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By David Boyce  |  Northwest Missouri vs. Central Missouri  |  Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016  |  5 p.m.  |  Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, Mo.
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MARYVILLE, Mo. - At the weekly media luncheon Tuesday afternoon, football coach Adam Dorrel started telling a story about junior defensive tackle Caleb Mather that was so amusing that Dorrel couldn't keep the grin off his face before completing it.
 
Dorrel, a devoted family man, was happy that Mather married his childhood sweetheart. On June 11, Mather, who grew up in Maryville, married Baylee Scarbrough, who was also raised in Maryville.
 
"We have been dating for five years," Mather said. "We have known each other since grade school."
 
For those who grew up on 1970s television, Mather's story has a Little House of the Prairie feel to it and leaves you with a warm feeling.
 
The amusing comment Dorrel added to the marriage story was one day last summer he heard that Mather was adding a new member to his family. Dorrel was thinking a child, which would have made it a difficult task for Mather to juggle marriage, school, football with a baby, especially since Baylee still a student at Northwest.
 
"I learned he was getting a puppy," Dorrel finally said with a laugh.
 
But Dorrel is confident that Mather could handle multiple responsibilities in a calm, reasoned manner.
 
"He is so even-keel," Dorrel said. "He never gets too high or too low. He is a very quiet, very spiritual young man. I know he is very active in his church and in our community. What I love about him is he is very mature for his age."
 
Mather has an easy smile when he talks about his marriage, going to school and playing for the Bearcats. But he is not going to fill a notebook with words about his life.
 
Mather on his marriage.
 
"I get to see her more. She is a really good cook. She cooks me dinner."
 
Mather on his middle school education major.
 
"I want to make a difference in kid's lives."
 
Mather on playing Central Missouri at Arrowhead at 5 p.m. Saturday.
 
"I am looking forward to it. I think it is going to be a lot of fun."
 
And finally, Mather on Northwest's 4-0 start to the season.
 
"I think we have been playing well. We obviously need to get better. We are working on that every day We need to tighten up and play our game."
 
On the playing field, Mather speaks with his actions and willingness to listen to coaches to get better. He had two tackles as a freshman, increased it to 22 last season and already has 10 tackles and two sacks this season.
 
Dorrel has watched Mather improve to a level that allows Northwest to do even more on the line to create havoc for opposing offenses.
 
"He has played really well," Dorrel said. "He has played better than he has the previous two years. He is getting really good push in the b-gap. If you can get push on the guard, it helps in two things. It makes a bubble in the run game and it makes them bounce the football and with the team speed we have, we are going to rally to the football most of the time.
 
"The second thing is it allows us to run stunts in games because if you can get a guard pushed back, you can wrap that defensive end underneath it or blitz a linebacker through there. It is an important deal."
 
For the most part, the defense has played exceptionally well except the Bearcats have tended to give up an early touchdown before locking down an opponent. Northwest has trailed in the first quarter in three of their first four games.
 
"We are going to get everybody's best shot every day," Mather said. "We need to be ready every week."
 
Dorrel said it is important for the players to truly understand that, especially when they play teams in the upper half of the MIAA like Central Missouri. The Mules are 3-1 and locked in a five-way tie for second. All five of those teams want to dethrone the defending national champions.
 
Northwest has already beaten two of the five teams tied for second, but there is rarely an easy week in the rugged MIAA. Two of the teams in the MIAA still searching for their first victories, took leads on Northwest.
 
"I have a lot of concerns," Dorrel said. "I told them that. To me, when you tackle as poorly as we tackled early in a game, it is a sign of not being focused. Our inability to play consistent in the first quarter on offense a few games is concerning to me. I try not to belabor the point, but we are certainly not shying away from calling it out. I am trying to use it as a learning tool. We play like that in the first quarter, we may be down 28 points.
 
"When you are playing against really good teams, you can't recover. We are trying to get focused and have a better week of preparation mentally so when we show up Saturday, we do not get caught up in the atmosphere and really focus on doing our job."
 
The Bearcats know they need to be ready from the opening kickoff against Central Missouri. A year ago, the Mules led 30-20 with 9 minutes left in Warrensburg before Northwest roared back for a 34-30 victory.
 
In the last decade, this matchup has produced some thrilling moments. Adding Arrowhead to the mix should make it an incredible atmosphere. The weather will be near perfect with temperatures in the low 70s and no threat of rain.
 
Northwest played Pittsburg State at Arrowhead for 12 straight years before it stopped after the 2013 game. This will be the first time the Bearcats play Central Missouri at Arrowhead.
 
"I think it will be more exciting for our fans," Dorrel said. "From what I have been hearing from people in Warrensburg, they are excited. They have banners hanging there that says keep Kansas City red. I thought that was pretty catching. That is great. It is going to make it that much better for all the student-athletes."
 
Northwest fans, though, want to make sure Arrowhead stays green. It is the environmentally right thing to do.