Bulldogs Hold On For 28-21 Homecoming Victory

Box Score

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Sophomore Aaron Hartfield ran for a career-high 101 yards and two touchdowns while senior quarterback Conrad Schottel passed for a season-high 333 yards and another score as the Truman Bulldogs held on for a 28-21 victory over McKendree (Ill.) University.

The Bulldogs improved to 5-2 overall and remained in a tie for first place with a 3-0 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with the win. It is the first 3-0 conference start for Truman since the 1997 campaign.

Hartfield had the most rushing attempts by a Bulldog with 27 since the 2005 season in gaining 101 yards. He fought his way to the endzone on an 11-yard touchdown run to put Truman up 14-7 in the second quarter then grinded out a 5-yard score late in the half break a 14-all tie.

Truman went up 28-14 when redshirt freshman Jesse Jenkins powered in from a yard out in a drive that was defined by a 34-yard pass from Shottel to Hartfield on a third and 13 play.

McKendree (2-4; 1-2 GLVC) answered the Jenkins touchdown to claw back to within seven on their next possession. Chris Murphy gained 29 yards on a fake punt and Isaac Fisher completed 33-yard pass to Dewayne Gatti for the touchdown. Fisher and Gatti hooked up seven times on the day for 152 yards and all three Bearcat touchdowns.

Following a three-and-out, McKendree started a key fourth quarter drive at their own 37 and picked up one first down before Steven Day caught Gatti for just a 1-yard completion on a third and five to force a punt.

The Bulldogs took over with 4:59 to play and chewed up 4:25 with an eight-play drive with Schottel finding Dallas Grier for 20 yards on third and 10.

Jacob Lamp then pinned the Bearcats to their own nine with his fourth punt inside the 20 on the day and the Bulldog defense picked up a sack and forced three incomplete passes to preserve the victory.

Truman set a season high with 448 yards of total offense with Schottel passing on 19 of the game's first 22 plays. After missing on his first three attempts, he completed the next 10 straight, including a 12-yard pass to Grier for the first score of the game. Jared Haferbier led Truman in receiving with eight catches for 72 yards.

Fisher found Gatti at the 2:52 mark of the first quarter to tie the game and the duo connected on a pair of 33-yard receptions on consecutive plays to tie the game at 14 apiece. Fisher finished with 228 yards passing on 19-of-32 with two interceptions.

Truman kept pace with the University of Indianapolis atop the GLVC standings at 3-0 as the Greyhounds throttled William Jewell 56-3. The Bulldogs will host Missouri S&T next Saturday after the Miners handed the Saint Joseph's Pumas their first league loss by a score of 14-13. Kickoff from Stokes Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Game Notes:

Aaron Hartfield's 27 rushing attempts was the most by a Bulldog since Jerard Leverson had 29 in an October 15, 2005 game at Washburn.
Hartfield averaged 3.7 yards per carry with a long of 15 while catching four passes for 44 yards for an all-purpose yardage mark of 145.
The 48 pass attempts by Schottel was the second most of his career (59 vs. Fort Hays State in 2012). The 31 completions tied for 10th most single-game by a Bulldog signal caller.
Dallas Grier returned to the line-up after missing last week and had five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Jacob Lamp had seven punts for an average of 39.3 and a long of 48 for the game. Four punts finished inside the Bearcats' 20 and two were returned for a -4 yards on the day.
Jeramey Dockery led the defense with nine total tackles. Matthew Bell had two sacks and Nic Abbate registered 1.5 sacks. Truman finished with five on the day.
Austin Zoda notched his first career interception and had an 18-yard return and Chris Stanton picked off his second pass of the year in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs were 8-of-18 on third down conversions on the day and the time of possession was nearly identical with the Bearcats holding a slim four-second advantage.
Truman was four of six in redzone chances while McKendree never made it inside Truman's defensive redzone.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak on Homecoming with the win. Truman is now 44-25-2 on homecoming games and was the program's 543rd all-time win. The five seasons wins is the most for the program since 2007 season.

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