MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Northwest Missouri State University football squad dominated the Missouri Southern Lions from start to finish in Saturday's Family Weekend contest at Bearcat Stadium, 65-3.
Northwest scored 51 unanswered points across eight scoring drives after the game stood at 14-3 in the second quarter. The 65 points are the most Northwest has scored since a 66-13 win over Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 30, 2021.
Northwest scored on both of its first-quarter possessions and carried a 14-0 lead through the first quarter. After the defense forced an opening three-and-out,
Cooper Warren's 24-yard punt return set up a 10-play, 47-yard drive that included
Quincy Torry's fourth-down conversion at the MSSU 39 and ended with
Zechariah Owens' 9-yard touchdown run at 10:15. Northwest forced another punt, then went 72 yards in 10 plays, with Owens completing a 21-yard pass to Warren,
Te'Shaun Porter converting fourth-and-1 with a 9-yard run and Owens finding Porter for an 18-yard touchdown at 3:14. MSSU moved into Northwest territory late, but
Eli Bertz recorded a tackle for loss on the final play as the first quarter ended with Northwest ahead 14-0.
Northwest produced 37 points in the second quarter and repeatedly worked with short fields created by its defense and return game. After MSSU made a 34-yard field goal at 12:36, Owens completed a 35-yard pass to Warren and a 7-yard pass to
Erwin Nash before running 25 yards for a touchdown, and
Mo Alwaely later added a 28-yard field goal after Antwon Jenkins' sack and
Eric Smith III's fumble recovery at the MSSU 7.
Cody Simoncic recorded sacks for losses of 13 and 10 yards on one series, forcing a punt that Warren returned 8 yards to the MSSU 39;
Mason Shorb hit
Karsten Pate for 27 yards, and
Quincy Torry finished the three-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown.
Jax Fosnow stopped a run for a loss on the same play
Michael Harrison recovered a fumble, and Northwest needed two plays before Owens found
Delton Davis for a 16-yard touchdown;
Holden Zigmant then intercepted Tillman Martin to start another short-field march capped by Shorb's 4-yard touchdown pass to Warren. Warren's 28-yard punt return gave Northwest one more scoring chance from its 45, and Shorb connected with Nash for a 55-yard touchdown at 1:15 before Northwest finished the second quarter ahead 51-3. Northwest's 51 points at the half rank as the second-highest scoring first half in program history, trailing only a 56-point half Northwest scored against Southwest Baptist on Sept. 29, 2007.
Northwest opened the third quarter with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, with Shorb completing passes to
Jaidyn Doss and
Delton Davis before
Te'Shaun Porter scored from 1 yard out and
Hugh Carpenter's PAT made it 58-3. MSSU answered with a long possession into Northwest territory, but
Eric Smith III's 8-yard sack pushed the visitors back and
Jackson Torry broke up a fourth-down pass at the Northwest Mo. St. 36. Northwest then put together another extended drive, using runs by
Jaron Cannon Jr. and
Hayden Jay plus Jay's 10-yard completion to
Gatlin Samuel to reach the MSSU 8 as the third quarter ended. Northwest outscored MSSU 7-0 in the quarter and finished it with the 58-3 lead.
Northwest finished its possession at the MSSU 1 with
Jaron Cannon Jr.'s 1-yard touchdown run at 12:29, and Carpenter's extra point made it 65-3. The defense then kept the Lions from gaining a first down on either fourth-quarter drive, forcing punts after a third-and-4 stop and later after
DeKaleb Rudolph broke up a pass on second down. Northwest controlled the quarter on the ground with 42 rushing yards, four rushing first downs and 11:36 of possession, including
Arion Echols' third-down conversion on the next drive. The final possession started at the Northwest Mo. St. 21 with 4:43 left, and Echols and
Cael Turner moved the chains before Northwest Mo. St. ran out the clock to close a 65-3 win.
Owens completed 9 of 13 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns and rushed three times for 34 yards and two scores. Porter rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and added an 18-yard touchdown reception. Nash caught three passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Simoncic recorded two sacks to lead the Northwest pass rush.
Northwest has won seven consecutive home games. The team travels to Edmond, Okla., to face Central Oklahoma on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.
Game Notes
- Northwest has defeated Missouri Southern 31 straight times, tying for the third-longest all-time winning streak against the same opponent in NCAA Div. II history.
- Northwest owns a 33-4 lead in the all-time series vs. Missouri Southern.
- Northwest is 307-54 as a ranked team in the AFCA Top 25.
- Northwest has won 96 straight games when leading at the half.
- Head coach
John McMenamin is 18-0 when leading at the half.
