The following “Pick Six” points offer a quick look inside GLVC football action this week:
[1 | last full week of non-conference play on the docket]
GLVC football action returns to the gridiron this week with six conference teams in action. Lincoln, McKendree and Quincy will host competition on campus, as the Blue Tigers welcome UW-Oshkosh, the Bearcats bring in Bowie State, and the Hawks entertain Saint Francis. The other three league squads hit the road, including Missouri S&T at DI FCS Drake, Truman State at Saginaw Valley State, and William Jewell at Findlay. Indianapolis and Southwest Baptist will sit idle in week three before opening up GLVC play next week. GLVCSN will stream the three home contests at Lincoln, McKendree and Quincy across all of its platforms, including GLVCSN.com, the GLVCSN iOS and Android apps, and the GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. Be sure to download or upgrade to the newest GLVCSN mobiles apps, which now feature push notifications. Now you can know exactly when your favorite school or team begins its stream.
[2 | the week that was]
McKendree and Missouri S&T improved to 2-0 last Saturday, while No. 22 Indianapolis and Quincy also found the win column. After the Missouri S&T offense put together touchdown drives on its first two possessions of the game, the Miner defense took care of matters from there to lead S&T to a 27-16 win over host Northwood. The win marked the first time since 2012 that S&T opened a season with back-to-back wins and much of that effort came courtesy of the defensive unit, which held down the Timberwolves (0-2) for a large portion of the afternoon. Quarterback Reece Metcalf was 18-for-22 passing for 260 yards with four touchdowns on the day to lead McKendree on the road past Kentucky State, 34-17. In a rain-soaked 28-6 victory, No. 22 UIndy held Wayne State scoreless until the final 11 seconds. QB Jake Purichia was just 6-for-6 passing for 95 yards and two scores in the rain, but it was the 300 total rushing yards that allowed the Greyhounds to dominate the Warriors. Toriano Clinton led all UIndy rushers with 131 yards and one score. Quincy quarterback Tionne Harris scored with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Hawks a 31-24 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan. Chris Brinson was the ground leader for QU, rushing 25 times for 174 yards. Elsewhere in the GLVC, William Jewell put a scare into No. 1 and defending NCAA Division II National Champions Texas A&M Commerce in Jewell’s season opener. The Cardinals fell behind early but regrouped to fall by a final score of 27-17. Truman’s Jaden Barr attempted a career-high 47 passes, completing 22 for 173 yards while gaining 106 yards on the ground on 17 attempts in the Bulldogs’ 35-17 loss to NAIA No. 3 Morningside. Southwest Baptist dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 34-9 setback at Mississippi College, while Lincoln fell 52-24 at Missouri State. For a complete look at week one action, click here.
[3 | hounds remain at 22nd in afca top 25 poll, idle for first time in a long time]
Indianapolis remains the lone GLVC football program ranked in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, which was released on Monday. Despite a key region win Saturday, the Greyhounds remained at No. 22 for the second straight week. UIndy delivered a rain-soaked 28-6 win versus Wayne State over the weekend and will enter their upcoming bye week with a record of 1-1. This weekend brings the UIndy football’s first open week since early in the 1998 campaign. The Hounds will return to action next Saturday when they host William Jewell in the GLVC opener.
[4 | mckendree, missouri s&t recognized with weekly awards]
McKendree senior quarterback Reece Metcalf and Missouri S&T junior defensive end Tershawn Wharton and junior punter Jonathan Banowetz were named the GLVC Players of the Week on Monday. GLVC Offensive Player of the Week honors went to Metcalf, who completed 18-of-22 passes for 260 total yards and posted a career-high four touchdown passes, all of which came in the first half, in the Bearcats’ 34-17 win at Kentucky State. Wharton was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Miners with nine tackles, including four for a loss and 1.5 sacks, as well as two forced fumbles in a 27-16 region road win at Northwood. In the same game, Banowetz averaged 40.4 yards on seven punts, including two punts downed inside the 20-yard line to pick up Special Teams Player of the Week accolades.
[5 | glvc represented among the nation’s best]
The GLVC currently boasts a handful of teams and student-athletes among the nation’s best in select statistical categories, according to this week’s report released by the NCAA. McKendree is first in fewest interceptions (1), sacks allowed (0), and tied with Lincoln in red zone offense (1.000), while ranking second in tackles for loss allowed (1.00) and team passing efficiency (216.20), fourth in completion percentage (.745), sixth with William Jewell in fewest turnovers lost (6), and eighth in third-down conversion (.542). Missouri S&T leads the nation in passing yards allowed (72.5) and sixth in total defense (199.5) and fumble recoveries (4). Truman is third in fewest penalties per game (3.00) and sixth in kickoff returns (29.13), while William Jewell is fifth in fewest penalty yards (45), sixth in first downs defense (21), and ninth in turnover margin (2.00). Among the notables individually, Truman’s Josh Scheiderer is first in field goal percentage (1.000), McKendree’s Reece Metcalf is first in passing efficiency (216.2), third in completion percentage (.745), and tied for fifth with Missouri S&T’s Tyler Swart in passing TDs (5). Missouri S&T’s Tershawn Wharton and William Jewell’s Donte’ Colum are second in forced fumbles average (1.00), Missouri S&T’s Braxton Graham is fifth in receiving TDs (5), teammate Roderick Chapman is sixth in passes defended (2.5), and William Jewell’s Thaddeus Glenn is sixth in solo tackles (9.0).
[6 | conference standouts among nation’s active leaders]
A handful of GLVC standouts rank among the active career leaders in select NCAA Division II stats. The GLVC boasts the nation’s top three career sack leaders as Truman State’s Sam Reeves (0.96), Missouri S&T’s Tershawn Wharton (0.91) and UIndy’s Jacob Schmatz (0.80) rank first through third, respectively, in per-game averages. UIndy senior quarterback Jake Purichia ranks third with a 163.51 passer rating, while Missouri S&T senior wideout Braxton Graham is fifth with 136.47 all-purpose yards per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Truman’s Reeves is also second with 1.44 tackles for loss per game and third with 23.0 total sacks. Missouri S&T junior defensive end Tershawn Wharton is second in forced fumbles (8) and forced fumbles per game (0.35), and third in tackles for loss per game (1.43), while senior linebacker Landon Compton is fifth with 271 total tackles. Southwest Baptist senior linebacker Tyler Curts is fourth with 9.35 total tackles each time out.
