MARYVILLE, Mo. - The No. 12-ranked Northwest Missouri State University football team posted a second-half shutout of the Missouri Western State University Griffons to earn a 16-3 home victory on Saturday at Bearcat Stadium.

Northwest (4-1 overall) got a boost from kicker Cole Lammel and a second-half touchdown from running back Robert Rawie to earn the program's 15th consecutive home victory - the longest active streak among NCAA Div. II schools. Lammel connected on all three field goal attempts (25, 36, 22) he had in the second half. Lammel is a perfect 7-of-7 on field goal attempts this season. Rawie put the Bearcats on top, 7-3, with a 43-yard touchdown scamper with 13:44 to play in the third quarter.

The first half saw the Bearcats generate two first downs and 43 total yards of offense. The Griffons had 10 first downs and 199 yards of total offense in the first half but could only dent the scoreboard for three points.

Missouri Western took the opening drive of the game all the way to the 12-yard line before the Northwest defense stiffened. The Griffons would settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt by Cody Watson but the kick sailed wide. The Griffons chewed up 5:16 off the clock and 62 yards but had no points to show for it.

Northwest ran 10 plays for 29 yards in the first quarter. Freshman running back Jay Harris fumbled on Northwest's second play of the game, but the Griffons could not take advantage of the short field and had to punt.

Northwest ran 12 more plays in the second quarter that generated only 14 yards of offense. The Bearcats produced one first down and two rushing yards in the second stanza. 

The Griffons took over possession following Lammel's fifth punt of the first half with 3:57 to go on the clock. The Griffons drove the ball to the 1-yard line before settling for an 18-yard field goal with :12 left in the half. Watson's 18-yard field goal gave the Griffons a 3-0 advantage at the break.

The Bearcats flipped the script in the second half. Northwest's Jadon Brady jump-started the offense with a 42-yard kickoff return to open the second half. Three plays later, Northwest had the lead following a 43-yard touchdown scamper by Rawie. Lammel added the extra point and Northwest possessed a 7-3 lead with 13:44 to play in the third quarter.

The Griffons ran six plays before being forced to punt. Northwest took over on its own 21-yard line with 10:47 left in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Braden Wright engineered a 15-play, 71-yard scoring drive that resulted in a 25-yard field goal from Lammel. The Griffons appeared to have stopped the drive after nine plays, but a fake field goal by the Bearcat kept the drive alive. Holder Joseph Krause took the snap from Will Berendzen and rolled out left looking to pass. However, the Griffons covered the pass option and Krause took care of the first down distance with his feet as he gained six yards for a new set of downs. Five plays later, Lammel's kick gave Northwest a 10-3 lead with 5:15 to play in the third.

Missouri Western coughed up the ball on the ensuing kickoff as Jakob Forslund recoverd the loose ball with 5:07 left in the quarter. Northwest chewed up 2:47 more off the clock and Lammel added a 36-yard field goal to increase the Bearcat lead to 13-3 with 2:20 left in the quarter. Northwest had the ball for 23 consecutive offensive plays that took 8:19 off the clock on those two drives.

The Griffon would run 11 plays fro 41 yards while possessing the ball for only 5:25 of the third quarter. Northwest ran 24 plays for 138 yards and held the ball for 9:35.

The Bearcats stymie the Griffons four times on fourth downs in the fourth quarter and keep them off the board. Northwest's only four quarter score came on a 22-yard field goal from Lammel with 5:50 left in the game. Lammel's third field goal gave Northwest a 16-3 lead which would stand up as the final.

Missouri Western had 19 first downs in the game, compared to only 10 for the Bearcats. Northwest rushed for 129 yards on 38 carries, while the MWSU was held to 65 rushing yards on 32 carries. MWSU passed for 271 yards. Northwest passed for 117 yards.

The game featured 14 punts between the two teams. 

Northwest was +1 in the turnover battle Saturday after going -5 a week ago in a 23-14 loss at Central Oklahoma.

Issac Vollstedt registered a game-high nine tackles, including one tackle-for-loss. Cahleel Smith secured his first interception of the season and third of his career.

The Bearcats will travel to Pittsburg State next Saturday. The Bearcats and Gorillas will kick off 2 p.m. in Pittsburg, Kan.

NOTES: Northwest owns a 30-13 lead in the all-time series with Missouri Western ... Northwest won nine straight matchups against Missouri Western ... the Bearcats have won 18 of the last 20 games against the Griffons ... it is the fourth time in the last six games against MWSU that Northwest has not allowed a touchdown by the Griffons ... it is the fewest points in a Northwest win over Missouri Western since a 13-10 victory on Nov. 9, 2022 ... Lammel punted eight times for a 39.5 yard average, including a long of 55 ... Lammel had two of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line ... Lammel set a career-high with three field goals made in a game ... it is the most field goals made by a Bearcat kicker since Parker Sampson made four against Emporia State on Oct. 5, 2019 ... six different Bearcat receivers caught passes including a team-high three receptions for tight end Cole Hembrough ... senior Elijah Green tallied two quarterback sacks to give him a team-high 6.5 sacks this season ... Braden Wright moved up to No. 7 on Northwest's all-time completed passes list ... Wright has completed 473 career passes ... he surpassed Greg Teale's total of 467 from 1993 to 1996 ... Northwest is 290-47 as a ranked team ... the Bearcats are a perfect 5-0 when ranked No. 12 in the AFCA Top 25 Poll ... Northwest has gone 117-10 at Bearcat Stadium since the start of the 2001 season ... head coach Rich Wright improved his career coaching mark to 46-11 overall ... Northwest is 36-3 when limiting the opposition to 19 points or less under the direction of head coach Rich Wright