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By David Boyce  |  Facebook Photo Album

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The only time Northwest Missouri State led in the second half in its thrilling 34-30 victory over Central Missouri State came with 36 seconds left in the game.
 
The winning touchdown came when senior Brady Bolles bolted up the middle on a quarterback draw from 7 yards out. The Bearcats put the finishing touch on the victory when sophomore Edward Richey intercepted a pass with 11 seconds remaining in the game.
 
"It felt good to finally seal the win," Richey said. "We fought back all day. We knew we had each other's back coming into this game. We didn't want to lose. We needed big-time players to step up and that's what we did today. We made more plays than them and won the game."
 
Those two dramatic plays sent part of the 9,973 fans into a frenzy on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at Walton Stadium. Of course, those fans were clad in green and white.
 
As for the fans in red, they must have left their home stadium simply stunned by what transpired in the last 9 minutes because it looked like Northwest, ranked No. 3 in the AFCA coaches poll, was headed for its first loss of the season.
 
Only a few scant moments in the second half did it appear Northwest had an opportunity to pull out a miracle victory.
 
But Northwest coach Adam Dorrel had faith that Bolles would make the plays down the stretch.
 
"The first thing that comes to my mind was his composure," Dorrel said. "He will be the first to tell you he probably wished he had some throws back today, but he never panicked on the sidelines. He hung in there. He was a great leader on the sidelines. He kept our kids relaxed. When your quarterback is doing that, it relaxes everybody. I was super proud of him."
 
The Bearcats showed composure throughout the game regardless of the adversity that struck them like the four turnovers or when it trailed 23-6 with 8:17 left in the third quarter.
 
When Northwest closed to 23-20 late in the third quarter, the Bearcats looked poised to win. But that all changed when Central Missouri converted a 4^th and 5 and scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Fugate to Ian Toalson with 9:12 left in the game.
 
Northwest, which sputtered on offense throughout the first half, needed to strike quick like it did late in the third quarter when a fumble recovery set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Bolles to Clayton Wilson to make it 23-13 with 2:05 left in the third.
 
The Bearcats followed that less than 2 minutes later with a block punt that gave them the ball at Central's 5. On the next play, Shawn Bane ran it in for a touchdown, pulling the Bearcats to within three at 23-20 with 5 seconds left in the third.
 
But Toalson's touchdown had every indication to be the score that would break the Bearcats mentally.
 
Instead, Northwest struck quickly. After an incomplete pass, Bolles hit Bane for a 66-yard touchdown reception. The drive took just 17 seconds. Northwest closed to 30-27 with 8:51 left in the game.
 
"That was huge," said Bolles, who completed 22 of 44 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. "Our defense was bailing us out all day. We needed to come out and show them we were still in the game. It was great to get Shawn the ball and let him make a move and score."
 
Over the next 4 minutes, each team punted once. Clinging to a 30-27 lead, the Mules got the ball back at its 39 with 3:31 left in the game. They gained a total of 8 yards in their first two runs and none on the third. Time clicked down to 1:18 when Central Missouri took a delay penalty on fourth down.
 
After the punt, Northwest got the ball at its 24 with 1:10 left in the game.
 
"We said on the sidelines, let's go win, never give up and find a way to get it done," Bolles said.
 
Bolles electrified his sidelines and the Northwest fans when he completed a 28-yard pass to Cameron Wilcox on the first play.
 
"We just believed in ourselves," Wilcox said. "We've been preaching all week how we fight harder than most teams. I just thank God I made that catch.
 
"Brady is an amazing quarterback. He put it there. I put my hands out there and caught it."
 
Bolles followed with a 19-yard pass to Bane and then another 19-yard pass to Wilcox, putting the ball at Central Missouri's 7.
 
"It was a 2-minute situation," Bolles said. "We do that all the time in practice. We were ready for it. We knew what we wanted to do and guys went out and made some great plays. And the protection was great. That whole 2-minute drive, I had time back there and we were able to go down the field."
 
 After an incomplete pass, Bolles bolted up the middle for the game winner.  
 
"This whole summer we have talked about fighting back," Richey said. "When your back is against the wall, what are you going to do. Today our backs were against the wall almost the whole game. We didn't let up. We kept fighting and you see the outcome."
 
A wonderful start for Northwest never hinted that the Bearcats were going to go into halftime trailing 9-6.
 
Central Missouri took the opening kickoff at the 19 and three plays later, the Mules were at their 5 and punting.
 
Thanks to a great defensive stand, the Bearcats started their first drive at midfield and three pass plays later, they were at Central Missouri's 26. It was already looking easy for Northwest, and then everything changed.
 
A couple of incomplete passes forced Northwest to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Simon Mathiesen with 11:19 left in the first quarter.
 
Northwest offense sputtered the rest of the first quarter and into the first five minutes of the second quarter.
 
Central Missouri countered the Bearcats' field goal with a 31-yarder with 4:45 left in the first quarter.
 
The Bearcats finally got on track offensively with about 9 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Starting at its 22, Northwest moved to Central Missouri's 16 and finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal by Mathiesen.
 
It appeared Northwest was headed into halftime with a slim three-point lead, but a tipped pass for an interception with just over 2 minutes left gave the Mules the ball at Northwest's 43.
 
Central Missouri needed five plays to score the only touchdown in the first half on a 11-yard pass from Garrett Fugate to Jordan Keeney. Northwest, which blocked a field goal in the first quarter, blocked the extra point.