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Iowa Wesleyan College will be looking to put last week far in its rear view when it opens Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play Saturday at McKendree (Ill.) University at 6 p.m.

The Tigers finish a gauntlet of three straight games against teams ranked in the top 20 in national NAIA or NCAA polls.

McKendree comes in ranked 14th in the NAIA, and IWC’s game against the Bearcats follows up games against Coe and St. Francis (Ind.).

Coe was ranked 12th in NCAA Division III at the time and has since climbed into the top 10, while St. Francis was ranked 17th going into last week’s game and this week is ranked #11 in the NAIA.

Wesleyan lost to St. Francis last week, 70-7. The Tigers got a touchdown in the first quarter when Kevin McConnell (So.-Kansas City, Mo.) hit Marc Ballatori (Fr.-Tequesta, Fla.) with a nine-yard pass, cutting USF’s lead to 14-7.

IWC would struggle the rest of the way, though, picking up just 53 yards of offense the rest of the game while the Cougars exploded for 28 points in the second quarter.

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT 

IWC faces a McKendree team coming off a 45-12 loss to then-unranked Marian (Ind.) University.

McKendree was ranked eighth in the NAIA coming into the game, but Marian jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, amassing 484 yards of total offense and shutting down the Bearcats’ ground game to 54 yards on 31 rushing attempts.

McKendree has been one of the top teams in the MSFA Midwest since joining the league in 1998.

Last year the Bearcats reclaimed the league title after a three-year absence, finishing 7-0 in Midwest League play for their fifth league title and advancing to the NAIA playoffs.

SERIES HISTORY – McKendree has won all 12 meetings all-time between the Tigers and Bearcats.

Last year the Bearcats won 40-0 at IWC, rushing for 305 yards in the game. The closest game ever between the two teams was their first

Courtesy Iowa Wesleyan College