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By David Boyce  |  Northwest Missouri vs. Nebraska-Kearney  |  Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016  |  1:30 p.m.  |  Bearcat Stadium - Maryville, Mo.
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - Senior linebacker Jacob Vollstedt has trouble finding the perfect words to describe the feeling he gets when he heads to the team breakfast Saturday morning on game day at Northwest Missouri State
 
Vollstedt sees loyal fans already tailgaiting across the street from Bearcat Stadium. Anticipation and excitement is already wafting in the air.
 
"Maryville is such a football town," Vollstedt said. "There is something special about this place."
 
Like the 14 other seniors on the team, Vollstedt is soaking up every second of the 2016 football season.
 
The Bearcats, ranked No. 1 in the AFCA top 25, are off to a 2-0 start. They will take on Nebraska-Kearney at Bearcat Stadium in their first Saturday afternoon game of this season. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m.
 
To most media members who cover NCAA Division II football, the outcome looks like a lock. Northwest should win easily. Nebraska-Kearney is 0-2.
 
But the Northwest football players refuse to view any game through the eyes of a media prognosticator.  
 
"We are focusing on us right now," Vollstedt said. "We have a good family atmosphere, making sure each player is accountable, doing their 1/11th and finding things we can get better at as a team.
 
"We want to play a complete game in all three phases and always find something we can get better at, no matter who the opponent is."
 
It is still very early in the season, but the seniors are finding joy in each step of the process to improve as the 2016 season moves along. More than any other seniors in the country in Division II football, the Bearcats understand how putting too much pressure on themselves to repeat as national champions can dampened a season.
 
"We put last year behind us," Vollstedt said. "We have a lot of determination and upperclassmen leadership. We came out of the gate wanting to show what we are made of and last year wasn't a fluke."
 
The 2016 class were sophomores in 2014 when Northwest last tried to repeat as national champions. The Bearcats had a solid season, finishing tied for first in the MIAA with a 10-1 record and reaching the playoffs. The season ended with a heartbreaking, four-point loss at Minnesota-Duluth in the first round.
 
Northwest started the 2014 season just as strong as this year. The Bearcats outscored their first two opponents 71-21 compared to 82-21 this season. Vollstedt points out that the team's enthusiasm has played a big role in this year's culture.
 
"We are enjoying everything, from practice to meetings to weights," Vollstedt said. "We are enjoying the time we are spending together.
 
"If somebody makes a pick in practice, and they are going 40 yards celebrating, the whole team will run after him. No matter how big or small, we are going to celebrate because we don't know how long we have together."
 
While Vollstedt likes the leadership the seniors are showing, he credits the other upperclassmen for also stepping up and leading.
 
"That has helped us to a fast start," Vollstedt said. "We have a lot of good team chemistry."
 
The Bearcats have shown an ability to bounce back from a bad series or two. In the first game, Northwest gave up the first touchdown of the game at Emporia State and then roared back to a 20-7 halftime lead.
 
In the second game, Northwest quickly scored the first 17 points in the first quarter and was shutout in the second quarter. The Bearcats regrouped at halftime and outscored Washburn 14-0 in the third quarter.
 
"It was definitely good for us," Vollstedt said of facing some in-game adversity. "As a unit, we learned we are tough and are going to bounce back, and we are going to play hard no matter what the circumstances are.
 
 "There has been a lot of young players playing now. A little bit of adversity shows what they can accomplish and how they will respond in difficult situations. It is not going to be easy the whole year. We find out who got guts and who we can trust."
 
As long as the trust remains team-wide, look for the Bearcats to continue to roll through MIAA competition.
 
"We have a lot of intensity," Vollstedt said.
 
The way the players play on the field and the energy they feel from the fans at Bearcat Stadium have made Saturday afternoons in the fall a joyous occasion in Maryville.
 
"We can't thank them enough," Vollstedt said. "The student section and the rest of the fans were amazing last week. Third quarter and fourth quarter they stuck around. They cheer us to the very end. I can't thank them enough."