Bearcats work through slow offensive day for rivalry win
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northwest freshman receiver Shawn Bane Jr. returns the opening kickoff of Saturday’s 24-10 win over Missouri Western back into Griffon territory.
The Northwest football team may not have wanted “it” or needed it, but head coach Adam Dorrel admitted that it wouldn’t hurt.
That “it” — a drag through adversity — came Saturday as the Bearcats worked their way through a chilly day at Spratt Memorial Stadium dominated by defense and tainted by turnovers and, at times, sloppy play. After having tough times shoved in its face for most of all four quarters, Northwest pushed back for a 24-10 win over rival Missouri Western to stay unbeaten in 2015.
“I think we learned, I think we will learn from this game,” Dorrel said. “I think, certainly this time of year — I don’t want to use the word things have been going ‘smooth’ the whole year, they haven’t. We’ve battled adversity, but we haven’t the last few weeks. I thought it was good for us and I think we’ll grow.”
At the forefront of Saturday’s forgettable offensive output were the top two defenses in the MIAA, Northwest’s immovable 11-man unit and the Griffons’ play-making combination of linebacker Yomi Alli and defensive back Michael Jordan.
The Bearcats ended the day with the better offensive output, coming up with 354 total yards compared to Missouri Western’s 263. Neither team, however, broke the 100-yard rushing threshold, as the visitors compiled 87 yards and the home Griffons tallied just 28 yards on 28 carries.
“It’s a bit stressful. It’s such a rivalry, you try to do your best as a head coach and as assistants to keep your kids focused on the process and trying to take that next step,” Dorrel said. “It’s difficult when you play a rivalry game. I thought both teams did a really good job keeping their composure today and playing hard.”
Northwest’s offense failed its special teams cohorts early, as freshman receiver Shawn Bane Jr. took a pair of early kickoffs both back across the 50 and into Missouri Western territory. Both possessions came up empty.
Meanwhile, the Griffons struck first with a big-play touchdown sandwiched between Bane’s special teams juice. Missouri Western junior quarterback Skyler Windmiller hit Trey Lewis on a third-and-12 play for 36 yards and a first down, followed immediately by a 52-yard strike down the left sideline from Windmiller to Dee Toliver for a 7-0 lead with 11:14 to go in the opening quarter.
But the Bearcats, for the rest of the contest, put a lid on the Griffons’ over-the-top offense, led by constant pressure from junior defensive lineman Collin Bevins and help over the top from junior safety Kevin Berg, who pulled down a pair of interceptions in the game.
“If you look at the times that they completed those downfield, first off, I thought they were really good balls thrown,” Dorrel said. “That was one of the few times we didn’t have a lot of people at (Windmiller.) I thought our D-line and linebackers, the whole day, harassed him and probably got him to throw the ball a little bit quicker than he wanted to.”
With 3:19 to go in the first, junior running back Phil Jackson II took a handoff from senior quarterback Brady Bolles off right tackle, waltzing into the end zone from a yard away to knot the score at 7-7.
Berg followed with his first interception of the day on Missouri Western’s ensuing drive, playing center field on a deep lob from Windmiller.
Bolles took advantage of the short field created by Berg, hitting Bane five plays later on a short out to the left before Bane shed a tackle and walked in for a 14-7 lead 30 seconds before the end of the first period.
“We knew coming in that, statistically, they’re the second-best defense in the league,” Bolles said. “We knew we were going to get their best effort. It’s a rivalry game, everything adds to it, it’s at their place. We knew that they were going to come out ready play. Offensively today, we came out flat and weren’t ready to go. … We just needed to find a way to overcome that adversity and come back out when things aren’t going our way.”
The Griffons shortened the deficit to 14-10 with 3:56 to play in the second quarter as Tanner Pettet knocked a 39-yard field goal home.
With Northwest carrying its four-point lead into the second half, the Griffons and Bearcats opened the third quarter by trading four straight punts before disaster struck for Missouri Western. With a potential momentum swing up for grabs after the slow start to the half, running back Raphael Spencer couldn’t grasp a handoff from Windmiller at the Bearcat 20-yard line. Senior linebacker Brock Sherman fell on it to turn possession back to Northwest, which capitalized on the following drive.
“I thought that was the changing-point in the game,” Dorrel said. “I thought that really sparked us, it ignited the sideline and our crowd. To go down and score, I thought it was just huge. To me, that’s the play of the game. If they go in and score, that’s a whole different game.”
The Bearcats built off the fumble recovery by going 80 yards in five plays, capped by a bruising 29-yard touchdown run from Jackson. The score propped Northwest’s lead to 21-10, a two-possession advantage with 1:55 to play in the third.
“That was huge,” Bolles said. “Phil saw a cutback lane, offensive line did a great job of pushing it down, and he made a great play. That was huge for us because we were dead in the water, we weren’t doing much on offense. To get that big play and kind of get us out of the hole was huge.”
Junior kicker Simon Mathiesen tacked on a 37-yard field goal for good measure with 4:06 to play in the fourth quarter, increasing the lead to 24-10. Junior defensive back Jack Young hauled in the Bearcats’ third interception of the day with 3:49 to go, helping Northwest to seal the deal in St. Joseph.
Bolles finished his day 20-of-39 for 267 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Jackson, for the second straight week, led the ground attack with 78 yards and his pair of scores, while sophomore Jordan Grove added 32 yards rushing on six attempts. Bane led the receiving corps with 96 yards on six catches plus his 10-yard touchdown.
Bevins’ seven tackles were good enough to match a team-high with junior linebacker Jacob Vollstedt, and both players tacked on two tackles for loss. Senior defensive tackle Brandon Yost and junior defensive end Cass Weitl each recorded one sack. Berg pulled in two interceptions for the second straight week.
The Bearcats (9-0) will face Emporia State at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in Maryville at Bearcat Stadium.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Sophomore running back Jordan Grove bounces a run to the outside and tries to evade Missouri Western tacklers during Northwest’s 24-10 victory.
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Bearcats junior defensive lineman Collin Bevins, right, and senior defensive tackle Brandon Yost celebrate Bevins’ sack on Saturday the 24-10 win against Missouri Western.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Northwest junior running back Phil Jackson II bursts through the line of scrimmage on Saturday as the Bearcats recorded a 24-10 victory over Missouri Western behind Jackson’s pair of touchdowns.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Senior quarterback Brady Bolles slings a throw to the left side on Saturday as Northwest claimed a 24-10 victory against Missouri Western in St. Joseph.
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Bearcats junior safety Kevin Berg goes up for one of his two interceptions on Saturday against Missouri Western, helping Northwest take a 24-10 win.
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Junior defensive end Cass Weitl records a sack on Missouri Western quarterback Skyler Windmiller on Saturday and celebrates with a salute to the visiting crowd.
