down the field on their second drive of the day to take the early lead. Using a steady dose of Bubba Jenkins and short passes from quarterback TJ Edwards, SBU capped off the 80-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown strike from Edwards to Scottie Wilson to give SBU a 7-0 lead. The defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out on McKendree’s next offensive possession before Southwest Baptist extended their lead with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter. After a couple of short rushes, Edwards found Kendrick Payne down the sideline for a 67-yard touchdown pass to give SBU a 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter McKendree used excellent field position to advance the ball down to the SBU 17, but the defense held strong and forced a missed field goal by McKendree to maintain the 14-0 lead. SBU quickly extended their lead on the following drive when Edwards once again hit Payne with a 50-yard touchdown pass as Payne weaved through traffic to give the Bearcats a 21-0 lead. The SBU defense continued their strong play, forcing 3 McKendree punts coupled with another missed field goal by the visiting Bearcats as SBU took a 21-0 lead into the half.
To open up the second half the Bearcat defense forced another McKendree three-and-out, and once again the offense took advantage. Edwards hit three different recievers on the drive, capped off with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Payne, his third of the game, as SBU extended their lead to 28-0. McKendree advanced the ball into the SBU redzone on the following drive, but an interception by Nick Burns halted any scoring opportunity by the visitors. However, after excellent field position for McK, the visiting Bearcats went through the air to break up the shutout with a 28-yard touchdown pass as SBU led 28-7 with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. SBU responded right back, using a 14 play, 70-yard drive that took nearly 5 minutes to push their lead back to 35-7. Edwards found Wilson on a 12-yard touchdown pass, Wilson’s second of the game and Edwards’ fifth passing touchdown. In the fourth quarter the Bearcats ran out the clock, and the defense came up with numerous big stops, as SBU cruised to a 35-7 victory.
TJ Edwards led the SBU offense with 315 passing yards and 5 touchdowns, while Kendrick Payne had 164 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns and Scottie Wilson had 54 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground Bubba Jenkins picked up 127 yards rushing on 29 carries. Defensively the Bearcats have 7 players with at least five tackles a piece, led by Quinlan Gaines’ 7 stops. Vice Epenesa picked up 2 sacks while Nick Burns and Peyton Pollock each had an interception.
The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, October 8 when they host Truman State. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. from Plaster Stadium in Bolivar.
