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By David Boyce  |  Facebook Photo Album  |  Lateral Play

MARYVILLE, Mo. - As impressive as Kyle Zimmerman's performance was in Northwest Missouri State's 69-10 Homecoming victory over rival Pittsburg State on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, the play of the game occurred just before halftime.
 
Northwest already had control of the game when the defense generated an electric moment for the 10,283 fans at Bearcat Stadium. The play was the delicious icing on a perfect Homecoming afternoon of football.
 
"It was awesome, everything you hope Homecoming would be," Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said. "It was a great game, intense, and we played well in all three phases."
 
It was all that plus the third largest crowd in Northwest history witnessed a play that will be talked about for years by the Bearcat faithful.
 
"That was unbelievable," Zimmerman said. "That was one of the best plays I have ever seen. I got a feeling you might be seeing that tomorrow morning on Sports Center."
 
The Northwest Lateral was that amazing. 
 
Only one second remained before halftime when Pitt State had the ball with a final chance to score. The Gorillas trailed 35-3. After timeouts were called by the Gorillas and Northwest, Pitt State sophomore quarterback John Roderique dropped back from Northwest's 31.
 
Northwest senior free safety Kevin Berg eyed the quarterback all the way and intercepted the pass at the 6 as time expired. Berg had no intention of taking a knee and heading into halftime with a 32-point lead.
 
"It was incredible and the funny thing was, I was talking to Edward Richey and Jack Young about it that if any of us got a pick, we were going to lateral it and hopefully we could take it in for six," Berg said.
 
The mindset was pick-six so Berg took off and as he neared midfield, he pitched the ball back to Richey.
 
At this point, it was obvious the Bearcats were determined to get into the end zone. After Richey went several yards, he tossed the ball back to junior linebacker Jarrod Bishop.
 
"It was a lot of luck," Richey said. "We just made a play."
 
Richey just didn't want to be the person who got tackled with the ball.
 
"I didn't even see where I threw it," Richey said. "I tossed it behind me and luckily Jarrod was there to catch the ball and make another play."
 
Bishop got to the 35. Just before he was tackled, Bishop pitched it back to defensive lineman Harold Brantley, who ran into the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
 
"Honestly, it was the craziest play I have been a part of. I was happy I was able to end up with the ball," Brantley said. "Everybody did a great job. Kevin did a great job picking it. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a pitch, but once it started going, everybody was blocking and pitching in. It was fun.
 
"Right now I am just happy to be part of this team."
 
It was an amazing play that wasn't vital in Northwest's 24^th straight victory, tying a school record for consecutive wins.
 
Zimmerman, though, had one of the greatest games at quarterback of anybody who has ever worn the Bearcat uniform. He tossed a school record six touchdowns, completing 19 of 21 passes for 385 yards. He had touchdown passes of 63 and 68 yards. His performance earned him the annual Don Black MVP Award for the Homecoming game.
 
"It is definitely an honor, but there were so many guys out here today that were deserving of this award," Zimmerman said. "Our O-line played phenomenal. I had all day to throw. It is a testament to how hard those guys worked. The receivers ran great routes today and got open.
 
"It was a total team effort today."
 
The Bearcats, 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the AFCA top 25, put this game away by playing their most crisp brand of football on both sides of the ball so far this season. Behind the pinpoint accuracy of Zimmerman, Northwest was unstoppable in the first half. He completed 15 of 17 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns in the first two quarters.
 
Northwest was equally impressive on defense against an offense that came in averaging 42.1 points per game. The only points for the Gorillas was a 21-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
 
Quite simply, it was domination that this heated rivalry has never seen. Before Saturday, the worst Northwest had ever beaten Pitt State was 41-14 on Nov. 4, 2006.
 
On Oct. 29, 2016, the Bearcats were on a mission to make sure not to repeat what occurred in the 2014 Homecoming game when they suffered a shocking loss to Pitt State that halted a 22-game win streak.
 
"We were very locked in," Zimmerman said. "It is a testament to the mindset that the coaches got us into this week. A lot of the seniors on the team were a part of that loss in 2014 and that didn't set well with us. They got us on that Homecoming, and we wanted to make sure that didn't happen this time."
 
Northwest struck first on a 1-yard run by Zimmerman that made it 7-0 with 8:39 left in the first quarter. When the Bearcats got the ball back, they went on a four-play, 78-yard scoring drive, capped on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Zimmerman to Randy Schmidt with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
 
The Gorillas showed a little fight by scoring on a field goal with 11:12 left in the second quarter, making it 14-3.
 
From that point on, it was total domination by Northwest. The points came so fast that the scoreboard operator probably thought he was at Bearcat Arena, scoring a basketball game.
 
Northwest quickly answered the Gorillas' field goal, going 65 yards in five plays and scoring a 37-yard touchdown pass from Zimmerman to Shane Williams with 9:23 left in the second quarter.
 
Four minutes later, Northwest was in the end zone again on a 7-yard touchdown reception by Phil Jackson II from Zimmerman, making it 28-3. The Bearcats tacked on another touchdown with 1:30 left before halftime on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Zimmerman to Clayton Wilson.
 
"I was really proud of our guys," Northwest offensive coordinator Charlie Flohr said. "They came out and really executed the game plan. We knew Pitt State was going to come in and try to put pressure on us."
 
It didn't happen in 2016.
 
And 89 seconds after Northwest scored its fifth offensive touchdown, the highlight reel play of Berg's interception followed by three laterals had the stadium buzzing as the Bearcats went into halftime with a 41-3 lead.
 
To make matters worse for Pitt State, the Bearcats got the ball to start the second half. Northwest treated all the fans who stayed for the third quarter to a beautiful 63-yard pass play to Shawn Bane for a touchdown. It gave Northwest a 48-3 lead. Later in the third quarter, Zimmerman hit Williams for a 68-yard touchdown pass to make it 55-10.
 
"I made it a little more difficult than I needed to, but I am glad it opened up the way it did," said Williams, who initially juggled the long pass.
 
Williams finished the game with three receptions for a team-high 114 yards and two touchdowns. He was one of many players who had a game to remember.
 
"It was a great atmosphere," Williams said. "We knew it would be going into it. It was great for the team to play the way we know we can play."