No. 2 Northwest Missouri State ends No. 18 Mustangs season
General

No. 2 Northwest Missouri State ends No. 18 Mustangs season

  • 24 November 2006
  • 3 min read

MARYVILLE
,
Mo.
- The No. 2 Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats did something that no team had done to No. 18 Midwestern State University in 11 years, pitching a 27-0 shutout in the second round of the NCAA Division II Football Championships at Bearcat Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Northwest Missouri
(12-0), the top ranked team in the region and ranked second nationally, held MSU (10-3) to just 147 yards on the afternoon. The Bearcats rolled up 473 yards themselves.

It was the first time Midwestern had been shutout since a 5-0 blanking by West Texas A&M on Sept. 14, 1996 in

Wichita Falls
.

Still,

Midwestern
State
had it's opportunities early, but could not capitalize.

MSU took the opening kickoff and drove to the Bearcat 15, only to have junior Kristian Foster sail a 32-yard field goal attempt wide right. It was the first field goal attempt of the season that Foster had missed, and the first kick that wasn't blocked that was no good.

Northwest Missouri
answered with an 11-play, 69 yard drive that was capped with a 29-yard Tommy Frevert field goal.

After MSU went three-and-out, NWMSU drove again to the MSU 11, when the play that turned the game around occurred.

Northwest tried what appeared to be a handoff to end Kendall Wright when the ball came free. No whistles were blown on the play and MSU's Donial Arps scooped up the ball and raced down field. After 20 yards he handed the ball to Darius Bortters who raced inside the NW 15.

But NWMSU coach Mel Tjeerdsma challenged the referee in the middle of the field and after more than five minutes, the officials decided that the play was an incomplete shovel pass.

The MSU defense held and another field goal gave the Bearcats a 6-0 lead.

MSU forced a total of three turnovers against

Northwest Missouri
, but a drive following a Bearcat fumble in the end zone stalled at the NWMSU 26 and Foster's 43-yard attempt was blocked off the right side.

Northwest scored it's first touchdown following a Ben White punt that was downed at the NWMSU 7.

Thanks to a 68-yard pass from Josh Mathews to Wright, the Bearcats scored with just 47 seconds to play before halftime on a Xavier Omon one-yard run.

The second half, the defending national runner up held onto the ball, scoring touchdowns on drives of 6 minutes 16 seconds with a Omon five-yard run and 7:33, the longest of the year, when Mathews hit Jon Goss from four-yards out.

Mathews led the

Northwest
Missouri
State
attack with 336 passing yards on 26-of-36 tosses and the one touchdown. Omon rushed for an even 100 yards on 27 carries.

Midwestern
State
was paced by quarterback Daniel Polk who was the game's second-leading rusher with 82 yards on 18 carries. He also hit 8-of-22 passes for 48 yards with an interception just before the half.

Polk finished the season with 2,521 rushing yards and needs just 21 more next season to break the MSU all-time rushing record of 2,541 held by Dominic Rhodes.

Midwestern
State
ended the season with 10 wins, tying the 1949 team for the most victories in a season by an MSU squad.

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