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By David Boyce  |  Northwest Missouri vs. Shepherd  |  Saturday, Dec. 19, 3 p.m. CT  |  Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kan.  |  ESPN2
Live Stats  |  Watch Live on ESPN3  |  Live Audio  |  Northwest Game Notes  |  Shepherd Game Notes  |   2015 Bracket

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Several minutes after Northwest Missouri State wrapped upa Homecoming victory over Fort Hays State on Oct. 24, senior defensive lineman Brandon Yost gathered his teammates around him.
 
Yost was about to make one of the biggest announcement of his young adult life. He proposed to his girlfriend.
 
"I kind of baited her into saying yes because I had all those people there," Yost said with a smile Thursday. "It was awesome. I had pretty much most of my friends there, all my teammates there and the fans there. Doing that in front of all those people hopefully showed I cared a lot about her and how much she does mean to me."
 
The moment harkened back to 2013 when running back Billy Creason did the exact same thing in a late season game. The 2013 team went on to win the national championship.
 
The 2015 Bearcats are in position to do the same thing. Northwest, 14-0, takes on Shepherd, 13-0, in the NCAA Division II National Championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. Northwest is seeking its fifth national title in football.
 
"Proposals and mullets," junior defensive back Kevin Berg said of the similarities of the 2013 and 2015 teams.
 
The camaraderie is the same. Players on both teams enjoy the process of going through the season. The burden of repeating in 2014 took some of the joy out of last season.
 
Free from those expectations and the injection of freshmen and sophomores into the starting lineup created renewed enthusiasm for this season.
 
Players had to battle for playing time, but at the same time remained united because the only goal for the 2015 Bearcats was simply to win the game they were playing that week.
 
"We told young guys they were going to be playing and they needed to be able to step up," senior quarterback Brady Bolles said. "Some older guys had their spots taken away and they didn't bat an eye."
 
The Bearcats were playing for each other.
 
"These guys are like my brother out there on defense," senior defensive back Bryce Enyard said. "We practice well. We are always having fun out there."
 
It showed each Saturday afternoon during the fall. Whether Northwest snuck by with a narrow win or had a blowout victory, the Bearcats enjoyed the moment and openly celebrated the wins with family and friends after each game.
 
"This team has done a great job of enjoying the process," Bolles said. "We want to go 1-0 each week. Our preparation has been great and it has been working out great for us."
 
Their reward for a magical season is a date in the national championship game in front of an expected record-setting crowd of more than 17,000 fans at Sporting Park. Most of those fans will be clad in green.
 
For the senior class, it is the perfect way to conclude a storybook college football career. They won the last Fall Classic at Arrowhead Stadium against rival Pittsburg State in 2013. Also in 2013, they won the last national championship game in Florence, Ala. The title game moved to Kansas City, Kan., last season.
 
And now, they get to play a championship game close to home. Few football players in NCAA Division II get to experience what these Bearcats have enjoyed over the last three seasons. By the way, Northwest is 39-2 over the last three years.
 
"To see the work these guys have put in since January has been absolutely awesome," Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said. "We have a good recipe right now. We are playing good on offense, defense and special teams. It is a good formula. We are a very unselfish football team and that's what makes our team special this year."