By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Bearcats stay on top of Riverhawks in back and forth battle
The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats and Northeastern State Riverhawks traded blows at Bearcat Stadium on Saturday, but an early first half lead by Northwest was to much to overcome in a 44-26 victory for the Bearcats.
Northwest took the lead in the first quarter on their second offensive drive of the game, using a three play drive to find the endzone on a 27 yard rushing touchdown by Jadon Brady up the middle. Northeastern State narrowed the deficit through their two offensive drives, with field goals by kicker Troy Nguey of 33 and 23 yards respectively. The drive that led to the 23 yard field goal began after Northwest returner Dominic Myers fumbled the kickoff return.
The Bearcats pulled even farther ahead in the second quarter with touchdown passes by Chris Ruhnke, the first early in the quarter a six yard strike to Tyce Hoover, and another near the end of the frame a nine yard score to John Giagiari. But with 12 seconds remaining in the half, the Riverhawks narrowed the lead back to one score on an 11 yard touchdown pass by Dereun Dortch to Ramon McKinney Jr, leaving Northwest with a 21-13 lead at the halftime break.
Opening the second half on offense, the Bearcats defense forced a three and out by the Riverhawks, and on the ensuing punt Myers made up for his special teams fumble earlier in the game, returning the punt 50 yards for a touchdown. But midway through the quarter, Northeastern State cut the lead to one score again as Dortch and McKinney Jr connected again for a 28 yard touchdown.
The Bearcats wound up unable to answer the Riverhawks score on their next drive and punted, but after a three and out by Northeastern State the Northwest special teams got the Bearcats on the board again with a safety, leaving Northwest with a 10 point lead heading into the final quarter of action.
Neither team was able to do much through the early minutes of the quarter, and it wasn't until midway through that Northwest would score again on another touchdown pass from Ruhnke, this time to Eric Richardson for 32 yards. The Bearcats put the game away with just over two minutes remaining in the game, Brady rushing for a one yard touchdown.
Dortch threw his final touchdown of the game with 50 seconds remaining for the final score, an 18 yard touchdown pass to Dedrick Taylor Akins.
Ruhnke was 15 of 22 passing for 177 yards with three touchdowns. Tank Young was the leading rusher with 17 carries for 82 yards, while Brady rushed seven times for 58 yards with two scores. Giagiari had three catches for 38 yards with a touchdown.
Northwest will next be on the road for a trip to St. Joseph and a rivalry matchup with Missouri Western. Kickoff from Spratt Memorial Stadium will be at 2pm.
#7 Benedictine falls just short in battle with #12 MidAmerica Nazarene
In a game that had a lot on the line, the #7 Benedictine Ravens fell just short of #12 MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers, falling 48-47 at the Olathe District Actives Center in Olathe, Kansas.
A win in the matchup secured a foothold on the Heart South Championship and the conference's automatic berth into the 2024 NAIA Football Championship Series. Benedictine had won 7 of the last 10 meetings with MidAmerica Nazarene, but the Pioneers have held the series lead over the Ravens since 2005.
After the Pioneers opened the scoring in the first quarter, a 17 yard passing touchdown from Adrian Parsons to Myles Hymes, the Ravens stormed back to take the lead scoring on back to back drives, first getting a 50 yard field goal from Harry Balke, before Jackson Dooley threw a 12 yard passing touchdown to Tyler Watson.
MidAmerica Nazarene knotted the game up at 10 early into the second quarter, a 23 yard field goal by Trevor Highley, but again Benedictine took the lead back Dooley needing just two plays to find one of his favorite targets, Jacob Gathright, for a 56 yard passing score. That began a back and forth affair for the Ravens and Pioneers, with scores coming on the next three drives.
The Pioneers answered the Ravens two play drive with a two play drive of their own first, a 36 yard touchdown pass from Parsons to EJ Rogers to tie the game again, then just over three minutes later Benedictine took the lead back, Dooley with a 31 yard scoring pass to Joseph Lagafuaina. The score ended up tied at halftime, after Parsons again connected with Rogers to end an 11 play drive with a 17 yard score, the game going to halftime tied 24-24.
