Bearcats maul Griffons to earn at least share of MIAA

By ANTHONY CRANE

The Forum

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – There are a lot of good running backs at the Division-II level and sophomore Quincy Torry has arguably become one of the best in his second season. Saturday afternoon at Spratt Stadium, Torry rushed for 253 yards on just 12 carries in a 45-13 win over Missouri Western.

“It’s just a blessing playing this game, but the linemen made it easy for me, just following those guys,” Torry said. “We ran a lot of pin and pull, counter, and just following those guys and they led me to the promise land.”

Northwest improved to 8-1 overall and 7-1 in MIAA play with the victory, while Missouri Western fell to 3-7.

Northwest forced a punt on the game’s opening drive and Torry took it from there. The sophomore opened the drive with a 68-yard run down to the Missouri Western two-yard line. Torry put the Bearcats ahead 7-0 on the next play.

“We challenged them all week that we want to come out and start fast,” Northwest coach John McMenamin said. “Throughout the season we would play a good game and then followed up on the road with a clunky game. I was really pleased with the way on offense and defense that we started really fast.”

Northwest added to its advantage later in the first quarter when Te’Shaun Porter finished an 80-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run, putting the Bearcats ahead 14-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

Missouri Western found some life early in the second quarter. Quarterback Isaiah Tate connected with Victor Taylor Jr. for a 56-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 14-7.

“Our motto on defense is to put the ball down,” Northwest cornerback Michael Harrison said. “We live up to that no matter what happens previously the play before, sudden change from offense to defense, we always look to put the ball down.”

The Bearcats answered with their longest scoring drive of the first half, covering 84 yards in 10 plays. Quarterback Zechariah Owens found Trevor Spady for a 23-yard touchdown with 1:44 left in the half to put the Bearcats ahead 21-7.

On the first play of the second half, Torry broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run, extending the lead to 28-7 just two seconds into the third quarter.

“I’d be amiss if I didn’t credit our offensive line who was incredibly physical,” McMenamin said. “You know, just bodies on bodies and really put a lot of people on the ground. But Q is a special player, and he took advantage of the reps he had. He didn’t get a ton of carries, but when he did, he made them count. We thought we could have a good game running the ball, but you never know until you get out there.”

Torry found the end zone again later in the quarter, capping a 72-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 35-7 with 10:29 left in the third quarter. Northwest then added a 38-yard field goal from Mo Alwaely early in the fourth quarter.

The Bearcats’ final score came at the 6:44 mark of the fourth quarter with a 51-yard touchdown run from freshman Jaron Cannon Jr. As a team, Northwest rushed for 430 yards, their most since October of last season.

“It’s good to win the game, especially against a rival, and put yourself in a spot to do that,” McMenamin said. “Last year, we were in a similar spot and didn’t take care of business. It gives us a singular focus, not that you need a bunch more when you play Pitt State, but we got some unfinished business with them.”

Missouri Western put together a 13-play, 61-yard drive in the final minutes, scoring on an 18-yard pass from Skyler Cassel to Mickhi Mitchell as time expired.

Northwest’s defense also turned in a strong performance. The Bearcats recorded eight sacks and intercepted three passes, limiting Missouri Western to 52 rushing yards on 38 attempts.

Harrison finished with two tackles and two interceptions. The defensive back spoke about the relationship between the back end and front of the defense.

“I haven’t touched the ball in a while, so it felt good to get to touch the ball again,” Harrison said. “It’s a complimentary piece — we guard the guys and try to do our best to let those guys get home. If we do our job and they do their job, it’s a good thing.”

Owens completed 10-of-19 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, while Spady led the Bearcats with four catches for 54 yards. Porter added 61 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Cannon finished with 89 yards on seven carries.

The Bearcats will close the regular season next week as they look to carry their momentum into postseason play.

“We’ll start on game planning for Pitt on Sunday, but I think we’ll keep working on the small things,” Torry said. “We’re having a pretty good year, but the coaches do a good job of continuing to harp on us and coach us hard, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”