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By David Boyce  |  Facebook Fan Photos

MARYVILLE, Mo. - All game, when the Northwest Missouri State defense needed to make a play, the Bearcats delivered and because of that, they came away with a gritty 23-16 victory over Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Stadium.
 
The Bronchos had a chance to tie late in the fourth quarter when they started a drive at their 25 with just under 3 minutes left. Central Oklahoma moved to Northwest's 37 and that was when junior Jacob Vollstedt sacked the quarterback for an 8-yard loss with 1:10 left in the game. Vollstedt finished with 18 tackles and three sacks.
 
"I thought we had a lot of guys step up on defense," Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said.  
 
Two plays after Vollstedt's sack, sophomore Nicholas Turner recorded another sack for Northwest, which set up a fourth and 24 for Central Oklahoma. A desperation pass went incomplete with 16 seconds left, which sealed the win for Northwest.
 
"First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the God-given ability to make that play," Turner said. "It was a great feeling to be able to contribute and come off the sideline when my number was called and make a play when the team needed me to."
 
Northwest, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, improved to 4-0 overall.
 
"People maybe aren't happy with some of the things we are doing on offense," Dorrel said. "We want to execute better and we are not, but the bottom line is we are making plays when we need to.
 
"I'd rather do that than winning 56-0 one week and not making plays the next week because guys don't have confidence. We do have confidence to make plays when we need to."

Although underclassmen like Vollstedt, Turner and junior safety Jack Young made great defensive plays throughout the second half, Turner said the seniors are the ones who have instilled a tough mental mindset that has helped them to persevere.
 
"This whole season the seniors' rallying call is finding a way and that is what we are rallying around," Turner said. "Whenever we face adversity, no matter what the circumstance is, we find a way to come through, and Jake came through and made a great play."
 
The seniors also played well on the field. Senior safety Bryce Enyard picked off a pass with 8 minutes left and Northwest leading 20-16. Enyard was on his back when he made the interception. Some of the credit goes to the defensive line for putting pressure on Central Oklahoma quarterback.
 
"Luck," Enyard said with a laugh, describing his interception. "Everybody saw I happened to fall down. With the good pressure from the D-line hitting the quarterback, the ball happened to come right to me.
 
"Once we made that play, our offense made some other opportunities and scored."
 
Northwest offense went on a 12-play drive that concluded with a 29-yard field goal junior Simon Mathiesen. It was his third field goal of the game.
 
"This was Family Day so we were playing for Scott Bostwick," Enyard said. "We really didn't want to disappoint him. We knew he was watching us from the sky. We wanted to show him Bearcat defense."
 
Bostwick was the former Northwest defensive coordinator and head coach who passed away of a heart attack in June, 2011.
 
Bostwick would have been proud of what Young did midway through the third quarter, Northwest needed someone to step up and make a play. The offense was struggling and that contributed to a 13-10 deficit. Central Oklahoma had the ball inside Northwest's 40. The Bronchos were looking to add to their lead.
 
At that critical juncture, Young, changed the momentum of the game. He dashed in front of the receiver and intercepted a pass from Chas Stallard and then raced 56 yards down field before he was tackled at Central Oklahoma's five.
 
"I saw the tight end come back across and I saw the quarterback's eyes on him," Young said. "I thought if I could undercut him and make a play, I could really help the team out and change the momentum. I was happy to be able to do it and get the momentum back on our side."
 
Senior quarterback Brady Bolles took care of the rest with a 5-yard touchdown run that put Northwest in front 17-13 with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter.
 
It was hard for Northwest to get anything going offensively throughout the first half. The Bearcats went into halftime trailing 13-10.
 
The Bronchos scored first. Field position played a big part. Central Oklahoma started at Northwest's 30 and needed three plays to get in the end on a 6-yard run by Clay McKenzie with 8:18 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Northwest responded with its best drive of the first half. The Bearcats started at their 15 and methodically moved the ball 82 yards in 10 plays. The drive stalled at the 3 and Northwest settled for a 20-yard field goal by Simon Mathiesen with 4:12 left in the first quarter.
 
 Two minutes later, sophomore Edward Richey blocked a punt and scored a touchdown for Northwest, giving the Bearcats a 10-7 lead. It was the third blocked punt this season for Richey.
 
"First of all, I just want to thank God," Richey said. "That play was huge. We knew we needed a big play. We talked about it all week that we needed to be great on special teams this week.
 
"In order to change the momentum, we were going to need a play somewhere. We have been practicing all week and we executed it to perfection."
 
All the momentum was seemingly with the Bearcats, but it was Central Oklahoma that dominated the second quarter. Northwest was strong enough on defense to limit the Bronchos to field goals and 42 and 30 yards.