Neither team scored through much of the third quarter, until MidAmerica Nazarene grabbed the lead back with over four minutes left in the quarter, a 25 yard field goal from Highley giving the Pioneers a 27-24 lead going into the final quarter.
With everything on the line, both teams again began trading blows in the final frame of action, starting with the Ravens taking the lead back on another long touchdown pass from Dooley, this time 55 yards to JaShawn Todd. But the Pioneers scored on back to back drives following that, starting with a 24 yard touchdown ass from Parsons to Gaven Krans, the third different receiver to score.
MidAmerica Nazarene pulled out some trickery on the ensuing kickoff and went for an onside kick, ending up recovering it, and going on to push their lead to 10 points on a four yard rushing score from Cameron Finley.
But again the Ravens went on to tie up the game, first getting a 53 yard field goal from Balke with 3:30 remaining, and then after a defensive stand Dooley used just two plays to find Tanner Zimmerman on a 28 yard touchdown pass, leaving just 1:53 seconds left in the game, which was just enough time for the Pioneers to drive eight plays, using 1:34 seconds, and taking the lead back as Parsons found Krans again with a 17 yard strike.
Trailing 48-41 with 19 seconds left on the clock, the Ravens got some heroics from their kick return unit, as Todd returned the kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown, leaving Benedictine with a decision to go for the win, or force overtime. Coach Joel Osborn opted to go for the win, and Dooley's pass attempt would fall incomplete leaving just seven seconds remaining.
After a failed onside kick by Benedictine, the Pioneers knelt out the remaining time for the victory.
Dooley was 20 of 32 passing for 413 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Dalton Witherspoon was the leading rusher with 14 carries for 90 yards. Gathright (five catches, 137 yards, 1TD), Todd (five catches 118 yards, 1TD), and Zimmerman (five catches, 104 yards, 1TD) were the leading receivers.
Benedictine will next return to Atchison for Senior Day at Larry Wilcox Stadium, hosting Central Methodist. Kickoff is at 1pm.
Griffons fall to #13 Central Oklahoma after massive second half rally
Missouri Western rallied back from 13 points down in the second half against #13 Central Oklahoma, but fell after the Bronchos forced overtime and kicked a field goal to win 37-34 on Saturday at Spratt Memorial Stadium.
The matchup favored Central Oklahoma from the get go as they jumped ahead 14-0, a two yard rushing score by Andrew Carney in the first quarter, and a 37 yard passing touchdown from quarterback Jett Huff to Terrill Davis early in the second quarter. But the Griffons were able to narrow the lead back to a touchdown, quarterback Branden Berwald scrambling for a nine yard touchdown run, sending both teams to the halftime break with Missouri Western trailing 14-7.
To start the third quarter, the Griffons did for a Bronchos punt, but on the ensuing drive Berwald was intercepted by Kobey Stephens and off the interception Central Oklahoma extended the lead with an 11 yard rushing touchdown by Huff. From there, the Griffons began a rally of 27 unanswered points.
Running a no huddle offense Missouri Western was able to get into field goal range for kicker Cody Watson to knock through a 35 yard field goal, then after forcing another punt by the Bronchos, got within three points again running that no huddle hurry up offense, Berwald finding Jake Berrey in the endzone for a 17 yard touchdown pass.
The Griffons defense played lights out during the rally, again forcing a Central OKlahoma punt early in the final quarter of action, the offense drove down the field again to get into field goal range for Watson to tie up the game hitting a 40 yard field goal. Missouri Western forced another punt, but Berwald threw an interception, then after getting the ball back again took their first lead of the game on a 15 yard rushing touchdown by Marrell Fountain.
It was the defense that extended the lead for Missouri Western, the final score of the rally, with the Brochos running their own hurry up offense, Huff was intercepted by Cameron Powell who took the interception 35 yards to the endzone to put the Griffons up 34-20 with 5:36 left in the game.
