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By David Boyce  |  Facebook Photo Album

MARYVILLE, Mo. - Three minutes into the third quarter, drama developed at Bearcat Stadium for the first time all season.
 
Northwest Missouri State senior placekicker Simon Mathiesen lined up for a 36-yard field goal against rival Missouri Western on a crisp Saturday afternoon.
 
The Bearcats didn't need the points to take a lead in the second half. The No. 1-ranked Bearcats haven't been in that position all season.
 
When Mathiesen lineup for his field goal, Northwest held a 14-point lead. The thing that made the field goal attempt intriguing was Mathiesen was trying to tie the school's all-time record for made field goals.
 
Mathiesen nailed the 36-yard field goal. It gave him 52 field goals for his career, tying Dave Purnell's mark that was established in 1999.
 
Spoiler alert: Mathiesen broke the record in the fourth quarter. Details of that historic kick comes later in the story.
 
 "I can't explain to you how much it means to me to be part of this team," Mathiesen said. "When I first came here, I had no idea what this program is about. Four years later, with this kind of record, it is tremendous and I can't be more thankful for it."
 
The early, third-quarter field goal put Northwest up 17 points, and that was more than enough for the Bearcats to cruise to a 44-3 victory in front of 7,542 fans at Bearcat Stadium.
 
Northwest, 11-0, has won a school-record 26 straight games. It was the 28^th MIAA title for Northwest. The seniors went 42-1 in MIAA games in the last four seasons.
 
"This means everything to us," said senior wide receiver Dre Washington, who caught a touchdown pass. "Every day we come into practice to get better as a team. Only to have one loss (regular season) over our whole career is amazing.
 
"We feel like we are brothers. I can depend on my brothers. I don't have to be perfect because I know the guy next to me will help me out to be better than I am already."
 
Next up for the Bearcats is a date with the TV late Sunday afternoon to find out when and where they play next. The NCAA Division II selection show is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
The Bearcats, the defending national champions, are entering the playoffs with the biggest bullseye on their back out of any other team.
 
But that is okay. Northwest has handled that pressure quite nicely during the regular season, beating every opponent by at least 21 points.
 
Give Missouri Western credit for a feisty effort, but that didn't stop the Bearcats from putting points on the scoreboard a little over 3 minutes into the game on an 18-yard field goal by Mathiesen. It was the first of three field goals for Mathiesen.
 
The Griffons generated basically no offense in their first three drives against Northwest's vaunted defense. The quick three-outs put the Bearcats in great field position. Northwest took advantage, scoring 3 minutes after the field on an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior Kyle Zimmerman to Washington, making it 10-0.
 
Northwest was well on its way to clinching an outright MIAA title.
 
"This means a lot," Zimmerman said. "Anytime you can go through this league undefeated like we have the past two years means a lot. We had a lot at stake this week. If we won, we could potentially get a bye next week. It was huge."
 
The Bearcats added to their lead 5 seconds into the second quarter on a 2-yard pass from Zimmerman to junior Cameron Wilcox. Leading 17-0 with most of the second quarter remaining, it looked like the Bearcats got a bit complacent on offense the rest of the half.
 
Northwest, though, didn't need any more points. The Griffons managed only a 20-yard field goal with 5:27 left in the second quarter. Missouri Western had three first downs in the first half and compiled 110 yards of total offense.
 
"The defense played well," said Northwest junior linebacker Jarrod Bishop. "It is easy when you have the front four we have. They allow us linebackers to get into the pass rush."
 
Bishop was one of many stars on defense. He had 2.5 sacks and finished with six tackles.
 
"We are starting to find our rhythm," Northwest defensive coordinator Rich Wright said. "We are not giving up explosive plays. We are preaching all the time that if you make people earn things, they are going to have a difficult time driving the football on us with any consistency."
 
The domination in the second half started quickly with Mathiesen's record-tying field goal. Northwest continued to pound the Griffons throughout the third quarter, scoring on a 7-yard run by Zimmerman to make it 27-3 with 5:57 remaining the third quarter.
 
In the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Bearcats completely put the game away on a 7-yard touchdown run by Wilcox with 14:24 left in the game.
 
Despite a 34-7 lead, a dramatic climax was 4 minutes away. Mathiesen trotted onto the field with 10:25 left in the game attempting to break the school record for career field goals. Since it was only 27 yards, it was a lock for him. Mathiesen split the uprights for his 53^rd career field goal.
 
"When I went out there for the 27-yard field goal, I was really trying to tell myself you have to stay focused here," Mathiesen said. "It is easy to get caught up in the moment. I was trying to keep my composure."
 
Bishop is amazed what Mathiesen has accomplished as a placekicker, especially since he arrived at Northwest as a wide receiver.
 
"It is crazy," Bishop said. "His real calling was to be the kicker and he has done his job. He does a phenomenal job at it."
 
Zimmerman feels the same way about Mathiesen.
 
"I love that guy to death," Zimmerman said. "The humor that kid has and the resiliency just to continue to work at his craft at kicking. He is never satisfied. I have never seen a kicker study as much film as he studies of himself to get better.
 
"Anytime we get to the 30-yard line or so, everyone on this team has complete confidence in him that he is going to put it through the uprights. I am so happy for him and happy he got this record."
 
Northwest played so well on both sides of the ball that Missouri Western never threatened to pull off an upset win.
 
 "Around this time in November, you got to be playing your best ball," Bishop said. "We are starting to click the way we need to and it is showing on the field."