CALEDONIA, Mich. – The sloppy conditions did not bother Davenport one bit on Saturday as they flipped a switch on offense leading to a 27-24 double overtime victory over McKendree on homecoming for their first NCAA Division II win. The Panthers had not scored a point over the last two games and gained just 44 total yards a week ago, but that is a distant memory now as the Panthers recorded a school-record 538 total yards including 386 rushing yards. The team set single game records for rushing attempts (65) and yards (386) as well as total plays (82) and first downs (25).
Running back William Gist broke his own school record with 158 rushing yards on 25 carries. Placekicker Jerred McGuire tied a school record with two field goals and his 41-yard field goal in the second overtime was a program record. Haiden Majewski got his first career start at quarterback for Davenport and turned in a memorable performance. Majewski went 10-of-16 passing for 152 yards and a score and also rushed for 55 yards and another score.
Davenport scored on their opening possession as Majewski connected with Daronte Powers for 41 yards on 3rd and 4 from their own 19 to then setup Majewski to Powers on a long ball from 34 yards down the visitor sideline for a 7-0 lead. McKendree responded quickly after Derrick Curry returned the kickoff 76 yards to the DU 16. Two plays later, Shayeen Edwards carried over from two yards to cut it to 7-6. The extra point was blocked by Deonte Reynolds to keep the one-point lead.
The Panthers scored another touchdown on their next drive which covered 75 yards in five plays. Gist had a 39-yard run into McKendree territory and Nate Couturier took a jet sweep 15 yards to the end zone for a 14-6 lead with 4:43 left in the first quarter. The Bearcats tied it up at 14 late in the first quarter as Reece Metcalf threw a six-yard touchdown to Zach Bobos and then Curry caught a two-point conversion pass. The first quarter featured 196 yards for DU and 116 for McKendree.
Davenport then began to control the clock over the next two quarters. They held possession for 12:19 in the second quarter and 13:20 in the third quarter. Julian Castro had a 27-yard field goal blocked ending a 12-play, 58-yard drive early in the second quarter. McKendree took their first lead of the contest with 4:00 left until halftime on a five-yard run by Preston Thompson. The short drive was setup by a low snap on a punt which gave the ball over to McKendree at the DU 45.
The Panthers down seven at the break coming out of the locker room with an 11-play, 65-yard drive which took 6:09 off the clock and resulted in a two-yard scoring run by Majewski to tie it at 21. The Panthers forced a three-and-out and got the ball back and ran out the rest of the third quarter. The first play of the fourth quarter was a 23-yard field goal by McGuire, his first as a Panther, to give DU a 24-21 lead. The 14-play, 87-yard drive lasted 7:05 to give DU another lead.
The Bearcats tied the game at 24 with 7:46 remaining in regulation as Josh Lazaro connected from 32 yards capping off an eight-play, 36-yard drive. The Panthers drove near midfield on their next drive but were stopped on 4th and 1 at their own 49. The defense stepped up and got a similar stop as McKendree drove to the DU 20 and on 4th and 1, but Edwards fumbled on a hit by Derrick Calloway and Arnell Anderson recovered with 1:39 left.
McKendree got the ball first in overtime and stalled out as Lazaro missed a 39-yard field goal wide right. DU needing just a score to win could not move the ball and a sack moved them back to the MU 30. McGuire into the wind missed from 47 yards to extend the game. DU took over right away in the second overtime but gained just one yards as McGuire booted the 41-yard field goal for a 27-24 lead. The Bearcats had one last chance to tie or win but lost one yard in three plays. After a pair of timeouts, one from each team, Lazaro badly missed short and wide right from 43 yards to end it.
McKendree gained just 272 yards including 109 in the second half. They were also 0-for-8 on third down for the contest.
Kye Black and
Jon Simmons each led the defense with eight tackles.
Brian Williams had the team's first interception of the season in the first quarter and finished with five tackles. DU recorded six tackles for loss in the game. The Panthers (1-6, 0-5) will be back to GLIAC action next week at Northwood for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Midland.
