Bearcats trap Hornets in NCAA Division II quarterfinal
Emporia State senior quarterback Brent Wilson collected a snap, rotated the football in his hands and turned to fire a quick-slant pattern. But before his arm even reached its throwing motion, a pair of Northwest Missouri State defensive linemen pulled him down for a sack.
It was a common occurrence Saturday. For all of Northwest’s offensive flare and the attention its seventh-ranked offense generates, its defense has supplied a steady onslaught of big plays this season. And this postseason.
And again Saturday.
Northwest used eight sacks to roll past Emporia State for the second time this season, this one for a 38-17 victory Saturday in the NCAA Division II football quarterfinals in front of 5,155 fans at Bearcat Stadium.
“You can’t double team all of us,” said Northwest defensive tackle Collin Bevins, who had a team-best 2 1/2 sacks. “If you focus your attention on one person, someone else is going to make a play.”
Six players were credited with a sack. That was the recipe to lead the top-ranked Bearcats (13-0) into the semifinals, where they will face West Georgia on Dec. 12 for a spot in the NCAA championship game. The semifinal game time and location is yet to be determined.
Northwest, seeking its fifth national title in program history, will make its 10th semifinal appearance. It has won 22 straight games against Emporia State.
On Saturday, in the first all-MIAA national quarterfinal matchup since 2011, Northwest used consistent defensive pressure to disrupt an Emporia State offense that had scored 36.3 points per game.
“It starts up front with Northwest. They’re the real deal,” Emporia State coach Garin Higgins said.
“I thought our offensive line played as good as it possibly could.”
Add to that, Northwest played the entire game with the lead. The Bearcats turned three of their first four drives into points and a 17-0 lead. Senior quarterback Brady Bolles used play-action to find a wide open Jordan Grove for the first touchdown of the game midway through first quarter. Cameron Wilcox ran for a 2-yard score. And Bolles connected with Jordan Bishop for a 9-yard touchdown.
Wilsonwas forced to hurry his throws, but he still passed for 324 yards. His top target, Morris Williams caught 10 passes for 191 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown.
But the Hornets (11-2) failed to establish a rushing game that had averaged 156 yards. They carried the ball 31 times for 93 yards.
Emporia St | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | — | 17 |
NW Missouri | 10 | 14 | 14 | 0 | — | 38 |
NW — Mathiesen 39 field goal
NW — Grove 2 pass from Bolles (Mathiesen kick)
NW — Wilcox 2 run (Mathiesen kick)
ES — Wilson 12 run (Morton kick)
NW — Bishop 9 pass from Bolles (Mathiesen kick)
ES — Morton 42 field goal
NW — Jackson 1 run (Mathiesen kick)
ES — Williams 68 pass from Wilson (Morton kick)
NW — Grove 40 pass from Bolles (Mathiesen kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing — ES, Nault 9-35, Brown 6-29, Marcha 1-28, Wilson 14-1, Ervin 1-0. NW, Wilcox 12-63, Jackson 16-58, Bolles 3-22, Zimmerman 2-2.
Passing — ES, Wilson 23-38-324. NW, Bolles 26-43-329.
Receiving — ES, Williams 10-191, Ervin 7-79, Foote 4-40, Nault 1-12, Brown 1-2. NW, Schmidt 2-83, Bane 7-58, Washington 6-57, Grove 3-45, Williams 2-40, Wilson 3-22, Bishop 2-14, Sehl 1-10.
Minn.-Duluth 30, Fort Hays State 22 – Fort Hays State was limited to seven first downs and 181 yards of offense. The Tigers led 14-7 after Trevson Alberts’ 72-yard TD run midway through the second quarter, but didn’t score again until Daniel Lindsey took a kickoff back for a touchdown late in the game.
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Bearcats trap Hornets in NCAA Division II quarterfinal."