harris
Randy Swope
34
Southwest Baptist SBU 2-4 , 1-4
59
Winner Quincy QU 3-3 , 1-2
Southwest Baptist SBU
2-4 , 1-4
34
Final
59
Quincy QU
3-3 , 1-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SBU Southwest Baptist 17 14 3 0 34
QU Quincy 7 14 17 21 59

Game Recap: Football | | Brendan Bittner

Harris Runs For Records In 59-34 Win

QUINCY, Ill. – Redshirt-freshman running back Chris Harris (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) carried the ball for a record-setting day as the Quincy University football team blitzed Southwest Baptist in the second half for a 59-34 win at Flinn Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 11) afternoon.
 
Harris ran for 218 yards and set school and Great Lakes Valley Conference records with seven rushing touchdowns to lead a Quincy running game that gained 363 yards on Saturday. Harris also set the school record and GLVC records for total touchdowns (seven) and points (42). He was one touchdown shy of matching the NCAA Division II single-game record for rushing touchdowns.
 
Finally, Harris set the school and GLVC records for longest rushing play from scrimmage with a 93-yard scamper up-the-middle that capped the game's scoring in the final minute.
 
The Hawks (3-3, 1-2 GLVC) picked up the lead on their first drive of the game as Harris finished a 75-yard play drive with a two-yard score.
 
After that, things looked bleak for the Hawks as Southwest Baptist opened up its GLVC-leading passing game and scored the next 24 points to take a 24-7 lead with 12:25 to play in the first half. SBU quarterback Willie Tindal finished with 477 passing yards, going 31-for-49 through the air.
 
The Hawks scored on their next two possessions – finished by touchdowns of six and one yards by Harris – to trim that deficit back to 24-21 with 2:39 left in the half.
 
Quincy hoped to keep SBU off the board before the break, but the Bearcats came back with a quick drive that was finished with a 42-yard pass down the right sideline for Nathan Mourik to make it 31-21 heading into the break.
 
After halftime, the QU defense flipped the switch and turned on the pressure as the front seven set up camp in the SBU backfield.
 
Quincy took advantage of a bad snap on the Bearcats' first second-half possession and sophomore defensive tackle Darian Johnson (Freeport, Ill.) fell on the loose ball at the SBU 24-yard line to set up the Hawks in scoring position. Three Harris rushes later, the Hawks trailed just 31-28.
 
The teams then traded field goals with Quincy redshirt-sophomore Blake Allison (Decatur, Ill./Saint Teresa) connecting from 33 yards to cut the deficit to 34-31. Allison was also perfect on eight extra point tries on Saturday.
 
The Quincy defense shut out the Bearcats the rest of the way. SBU marched into QU territory on its next drive, but freshman cornerback Adehkeem Brown (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue) ripped a pass from a SBU receiver's hands for his first career interception.
 
A season-long 48-yard pass from redshirt-junior quarterback Nick Lonergan (Jacksonville, Ill.) to redshirt-freshman tight end Owen Schoenenberger (Evansville, Wis.) set up the Hawks inside the SBU 10-yard line and Harris punched it in from six yards out to give QU its first lead since the game's opening drive.
 
The QU defense got a stop and the Hawks moved 77 yards in five plays, capped by a gorgeous 19-yard touchdown pass from Lonergan to Schoenenberger to give QU a 45-34 lead. Schoenenberger fought off a draped SBU defender and came down with one foot in the end zone for the score. The drive was helped by a 45-yard run by redshirt-junior Sterling Ross (New Port Richey, Fla./Ridgewood).
 
Southwest Baptist converted one third down on its next drive, but the Hawks forced three straight incompletions to give the 'Cats fourth down and redshirt-sophomore Tanner Day (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) gave the Hawks the ball with a nine-yard sack.
 
Lonergan's 27-yard pass to Schoenenberger set up Harris for a nine-yard touchdown on QU's next possession to stretch the lead to 52-34 with four minutes to play.
 
The Bearcats then moved the ball down to the Quincy 1-yard line, but the defense had one final stand as senior linebacker Dan Camp (Rochester, Ill.) stuffed a dive on third down and Tindal's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
 
The Hawks set up camp inside their own 1-yard line and looked to run down the clock. A quarterback dive and an encroachment penalty moved the ball to the 7-yard line.
 
Quincy handed it to Harris for likely the final hand-off of the day and the 6-foot, 200-pound back burst through all three levels of the defense and out-sprinted the SBU unit to the end zone for his seventh touchdown.
 
Harris averaged 9.1 yards per carry (24-218) on the day. Meanwhile, Ross finished with 89 yards on seven rushes and Lonergan gained 56 yards on 13 carries.
 
Lonergan was 16-for-23 through the air for 281 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once on the day and for just the second time this season. Schoenenberger caught five passes for a career-high 113 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Eric Poindexter (Newport News, Va./Warwick/Monroe College) had six catches for 77 yards.
 
The Quincy defense piled up six sacks on the day, getting two from Day, who had three tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Ike Onike (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) had 10 tackles and a sack and redshirt-sophomore Jasus Harkins (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) had 10 stops.
 
Nathan Mourik (seven catches, 167 yards, two touchdowns) and Kendrick Payne (eight catches, 122 yards, one touchdown) led the receiving corps for the Bearcats, who had just 23 yards rushing.
 
The Hawks return to action next Saturday (Oct. 18) when they travel to Saint Joseph's for GLVC action. Kickoff is slated for noon. The Pumas (5-1, 2-1 GLVC) are coming off a 28-20 road win at Lincoln on Saturday.
 
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