---

By David Boyce  |  Northwest Missouri vs. West Georgia  |  Saturday, Dec. 12, 2:30 p.m.  |  Bearcat Stadium
Live Stats  |  Watch Live on ESPN3  |  Live Audio  |  Northwest Game Notes  |  West Georgia Game Notes  |  Fan Primer

MARYVILLE, Mo. - In five years, the progress senior Daniel Kempf has made since graduating from Boonville High School has impressed Northwest Missouri State football coach Adam Dorrel.
 
Kempf will start 2:30 p.m. Saturday at left guard when No. 1 ranked Northwest, 13-0, takes on West Georgia, 12-1, in a NCAA Division II semifinal at Bearcat Stadium.
 
The last time Northwest played a semifinal game at home was two seasons ago. Kempf saw action in seven games that season and started three or four games because of injuries.
 
The Bearcats beat Grand Valley State and went on to win the national championship.
 
"In 2013, it was a blast," Kempf said. "The game against Grand Valley was one of the most fun moments I had," Kempf said. "I'm excited about it now. I don't want to get too excited. I want to keep composure for the game."
 
Kempf worked his way into the starting lineup last season and remains an anchor on the offensive line this season.
 
Through hard work, Kempf has progressed more than Dorrel anticipated when he first got to know him in 2010. Kempf's high school coach dialed up Dorrel and said he had a player interested in Northwest because of the football tradition and the agriculture department.
 
"Anytime we here that from a kid we definitely check him out," Dorrel said. "We thought he would be a good fit for us, a good personality. We brought him up. He connected well with everybody."
 
Still, Kempf walked on and had to earn his playing time and scholarship money. Well, that wasn't a problem for him. Kempf grew up on a farm.
 
Every day before school, he got up 6 a.m. in the morning, fed the cattle before heading off to school. After football or wrestling practice, he worked in the evenings at Orscheln Farm and Home.
 
Getting up at 5:30 a.m. to lift weights before heading to class at Northwest was never a problem for him.
 
In addition, his easygoing personality fit in with teammates whether they grew up on a farm or the city. Northwest has a number of players from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri who grew up on farms or lived in farming communities.
 
"There is a good amount of us who are ag guys," Kempf said. "You get another perspective from other states on how they do things. It is good talking to those guys."
 
Northwest players from the city ask Kempf from time to time about life on a farm.
 
"I tell them they have to come out and visit sometime," Kempf said.
 
Could they milk a cow?
 
"That is not something I usual did, but I am sure they could figure it out," Kempf said. "It can't be that bad."
 
Figuring it out is how Kempf progressed from a walk-on to a player who saw action in four games as a redshirt freshman to seven games as a sophomore to 10 games last year to every game this season.
 
"He is one of those kids that things aren't easy for him so it is awesome to see him grow," Dorrel said.
 
"I would be lying to you if I thought he would turn into the type of player he turned into. I have told him that to his face. I am very proud of him. He is playing at a high level right now. He has worked really hard to get where he is at."
 
Every senior wants his last season to be the best. Kempf experienced being on an undefeated national championship team as a sophomore. Last year the Bearcats shared the conference title with Pittsburg State and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
 
The pressure of trying to repeat took some of the joy out of last season.
 
"It is tough to repeat," he said. "Hats off to teams who can do it back-to-back. Last year was still good for us."
 
But this season has been a blast.
 
"It helps being undefeated so far," he said. "It makes the season seem like it is flying by more than other seasons when we lost a game. It has been a great year. I couldn't ask for a better year so far."
 
The Bearcats are simply using the same formula that helped them go 15-0 in 2013.
 
"I think a lot of it is the leadership on the team," Kempf said. "We are young, but we have a lot of guys who are unselfish. I just feel everybody knows to do their job, their 1/11th. We have done great to go one week at a time and go 1-0."
 
This week will be toughest one so far to go 1-0. Only Northwest has a better defense statistically in Division II than West Georgia.
 
West Georgia enters this game motivated to get to where Northwest has been many times. A year ago, the Wolves lost 10-7 to Colorado State-Pueblo in the semifinals. Coming so tantalizingly close a year ago has fueled them this season.
 
Northwest, though, have players who tasted a national championship in 2013 in Florence, Ala., and now they want to experience it at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.
 
The four teams that made the semifinals have worked hard and are motivated and determined to win it all. That sets the stage for two highly competitive games. 
 
"In a tournament-type setting, you can have a good football team, but you have to have some luck along the way," Dorrel said. "The ball has to bounce your way. You have to stay healthy. You have to make a couple of plays here and there. It is really challenging at this level. There is a lot parity in Division II football now so the fact being one of the four programs standing says a lot about our program and the other three programs."
 
Kempf and Dorrel know through experience that winning a semifinal game at home produces lasting memories.
 
"It is very special," Dorrel said. "Some of my best memories as a coach here is being involved in games like that. Hopefully, we can get the crowd revved up and use it as an advantage for us."