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By David Boyce  |  Northwest at Central Missouri  |  Saturday, Sept. 19  •  1:30 p.m.  |  Warrensburg, Mo.  |  Walton Stadium
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - When the 2015 football schedule came out for Northwest Missouri State, Saturday's game at Central Missouri was one that coach Adam Dorrel circled.
 
The last time the Bearcats traveled to Warrensburg, they suffered a 31-21 loss on Sept. 8, 2012. Walton Stadium was filled with 10,372 fans and they saw Northwest fall behind 31-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
"If you look at our road schedule and the games we have to play on the road, this is the first big test from environment to the quality of the opponent," Dorrel said. "It is a very hard place to play. It is going to be very loud and vocal.
 
"The thing we are trying to focus on is get our kids in the mentality of attack and stay on the aggressive end of it. If you can do that, you are not getting caught up in that environment."
 
Northwest, 2-0, comes into the game on an early-season roll. The Bearcats have outscored their first two opponents 79-7. Central Missouri is 1-1, falling last week 45-34 at Emporia State in a game that started Thursday and concluded on Saturday because of inclement weather.
 
The Mules know when the ball is kicked off at 1:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium, they are practically in a must-win situation.
 
"It will be a tough game," said Northwest junior center Chase Sherman. "Their backs are against the wall. Like always, it is a good Missouri rivalry. They are going to give us everything they have, coming off the loss to Emporia. It will be a good game in a hostile environment."
 
One thing senior linebacker Brock Sherman is positive about is it will be a physical game. It is the nature of this rivalry.
 
"We know each other so well," Brock said. "No matter the records, it is going to be a tough game. You have to bring it."
 
The Bearcats feel they are up for the task. In their first two games, they have played a fast and physical brand of defense. The only points scored against Northwest came with 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter last week in a 48-7 win against Missouri Southern at Bearcat Stadium.
 
A couple of personal fouls, rough the passer calls are the only thing that put a slight blemish on the defense performance. One of those personal fouls nullified a pick-six. In a close game, those kind of miscues can mean the difference between a win and a loss.
 
"You learn from them," Dorrel said. "You watch them. That is the biggest thing. You watch all three of them and on two of them, if there was an intent to tackle, I don't know if we get the call."
 
Instead of pushing the quarterback down in those situations, Dorrel wants his defensive players to wrap up and tackle the quarterback.
 
"It is something we want to learn from," Dorrel said. "This is not who we are. I am confident our kids will get it fixed. I think we will be OK."
 
Brock agreed. He likes the fast and aggressive way the defense has played so far this season.
 
"We are all playing hard, doing our job and playing fast," Brock said. "Our defensive coaches have put us in great position to be successful. We have to go out there and do what they taught us. We want to keep playing physical. We just have to be smarter in a couple of situations and really work on technique.
 
"We want to be that fast, physical team in which everyone is getting to the ball and making it hard on the offense every play."
 
Northwest will need that mentality Saturday. Central Missouri knows how to score points. Plus, it has been three years since the Bearcats have been at Walton Stadium. The Mules would love to take down the No. 3 ranked team in the AFCA top 25 poll.
 
"We have to stick to the game plan," Brock said. "What we do best is just play hard and everybody does his 1/11th and tries not to do too much."