Box Score William Jewell College's gameplan on a hot day in Lebanon, IL became apparent early on: run the offense from sideline to sideline and tire out the talented Bearcat defense.
It was effective early, with many substitutions on offense and on defense, and a fast-paced offensive scheme centered around quick passes to a number of receivers. But while the Cards found the pace to be effective, they could not find the endzone offensively in the first half and fell to the Bearcats 28-14.
With the heat index in the mid 90s, the Cardinals fell behind 7-0 but responded with
Darmarcus Robinson's 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the kickoff to tie the game, only to allow two more scores before halftime. Â Two interceptions in the half, by
Andrew Pence and
Justice Taylor, helped keep the Cardinals in the game.
In the third quarter, the defenses of both teams became very stout, and there were a total of 25 punts in the game. Â McKendree managed a score late in the third quarter, and the Cardinals got a 30 yard touchdown run from
Rye'll Dydell in the 4th quarter to cap the scoring.
Jewell's
Jared Hobby, getting his second start of his career, threw 55 times in the game (36-55, 238 yards) but was sacked six times. Â
Bulla Graft had six receptions for 84 yards in the game, and the Cardinals were led by Dydell's 33 yards rushing on two carries.
Kolby Fennewald had 11 tackles, two for losses, to lead Jewell. Â Isaac Dozier had 10 tackles for Jewell.
The Cardinals, now 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the GLVC, travel to Missouri S&T next Saturday.Â