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By David Boyce  |  Facebook Photo Album

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Once Northwest Missouri State overcame its one miscue in the first half, it played near perfect football against Northeastern State Saturday afternoon at Doc Wadley Stadium.
 
It was quite simply the best half of football for the Bearcats since they beat Missouri Southern by 41 at Bearcat Stadium on Sept. 10.
 
The 59-7 road win by Northwest ended a two-week run of second half comebacks. From the opening kickoff to the final second, the Bearcats dominated.
 
"It was big for us," Northwest senior quarterback Brady Bolles said. "We have been preaching all year that we were just one guy away from having a great game offensively. When we watch film, it shows. We corrected some of the mistakes we made in the past, and came out and played a great game today. The defense played great as well. Overall, it was a great team win."
 
By improving to 5-0, Northwest finally resembled a team that is ranked third in the AFCA top 25. The Bearcats intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles. Also, seven different players scored touchdowns.
 
"When a team doesn't know who is going to hit you and you have so many weapons, it opens things up for you," Bolles said. "To have seven different guys score for us was big because you can't key on one guy."
 
In the first drive of the game, Northwest started at its 19 and mixed the run with the pass beautifully, marching down to the 1. The Bearcats ran the ball eight times and completed passes of 7, 19 and 21 yards.
 
Unfortunately, on the 12^th play, Northwest made its one mistake, fumbling near the goal line. The defense quickly picked up the offense, forcing a three and out.
 
Northwest got the ball at Northeastern 45, and although it didn't take full advantage of the great field position, the Bearcats put points on the board with a 35-yard field goal by junior Simon Mathiesen.
 
The seeds of a rout took root when Northwest defense quickly forced another three and out. The Bearcats got the ball near midfield and used eight plays to go 54 yards, scoring the first touchdown of the game on a 16-yard run by junior quarterback Kyle Zimmerman. The extra put Northwest ahead 10-0 with 1:37 left in the first quarter.
 
"The offensive linemen came off and opened up a giant hole there," said Zimmerman, who carried the ball 10 times for 84 yards. "They opened that hole and I cut it back and the receivers were down field working, trying to get those touchdown blocks and that is exactly what happened. They gave their best effort on that play and it worked perfectly."
 
As well as the Bearcats played in the first quarter, they were even better in the second. They scored three touchdowns. The last one was set up by an interception by Jack Young that gave Northwest the ball at Northeastern 30.
 
Six plays later, Northwest was in the end zone on an 11-yard run by sophomore running back Jordan Grove that gave the Bearcats a 31-0 lead with 4:13 left in the second quarter.
 
"I thought it was important for our confidence, especially offensively," Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said. "If you look at Northeastern, it played well all year in the first half. It was great on our part that we created our own energy today."
 
The RiverHawks showed some fight just before halftime, going on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by senior running back Joel Rockmore with 23 seconds left in the second quarter.
 
It was easily the best Northwest has run the ball season. The Bearcats racked up 158 yards rushing in 28 carries in the first half. Northwest held the RiverHawks to a negative 17 yards rushing in 14 carries in the first two quarter.
 
Northwest finished the game 264 yards rushing and the Riverhawks managed just 15 yards.
 
"We talked about it earlier in the week how we were going to work on it and hitting the holes and we did that today," said running back Phil Jackson, who rushed for two touchdowns. "We showed we can do that. Before we were pressing too much, trying to be perfect. We need to go out and have fun in our run game and go get it."
 
Northwest was just as crisp in the second half, preventing the RiverHawks from entertaining thoughts of an improbable comeback.
 
A fumble recovery by senior linebacker Zack Maloley at Northeastern 16 early in the third quarter set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Jackson that increased Northwest lead to 38-7.
 
"Coach Dorrel was talking about how that shows the strength of a team and I agree with that," Maloley said. "It is not easy to come out in the second half when you have that big lead and continue to play hard, but that's what we did."
 
Jackson added another touchdown on a 1-yard run with 2:46 left in the third quarter, giving Northwest a 45-7 lead.
 
Northwest had such a nice lead that Dorrel was able to give some of the backup players more playing time and they performed well. Freshman safety Najeem Hosein had an interception early in the fourth quarter.
 
"Those kids work hard, too," Dorrel said. "When we have gone back-to-back weeks and they haven't had a chance to play since Missouri Southern, it can be a grind in practice. I was glad to get those guys in. It helps their confidence and their development."
 
A few minutes later on fourth and 8, Zimmerman tossed a 36-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Randy Schmidt, making it 52-7 with still 12 minutes left. It was Zimmerman's first career touchdown pass.
 
"I had great protection by the O-line and Randy ran a great route and came open," Zimmerman said. "If you get the ball in some of those guys hands, they are going to make some special plays.
 
"The starters played great today and got us a big lead and that gave us a chance to get on the field and get some reps," It was great to see so many different guys in the end zone today."