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The Malone University football team suffered a tough 38-35 defeat to Quincy (IL) University on Saturday afternoon at Fawcett Stadium in a back-and-forth contest that included four lead changes and nearly 900 yards of total offense.   The Hawks managed to rally back from a 35-28 fourth-quarter deficit, tying the game at 35-35 with five minutes to play on quarterback Bobby Brenneisen's fifth touchdown pass of the day, a five-yard toss to wide receiver John Casselberry.  Quincy then pulled ahead for good with 35 seconds remaining on kicker Brandon Mulloy's 23-yard field goal.  The Pioneers' overall record slipped to 4-6 following the hard-fought loss while the Hawks climbed back to the .500 mark, improving to 4-4 on the season.

Brenneisen put Quincy on top 14-0 in the first quarter with touchdown passes of 17 and 29 yards, the first to wide out Jarrod Sergent and the second to wide receiver DeShun Smith.

Malone then rattled off 15 second-quarter points to take a 15-14 advantage into the locker room at halftime.  Safety Logan Francis got the Pioneers on the scoreboard early in the second stanza after picking off a Brenneisen pass attempt and returning it 25 yards to the endzone (PAT failed).

The hosts then made it 14-12 later in the period by returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown.  After Malone managed to stall a Quincy drive at the Pioneer four-yard line, defensive back John Boston broke through the line and blocked Mulloy's 21-yard attempt.  The ball was picked up by defensive back Glen Raphael and lateralled to linebacker Antonio Scassa. The pigskin then ended up in the hands of defensive back Anthony Pavia, who jetted the remaining 62 yards to the endzone (two-point conversion failed).

Pioneer kicker Nick Allison then gave Malone its first lead of the day after connecting on a 28-yard field goal with 2:18 on the clock.

Brenneisen touchdown passes of three and 16 yards put Quincy on top 28-15 midway through the third quarter.  However, Malone refused to surrender, fighting back to take the lead by scoring touchdowns on three straight possessions.

Following a 65-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Justin McLean, running back Emil Chambliss scored from nine yards out to make the score 28-22.  Chambliss then capped a 12-play, 87-yard drive early in the fourth quarter with a four-yard TD plunge to put the Pioneers back in front, 29-28.  Quarterback Will Szpor later provided Malone's final TD of the game when he faked a handoff and then raced 20 yards to the end zone, making the score 35-28 with 8:48 remaining.

The seesaw battle continued minutes later, though, as the Hawks battled back once again with the game-tying TD pass and the go-ahead field goal.  Malone managed to move the ball into Quincy territory in the final moments, but Szpor's desperation heave to the end zone sailed out of bounds as time expired.

Quincy totaled 554 yards of offense in the contest with 466 yards passing and 88 yards rushing.  Malone countered with 311 total yards, 126 on the ground and 185 through the air.

Szpor completed 19 of his 38 pass attempts for 185 yards.  He also gained 25 rushing yards on seven carries, including the fourth-quarter TD run.  Chambliss anchored the ground game with 78 rushing yards and the two touchdowns on 16 carries.  Chambliss also contributed in the passing game with four receptions, totaling 35 yards.

McLean racked up 197 all-purpose yards.  He registered five catches for 54 yards, one punt return for two yards and ran back four kickoffs for 141 yards.

Scassa paced the defense with nine total tackles.  Defensive back Lepear Smith and linebacker Matt Vick each followed with seven tackles apiece.  Linebacker Glen Whirley notched six solo tackles with one sack while Francis recorded six tackles to go with his second-quarter interception.

Brenneisen, currently ranked in the Top 5 in several of Quincy's career passing categories, completed 40 of an incredible 70 pass attempts on the day for 466 yards and the five TD's.  Casselberry was his favorite target with 12 catches for 161 yards and two scores.  Smith snagged nine catches for 139 yards and one TD while Sergent ended the day with five receptions for 66 yards and two scores.  Linebacker Jake Miller led the way for the Hawks' defense with 10 solo tackles, a forced fumble and one interception.

Malone will look to bounce back next Saturday when it hosts its season finale at 1:00 p.m. against Taylor (IN) University (4-5 overall).  Fans that cannot be in attendance can catch all the action on the Malone Sports Network (on the radio at WNPQ 95.9 FM and streaming live on the internet at www.thelight959.com).  Live video and statistics will also be provided.  Click here for links to each.