INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 12 UIndy football team (9-1) wrapped up the 2018 regular season with a 34-24 Senior Day win against 20th-ranked Hillsdale College (9-2) Saturday afternoon at Key Stadium. After honoring its 14 senior student-athletes, sophomore Al McKeller racked up more than 200 yards rushing while sophomore Daveon Bell provided a momentum-changing punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter to help lead the Greyhounds to victory and essentially clinch a postseason berth.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the game was knotted at 14-14 at the half, the teams traded field goals to start the third quarter. But with the Hounds leading 20-17, the UIndy defense forced a key three-and-out to set the stage for the Hounds' dynamic punt returner; Bell broke off a 64-yard refund to give UIndy the game's first double-digit lead. The play was good for his first punt return TD of the year and second of his career.
 
Meanwhile, McKeller was a beast in the backfield for UIndy. The Lawrence North High School grad racked up a career-high 209 rushing yards on 22 carries, scoring lengthy touchdowns of 46 and 34 yards in the first half. He finished the regular season with 1,093 yards on the ground to become just the fourth-ever Greyhound with back-to-back 1,000-rushing-yard seasons.
 
Late in the game, the Chargers pulled to within three on a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Chance Stewart to All-American receiver Trey Brock, making it 27-24 Hounds with 6:43 remaining. UIndy answered with a 30-plus-yard TD pass of its own, however, as Jake Purichia found Malik Higgins from 35 yards out to again make it a two-possession game.
 

??| TOUCHDOWN GREYHOUNDS! Jake Purichia drops a dime to Malik Higgins for the 35-yard touchdown! Hounds lead 34-24 over Hillsdale. #GLVCfb pic.twitter.com/FwVqixdmnf

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) November 10, 2018

 
With time dwindling, the Chargers tried again to go to Brock with the deep ball, but sophomore Mitch Dewitt managed a timely interception and subsequent 31-yard return to extinguish any thoughts of Hillsdale comeback.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Like McKeller, Purichia and Higgins also hit major milestones on the day; Purichia became just the sixth player in school history to surpass 6,000 career passing yards, while Higgins moved into third place in the UIndy annals with 199 career receptions.
- Junior DT Rondell Weathers led UIndy with a career-high nine total tackles on the day.
- Redshirt-freshman kicker Paul Buisman was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, including a career-long 39-yard strike in the third quarter.
- Senior Erik Hart was credited with two sacks totaling 14 lost yards for Hillsdale.
 
SENIOR DAY
Before the game, UIndy honored 14 senior student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to the program. The list included Dylan Bruce, Erik Hart, Malik Higgins, Perri Johnson, Skylar Lacy, Blake Luker, Jake Purichia, Lucas Rice, Mitch Rougraff, Cole Sigmund, Collin Timmons, Robert Williams, Daniel Wright and Joe Zumpano. The group has helped the Greyhounds to a combined 36-9 record (and counting) over the last four years, a span that includes three GLVC titles and a likely third playoff berth.
 
MORE NOTES
UIndy moved to an even 16-16 versus Hillsdale all-time … HC came into the day ranked fifth in the Super Region One rankings ... The game marked the second straight week that UIndy fell behind 7-0 and came back to win. Prior to that, the Hounds had scored first in each of the first eight games of the year ... It also marked the second win for the Hounds versus Hillsdale today, as the UIndy women's basketball squad downed the Chargers 69-67 earlier this afternoon.

UP NEXT
The Hounds now await the release of the 2018 playoff field, as the NCAA will produce a DII football selection show, scheduled to air Sunday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com. The top seven teams from Super Region Three will earn postseason berths. UIndy was ranked fourth in the region heading into the weekend.