EMPORIA, Kan. – The No. 10-ranked Northwest Missouri State University football team notched a 27-21 road win over the No. 22-ranked Emporia State at Welch Stadium, 27-21.
 
It is the 28th consecutive win for Northwest over Emporia State. Northwest holds a commanding 36-2 lead in the all-time series with Emporia State.
 
The Bearcat defense limited the vaunted Hornet passing attack to 198 yards on the day. ESU came into the contest averaging 300.7 yards per game through the air. The Northwest defense tallied three interceptions on the day with picks from Shane Fredrickson, Andrew Dumas and Cahleel Smith. Smith's interception came with :48 left in the end zone to lock up the Bearcat victory.
 
Northwest rushed for 182 yards on 49 carries. The Bearcats rushed for three scores including two from freshman Jay Harris. Harris led all rushers in the game with 94 yards on 19 attempts. ESU was held to 75 rushing yards on 25 carries.
 
The Bearcat defense got quarterback sacks from Elijah Green, Jake Fisher and Kobe Clayborne. Sam Philips and Isaac Vollstedt led the defense with eight tackles each.
 
Harris got the Bearcats on the board first with a 19-yard touchdown run with 5:32 left in the first quarter. The nine-play, 77-yard drive was set up by an interception from Fredrickson. Cole Lammel missed the extra point to give the Bearcats a 6-0 edge.
 
Harris put up his second rushing score of the day with 13:16 left in the second quarter on a five-yard tote. Harris's seventh touchdown of the season capped a seven-play, 56-yard drive that consumed 2:58 off the clock. His score gave Northwest a 13-0 advantage.
 
ESU got on the board on a 17-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Dawson Hammes with 10:54 left in the second quarter to cut the Northwest lead to 13-7.
 
Northwest put together an 11-play, 88-yard drive to take a 20-7 lead with 4:13 left in the second quarter. The drive looked to stall at the 30-yard line as Northwest lined up for a field goal. However, the Bearcats shifted out of the field goal look and went for it. Jadon Brady connected on a 20-yard pass to Sam Phillips to give the Bearcats the ball at the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Mike Hohensee hit Ryan DeWhirst for a 10-yard touchdown pass for the first score of DeWhirst's career. The score gave Northwest a 20-7 lead at halftime.
 
ESU took the opening kickoff off the second half and marched for a touchdown with 11:04 left in the third quarter. ESU quarterback Braden Gleason scored on a one-yard run to cut the Northwest lead to 20-14.
 
The Bearcats took it right back down the field and connected on a crucial 4^th-and-2 that led to a Braden Wright 6-yard touchdown score with 5:34 left in the third. On a 4^th-and-2, at the 33-yard line, quarterback Mike Hohensee connected with Ra'Shoud Shelton on a 27-yard passing play to keep the drive alive. Wright scored on the next play as he kept it on a quarterback draw. Wright's touchdown capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive to give Northwest a 27-14 advantage with 5:34 left in the third.
 
ESU's Gleason ran around the left end on a 2^nd-and-goal with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter to trim the Bearcat lead to 27-21. The Hornet scoring drive went 65 yards in 12 plays and took 3:48 off the clock. The Gleason score trimmed the Bearcat lead to 27-21.
 
The Bearcat defense came up big in the final minutes as it came up with two stops to secure the victory over the Hornets.
 
ESU was stopped on a 4^th-and-3 with 4:05 to play at the 21-yard line. Sam Phillips tackled Billy Ross Jr on a pass in the right flat to stop the Hornet drive.
 
After another three-and-out by the Bearcat offense, ESU had one more chance to take the lead. ESU drove to the 2-yard line, but Andrew Dumas came up with a sack of Gleason to put the Hornets into a 3^rd-and-17. Cahleel Smith sealed the triumph with an interception in the endzone with :48 left.
 
The 2022 NCAA Division II playoff selection show will be Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.