By David Boyce  |  Northwest Missouri State vs. Northeastern State  |  Saturday, Oct. 4  |  1 p.m.  |  Bearcat Stadium  |  Maryville, Mo.
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - Senior running back Robert Burton III will be as pumped up as his teammates when Northwest Missouri State takes on Northeastern State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bearcat Stadium.
 
The Bearcats are coming off a solid 36-13 victory at Central Oklahoma.
 
"When you are coming off a long road trip like that, our kids are really excited about playing at home," Northwest head football coach Adam Dorrel said. "It is Military Appreciation Day. We will be playing American music all week. They will wear the camouflage uniforms. It is a neat deal for our kids."
 
As always, the Bearcats will play in front of an enthusiastic crowd and that takes the players to another level.
 
"It is exciting," Burton said. "It gives you a big adrenaline rush. Their support means a lot to the players. We have a great fan base and support. It is exciting for us to go out there and play for them."
 
The undefeated Bearcats, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II, don't need any extra incentive to get ready for Northeastern State, which is 0-4 and has scored the fewest points and given up the most points so far in the MIAA.
 
But the crafty Northwest coaches found some articles in which Northeastern players essentially said they were going to Maryville, Mo., and beat the Bearcats. It was enough material to ensure that the Northwest players were not going to take the RiverHawks lightly.
 
Burton said Tuesday afternoon that he had not seen the articles yet, but his teammate, Kevin Arnold told him about it.
 
"He told me that their quarterback said they were going to come down here and bust some heads," Burton said. "This may help the defense.
 
"As far as the offense, we are going to make sure we play our game. The past two games we have turned the ball over too much for our liking, and we have not been as successful in the red zone.
 
"We are going to make sure we better ourselves and come out and play a better game and not really take in what they are saying."
 
One of the small glitches so far this season has been the offense not taking full advantage of the opportunities it has created for itself.
 
Burton is one of the reasons the Bearcats have been able to consistently move the ball into the red zone. He is averaging 4.3 yards per carry and has scored four rushing touchdowns.
 
He does so much more than what the stat sheet reveals.
 
"I think he has been a complete player," Dorrel said. "We brought him in a few years back when there was some uncertainty at that position. He came in and didn't play immediately.
 
"We redshirted him. I really feel like that helped with his growth as a person and a student-athlete. Right now, the way things are going, I look back and that was a really good decision to redshirt him back then.
 
"I think he is really helping us because he is a complete player. The thing that doesn't show in the box score is his blitz pickup is pretty good. His blocking is pretty good. He is catching the ball out of the backfield. I think our quarterbacks really trust him on check-down routes."
 
Burton just wants to do whatever it takes to help Northwest win. It is what he likes about this program. All the players have that attitude.
 
"I feel on and off the field, people are cool with everybody," Burton said. "We hang out with each other. We care about each other on and off the field. We want to see each other do well. It is not like somebody is trying to up another person. We want to do well collectively. That is what I really like about this program."
 
Burton has a caring nature. He grew up in Marin City, Calif., which in the San Francisco Bay area. Other than the weather, it wasn't too much of cultural shock coming to Maryville.
 
"The people here are a lot nicer," Burton said. "I really didn't go out or was into the city scene so being in this town wasn't much of a culture shock for me personally."
 
Burton, though, knew people and had friends who were caught up in the city scene and got in trouble. When he returns home after the spring semester with a degree in psychology and criminal justice, he wants to help. Burton plans to be a juvenile probation officer.
 
"Growing up, I had a lot of friends who got into trouble at a young age," Burton said. "They kind of went down that wrong path. A lot of them had probation officers. My goal is trying to talk to young kids and help them out as a probation officer and get to them before it is too late."
 
As for right now on the football field, Burton wants to do his part in helping the offense be more efficient when it gets into the red zone before it is too late.
 
"Coach always preaches to get where we want to go, which is to win a national championship, we have to turn the ball over less and convert the opportunities in the red zone," Burton said. "A lot of the times it has been silly penalties that stopped us from putting up points. We are going to make sure in practice this week that we get that figured out and corrected."