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By David Boyce

EMPORIA, Kan. - On the third offensive play by Northwest Missouri State, quarterback Brady Bolles lofted a high spiral that wide receiver Bryce Young caught in stride for a 37-yard pass play.
 
The perfectly executed play signified the Bearcats were in for a special day through the air.
 
Bolles tossed four touchdowns in the first half, completing 12 of 16 passes for 216 yards. The Bearcats' dominance through the air put them up 35 points at half. The huge cushion allowed Northwest to coast to an easy 42-14 victory over Emporia State Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium in Emporia.
 
"I was just proud of their effort to beat Emporia State on its senior day," Northwest head coach Adam Dorrel said. "I thought they came out ready to play football. We had a good week of preparation.
 
"This was a big game for us. It is easy to look ahead, playing next week at Arrowhead for a conference championship. Our guys didn't do that. They came out focused and ready to go."
 
Northwest, ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II, improved to 9-1 in the MIAA and remain tied for first with Pittsburg State. The Bearcats will conclude the regular season next Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium against Washburn.
 
"I can't wait," Northwest senior defensive end Matt Longacre said of playing at Arrowhead. "We travel extremely well to Arrowhead. Hopefully, they will bring a lot of fans, too.
 
"A conference championship will be on the line. It is the last time the seniors are playing at Arrowhead. It will be a great environment."
 
The only blemish on an otherwise stellar performance was the somewhat lackluster effort by the Bearcats in the second half. Emporia State scored 14 points in the third quarter, but Northwest still went into the fourth quarter in front 42-14.
 
"Other than that first drive by their (Hornets) offense, it was darn near perfect," Longacre said. "We had three and outs. We got the ball to our offense with a short field and sometimes not and they still drove.
 
"It was good to have a complete game this late in the season. We need to keep building on that."
 
Those points in the third quarter by the Hornets hardly stung the Bearcats because of the one-sided nature of the first half.
 
The initial pass play to Young put Northwest deep into Emporia State's territory. Freshman Cameron Wilcox followed with a 17-yard run and four plays later, Robert Burton III scored on a 2-yard run.
 
"We had a good game plan going into the game," Bolles said. "We knew what they were going to give us with different formations. We went out and executed. I think it showed. We played pretty well today."
 
The Bearcats scored on short drives and long ones.
 
Northwest forced a fumble on Emporia State's third offensive play after the first touchdown. The Bearcats only had to go 5 yards for their second touchdown. On the second play, Bolles threw his first touchdown, connecting with Jacob Vollstedt for a 3-yard reception with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter.
 
In the Bearcats' fourth possession of the game, Northwest needed to go 39 yards to score again. It took them six plays to cover those yards, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Bolles to Josh Swanson with 14:25 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The next two scoring drives by Northwest traveled 86 yards and 77 yards. In both drives, the Bearcats mixed the run with the pass beautifully.
 
Bolles completed three passes in the first half in which each went over 35 yards and another that went over 20.
 
"Our wide receivers really hung onto the ball," Bolles said. "They bailed me out on a couple of them.
 
"I have to hand it to the guys up front. They gave me all day to throw. As an offense, we played well today."
 
When halftime arrived, Northwest already had 337 yards of total offense compared to 78 for the Hornets.
 
In short, Northwest played its most complete first half of the season. The Bearcats dominated both sides of the ball.
 
"I was proud of them when their number was called, they executed," Dorrel said. "Emporia State was really stacking the box today. I thought our receivers came up with some big catches down the field, and Brady threw the ball well."