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By David Boyce  |  Photos

MARYVILLE, Mo. - On a hot, Thursday evening, Northwest Missouri State football team thanked their loyal fans with a solid 31-7 victory over Nebraska-Kearney in the season-opener at Bearcat Stadium.
 
"I am really proud of our fans tonight," Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said. "Our students came out. They got a lot of tickets in the last 24 hours. We are very thankful to them. I don't think they realize how important they are to our kids."
 
Obviously, Northwest wasn't in playoff form. The Bearcats did some nice things to erase a 7-7 first-quarter tie. They played well in the third quarter to extend a 17-7 halftime lead to 31-7.
 
And senior punter Kyle Goodburn excelled, placing three punts inside the 20.
 
"He punted really well," Dorrel said. "That is such a huge weapon when you have a kid like that."
 
The group that was completely in midseason form was the fans, particularly the students who came out and watched their classmates. Even when Northwest had the game in hand, most of them stuck around until the end.
 
"It was great," Northwest senior linebacker D.J. Gnader said about the students in attendance. "We really embrace the student atmosphere. They showed up tonight. I'd like them to continue to do that. It means a lot to us. They make it a great atmosphere."
 
Much credit goes to the Lopers, who early on showed Northwest that they weren't the same team that lost 53-7 a year ago.
 
"I told their coach after the game that he has improved his team immensely in one calendar year," Dorrel said. "That will be one of the best offensive lines we will see all year. Those guys are going to win some games this year.
 
"We had a great challenge early."
 
Nebraska-Kearney stopped Northwest on the opening drive of the game. The Lopers came out hitting hard on offense and defense.
 
The Bearcats, though, have quick strike ability and unleashed it 5 minutes into the game when junior Brady Bolles tossed a perfect pass to senior wide receiver Bryce Young for a 65-yard scoring play. The first points of the 2014 season by Northwest came with 9:01 left in the first quarter.
 
Nearly 5 minutes later, Nebraska-Kearney showed it had no fear of the Bearcats vaunted defense. The Lopers went on a 10 play, 78-yard drive that ended on an 8-yard run by quarterback Bronson Marsh.
 
"Kearney came out ready to play," Gnader said. "We knew they had a big, physical O-line and pretty good team offensively and their quarterback is a playmaker.
 
"It was a good test for our defense. Early on we needed to make adjustments and our coaches made the adjustments to get us in the right position to make the plays."
 
Suddenly, the defending NCAA Division II national champions were staring at a 7-7 tie with 4:11 left in the first quarter.
 
The Bearcats were locked in an old-fashion, hard-hitting game. And the Lopers were quite salty. Twice they successfully pulled off a fake punt deep in their territory.
 
 Northwest regained the lead with 5:44 left before halftime when Phil Jackson scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 1-yard run.
 
Northwest tacked on a 44 yard field goal by sophomore Simon Mathiesen with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.
 
Early in the third quarter, Northwest took complete control of the game when Jackson bolted up the middle on a nice hole created by the offensive line. Once he was 10 yards down the field, Jackson did the rest, breaking a couple of tackles for a 25-yard touchdown run that pushed the Bearcats lead to 24-7 with 9:45 left in the third quarter.
 
"Usually what goes through my mind is hit it up the seam," Jackson said. "I have to give it up to my O-line. They make it easy for me. All I had to do was hit it up the seam. I did have to jump over one of our O-lineman."
 
After a turnover, Northwest quickly scored again on a two-yard run by Jackson with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Neither team scored again.
 
All in all, it was the perfect game for Northwest coaching staff. The Bearcats won by 24 points, but they were far from perfect. The coaches will point out the mistakes they made in film sessions and on the practice field.
 
"I was talking to the Godfather back there, Mel Tjeerdsma, this morning and he asked how was it going," Dorrel said. "I said we haven't practiced well the last three days. We got to talking a little bit that sometimes it is good to have games like that.
 
"That game was in the balance at halftime. Our kids were going they (Lopers) were here to play and they were physical.
 
"I think it helps as a coach when they show up tomorrow to really grab their attention. The 21 seniors we will really challenge tomorrow. There are just some things we need to do better in practice."
 
The returning Bearcats got a reminder that there is no place for complacency in the 2014 season.