Hawks To Close 2014 Season Against Rival McKendree

McKendree University Bearcats (4-6, 4-3 GLVC) at Quincy University Hawks (6-4, 4-3 GLVC)
Nov. 15, 2014 | 1 p.m.
Flinn Stadium - Quincy, Ill.

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QUINCY GAME NOTES (.pdf) | MCKENDREE GAMES NOTES (.pdf)

SEASON FINALE: The Hawks will play their final game of the 2014 season on Saturday when they play host to visiting rival McKendree. This will be Quincy's sixth home game of the season – their most since the 1994 campaign, in which they were 8-1. The Hawks are trying to win for the fifth time in their lasts six games after Truman State snapped Quincy's four-game winning streak last week, 17-14.

VS. THE BEARCATS: The Hawks are 4-11 all-time (since 1986) against McKendree in one of Quincy's longest-standing series as the two teams came up from NAIA to the NCAA Division II level together with the GLVC's inaugural season in 2012. This is the 13th straight season these teams have met. The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bearcats in 2012 at Flinn Stadium when head coach Tom Pajic earned his first career win, 38-19, as a head coach. Last season, the Bearcats handled the Hawks, 51-16, in Lebanon, Ill.

LAST LOOK AT LAST WEEK: Two big scoring plays and a long sustained drive gave Truman State a 17-14 win over the Hawks in a defensive battle in Kirksville, Mo. last Saturday. The Bulldogs scored on a 75-yard run by Garrett White and then a 63-yard pass play on the next drive in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead. The Hawks scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half, after a 15-play drive, to cut the halftime deficit to 14-7. QU would tie the game in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs pieced together a 13-play, seven-minute drive that ended in a field goal for the deciding score.

SEEKING HISTORY: The Hawks are looking for their first seven-win season since they were 8-1 and won the Illini-Badger Conference in 1994. The Hawks have won seven games only three times since the program was reinstated at the University in 1986.

QUINCY'S ALL-TIME PASSING LISTS: (See PDF notes)

D-FENCE: For the second straight week, the Hawks held a team to less than 300 yards of total offense. They have now done that five times this season and it's a big reason why the Hawks are 6-4 overall. The Hawks rank second in the GLVC (17th nationally) at stopping the run, allowing just 104.1 yards per game. QU is also second in the conference in total defense (320.7 yards allowed per game). Last week, Quincy allowed 299 yards with 138 of those coming on two plays. Overall, the Hawks are outgaining their opponents by 71 yards per game.

HARRIS SETS THE RECORD: When redshirt-junior quarterback Nick Lonergan (Jacksonville, Ill.) scampered 21 yards to the 1-yard line in the third quarter, head coach Tom Pajic turned the ball over to 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt-freshman running back Chris Harris (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin), who pounded it in to tie the game at 14-14. With the touchdown, Harris became Quincy's all-time leader in single-season rushing touchdowns with 16, surpassing Rob Munson (1993 and 1994). Harris has 927 rushing yards this season and needs 73 on Saturday to reach the 1,000-yard mark.

TWO RUSHES: The defenses owned the game last week as the teams combined for just 454 yards, but two rushes by the Hawks gave them a late fourth quarter lead. With the game tied, 13-13, with less than five minutes to play, redshirt-freshman tailback Chris Harris (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin) broke through on a 45-yard run that put the Hawks inside the S&T 1-yard line. That's where redshirt-junior quarterback Nick Lonergan (Jacksonville, Ill.) sneaked in to the end zone to make it 20-13. Harris finished the game with 101 yards on the ground and Lonergan had 64 rushing yards when taking away yardage lost on sacks. For the season, Lonergan has 287 rushing yards gained before removing sack yardage. Meanwhile, Harris sits just 105 yards shy of a 1,000-yard rushing season.

CAMP, ONIKE CLIMBING CHARTS: Redshirt-senior linebackers Dan Camp (Rochester, Ill.) and Ike Onike (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) will both be playing in their final games on Saturday, and both rank highly in Quincy's defensive record books (See PDF notes).

KEEPAWAY: The QU offense has done a nice job in the last four games of chewing up clock and keeping the defense well-rested. In that stretch, the Hawks have a 39-minute, 38-second time of possession advantage. In three of those four games, the Hawks have held the ball 13 minutes longer than their opponents. QU also has more first downs than its opponents in eight of its 10 games.

NO PICKS: Part of the reason for the time of possession advantage has been a lack of giveaways by the QU offense. Lonergan has thrown just three interceptions this season and QU is one of five teams in the nation with three or fewer picks.

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Players Mentioned

#35 Dan Camp: LB; 6' 0"; Senior

#28 Chris Harris: RB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#5 Nick Lonergan: QB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

#18 Ike Onike: LB; 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#35 Dan Camp
: 6' 0"; Senior
: LB

#28 Chris Harris
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: RB

#5 Nick Lonergan
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior
: QB

#18 Ike Onike
: 5' 11"; Senior
: LB