MARYVILLE, Mo. - The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State University football team won its 11th straight home opener and extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 13 with a 33-19 victory over the Fort Hays State University Tigers at Bearcat Stadium.

The Bearcats tallied five quarterback sacks, limited the Tigers to 13 rushing yards and forced three turnovers with fumble recoveries. Northwest piled up 249 rushing yards and found the end zone four times on the night.

Senior Zach Howard registered three quarterback sacks and five tackles overall. Junior Isaac Vollstedt tallied nine tackles and chipped in with a sack as well. A pair of newcomers in the defensive backfield in Shane Fredrickson and Rhett Jordon combined for 15 tackles in their debuts as Bearcats.

Senior transfer running back Kevin Dominique notched a team-best 86 yards rushing and recorded his first score as a Bearcat on a 13-yard scamper in the third quarter. Senior Jamar Moya carried the ball 10 times for 66 yards and caught a team-high five passes for 38 receiving yards. Senior quarterback Braden Wright had two carries for 66 yards, including a 50-yard burst that ignited the Bearcat offense in the first half. Junior quarterback Mike Hohensee went 14-of-18 passing for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Moya got the Bearcats on the board first with a three-yard touchdown run. Northwest was set up with a short field after Charles Gadie forced a fumble and it was recovered by Vollstedt at the 42-yard line. Northwest scored four plays later with 10:50 to go in the opening quarter.

Following a pair of field goals from FHSU's Emanuel Aguilar trimmed the Northwest lead to 7-6, the Tigers found the end zone after a 55-yard punt return put the ball on the 11-yard line. FHSU took advantage and scored on a 3rd-and-9 from the 10 to give the visitors a 12-7 lead.

Wright broke off his 50-yard run on his second snap of the game after Northwest took over possession with 8:01 to play in the second quarter. Northwest got as far as the 10-yard line before the drive stalled. Sophomore Cole Lammel connected on a 37-yard field goal to trim the FHSU lead to 12-10 with 4:10 remaining before half. 

Howard came through with a sack of FHSU quarterback Chance Fuller on first down to put the Tigers in a 2nd-and-22 that eventually resulted in a three-and-out and a punt. FHSU punter Ethan Sossen shanked his punt for 21 yards and Northwest was set up at the 31-yard line with 2:29 to play in the half. Moya caught a 22-yard pass from Wright to put the ball at the nine. Two plays later, Wright lofted a pass toward the front left pylon and Moya snatched it for a nine-yard touchdown reception. Lammel's extra point was good and Northwest took a 17-12 lead with only 1:01 left before intermission.

FHSU's Ja'Quan Tillis returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards but fumbled as Charles Gadie forced the loose ball and it was recovered by Andrew Dumas. Wright drove the Bearcats to the 29-yard line and had to settle for a long field goal attempt with :07 left in the half. Lammel delivered with a 46-yard field goal. Northwest scored 13 points in the final 4:01 of the first half to turn a 12-7 deficit into a 20-12 lead at halftime.

Northwest added a pair of third quarter touchdowns on a 16-yard strike from Hohensee to Trevon Alexander and a 13-yard scamper by Dominique to put Northwest up 33-12. Northwest put up 26 unanswered points before FHSU scored in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring at 33-19.

The Bearcats will look to go 2-0 next Saturday at Lincoln.

NOTES: Northwest improved to 22-14-1 all-time vs. Fort Hays State ... head coach Rich Wright moved his career record to 43-10 overall ... since the start of the 2001 season, Northwest has gone 115-10 at Bearcat Stadium ... Northwest has produced a record of 34-3 under Rich Wright when limiting the opposition to 19 points or less ... Northwest is 39-0 under Coach Wright when leading at the half ... Braden Wright completed six passes to give him 455 career completions which ranks No. 8 in Bearcat history ... Wright surpassed Joel Osborn (2004-08), who had posted 454 career completions ... Wright tossed his 59th career touchdown pass on a nine-yard score to Jamar Moya ... Zach Howard has posted 21 career quarterback sacks and 31.5 career tackles-for-loss ... Cole Lammel set a career-long field goal with his 46-yarder in the second quarter ... Lammel's long a year ago was 42 against Central Oklahoma.