GAMEDAY CENTRAL: Hawks, Cards Battle In Liberty

Quincy University Hawks (3-2, 1-2 GLVC) at William Jewell College Cardinals (0-5, 0-3 GLVC)
Saturday, Hawktober 8, 2016 | 1:00 p.m.
Liberty, MO | Greene Stadium

ROAD TIMES TWO: The Quincy University football team will hit the road for the second time in as many weeks as they travel to Liberty, Mo. for a GLVC matchup with William Jewell. The Hawks, who opened the season with three wins, have dropped their last two games, including a 31-13 defeat at Saint Joseph's their last time out on Hawktober 1. Quincy is in the midst of a stretch that sees it play four road games in five weeks.

WJC-QU HISTORY: Three of the four games between the Hawks and Cardinals have been decided by one score or less and all four games have been won by the road team. Last year, the Cards hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired to down the Hawks, 24-21. The season before Quincy defeated then-first place Jewell, 42-28, in Liberty, Mo. Redshirt-junior running back Chris Harris (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) has rushed for over 100 yards in each of his two games against WJC and has three touchdowns. In 2013, the Cardinals hit a 46-yard, game-winning field goal with 63 seconds to go to beat QU at Flinn Stadium. In the first meeting, the Hawks closed the 2012 season with a 21-14 win over the Cardinals.

DEFENSIVE TD: For the second time this season, the Hawks scored a touchdown on an interception return. Senior defensive tackle Darian Johnson (Freeport, Ill.) made a sensational play on the ball as Philip Kimble threw a swing pass to his tailback, but Johnson whipped his right hand in the air and pulled in a one-handed interception before returning it 21 yards to give Quincy a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Sophomore safety Shane Barrett (St. Peters, Mo./Fort Zumwalt East) also had a pick-six against Lincoln in Week 3.

TOUGH GAME: Despite the 18-point spread in the score last week, the Hawks were only outgained by the Pumas, 411-355. QU also maintained its normal offensive balance with 127 yards on the ground and 228 through the air. The Hawks' issues came with turnovers. QU turned the ball over five times – three on fumbles and two on interceptions. While QU has still thrown just three interceptions in just five games this season, ball security has been a problem for Quincy. The Hawks have put the ball on the ground 13 times and have lost it nine times. That figure ranks them near the bottom in Division II. Quincy is still ranked in the top 25 nationally in interceptions thrown.

RETURN FROM INJURY: Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Robbie Kelley (Rochester, Ill.) was hobbled in Quincy's Sept. 24 game against Southwest Baptist and was limited to about half the snaps in that game. He took every snap at quarterback last week, though his mobility was limited. He was sacked twice and the normally mobile signal-caller did not have a rush for positive yardage. Through the air, he was 12-for-31 for 228 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He averaged 19 yards per completion.

10 FOR 100: Senior wide receiver Eric Poindexter (Newport News, Va./Warwick/Monroe College) maintained his stature as one of the GLVC's premier passing targets, catching four passes for 126 yards last week. Poindexter has now had 100 yards receiving 10 times in his career. Poindexter did, however, have his touchdown streak snapped. Poindexter had caught a touchdown pass in each of his last five games, dating back to the final game of last season. Poindexter leads the GLVC and ranks 12th in Division II with 171 all-purpose yards per game. He is also fourth in the league in receiving yards per game (89.0) and second in kick return average (27.4).

CLIMBING THE RECORDS: With his 126 yards last week, Poindexter also moved into second place all-time at Quincy University in receiving yards. He now has 2,171 receiving yards – one of three receivers to reach the 2,000-yard career milestone. Poindexter, a transfer from Monroe College, has also done it in just three seasons.

JAMES WITH THE CARRY: Despite being held under 100 yards rushing the last two weeks, redshirt-freshman running back Jaylan James (St. Louis, Mo./Miller Career Academy) is still ranked second in the GLVC in rushing with 488 total yards (97.6 per game). James is also tied with Poindexter and two other players for third place with five touchdowns on the season. James has seen a lighter load the past two weeks as Harris returned to the lineup. The Springfield, Ill. native rushed for 59 yards on just six carries last week. Redshirt-freshman Dominique Bobo (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade/Valparaiso) also ran the ball six times for 40 yards. Removing the two sacks, the Hawks rushed for 164 yards last week.

LEONARD LEADING: The QU defense has been led this season by sophomore linebacker Cody Leonard (Carrollton, Ill.), who has 39 tackles (24 solo) on the season. He also ranks second in the GLVC and 13th nationally in tackles for loss (1.9 per game/9.5 overall). Leonard also has two sacks and an interception. As a team, the Hawks are tied for the league lead with 9.4 tackles for loss per game.

UP NEXT: The Hawks come back to #TheRock next Saturday (Hawktober 15) for the first night game since the stadium's rebirth last year. QU will kick off with visiting Indianapolis at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Shane Barrett: DB; 5' 8"; Sophomore

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

#30 Jaylan James: RB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

#15 Darian Johnson: DL; 6' 2"; Senior

#3 Robbie Kelley: QB; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore

#53 Cody Leonard: LB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#13 Eric Poindexter: WR; 5' 11"; Senior

#18 Dominique Bobo: RB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

#11 Shane Barrett
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: DB

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

#30 Jaylan James
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: RB

#15 Darian Johnson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: DL

#3 Robbie Kelley
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore
: QB

#53 Cody Leonard
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: LB

#13 Eric Poindexter
: 5' 11"; Senior
: WR

#18 Dominique Bobo
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: RB