The defensive touchdown for Missouri Western was the first of the season for the Griffons. The rally ended up being all four naught however, as from there it was all Central Oklahoma.
After a turnover on downs by Bronchos, Missouri Western was forced to punt, and Stephens, who had the interception earlier, took the punt back 92 yards for a touchdown narrowing the lead to one score. The Griffons turned the ball over on downs the next drive, giving Central Oklahoma the ball back with 1:49 remaining, and the Bronchos used almost the entire clock to drive the field, scoring a game tying touchdown with 13 seconds in regulation, a one yard run into the endzone by Dawson Herl.
A turnover on downs ended the Griffons first drive of the overtime period, allowing Central Oklahoma to send Nicky Quevedo out to attempt a 47 yard field goal, which he put through the uprights for a game winning field goal.
Berwald was 15 of 34 passing for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception, also rushing 19 times for 116 yards and a score. Fountain rushed 13 times for 42 yards and a touchdown, while Jonas Bennett was the leading receiver with six catches for 74 yards.
Missouri Western will continue their final homestand to wrap up the season in the Battle of Highway 71 at Spratt Memorial Stadium on Saturday, a rivalry matchup with Northwest Missouri State. Kickoff is at 2pm
#17 Wildcats see lead slip away late against Houston after weather delay
Lightning kept the game from kicking off for almost an hour, but once it did the #17 Kansas State Wildcats battled hard with the Houston Cougars, but saw a lead slip away in the fourth quarter falling 24-19 at TDECU Stadium on Saturday.
The win was Houston’s first win over a ranked team since beating #19 SMU 44-37 on Oct. 30, 2021.
Once the game did get started, Kansas State was the first to get on the board putting together a long drive that used up nearly seven minutes of clock, but could only manage a field goal for the lone points of the first quarter, a 23 yard field goal by Chris Tennant.
The Cougars took the lead early in the second quarter, a one yard rushing touchdown by Donovan Smith, and scored on back to back offensive drives, following a Wildcats punt driving into field goal range for kicker Jack Martin to put a 22 yard field goal through the uprights for a 10-3 lead.
Kansas State again put together a long drive that again used much of the game clock, scoring a touchdown with 1:48 left in the half, a two yard rushing score by DJ Giddens, but on the extra point Houston blocked Tennant's kick attempt to leave the Wildcats trailing by one. A big defensive stand though gave Kansas State a chance to take the lead into the half, a fumbled recovered by linebacker Desmond Purnell, and they did end up with the lead quarterback Avery Johnson connecting with a diving Keagan Johnson from seven yards out, giving Kansas State a 16-10 lead at the halftime break.
With zeroes on the clock in the third quarter, Tennant knocked through the lone points of the quarter for Kansas State with a 47 yard field goal, ending the scoring for the Wildcats.
Early into the fourth quarter, the Cougars scored to get within one score Zeon Chriss throwing a one yard strike to receiver Maliq Carr. And after three consecutive punts, Houston scored the go ahead touchdown in just one play, a 41 yard rushing touchdown from Chriss to put Houston ahead 24-19. Avery Johnson threw an interception on the ensuing drive, but the Kansas State defense forced Houston to punt, however the game ended as Johnson was unable to complete a pass to finish a seven play drive that ended regulation.
Johnson was 23 of 39 passing for 238 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Giddens rushed 17 times for 50 yards and a score, while Jayce Brown was the leading receiver with three catches for 86 yards, while Keagan Johnson had six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, his first of the season.
Next up for Kansas State will be a bye week. They'll next be in action on November 16th at home against Arizona State. The Big 12 conference has yet to announce a kickoff time.
Nebraska battles back late but fall short in loss against UCLA
The Nebraska Cornhuskers battled back from a 20 point deficit, but came up just short of the comeback falling 27-20 to the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
From the get go, the game was almost entirely in favor of the Bruins as the Cornhuskers managed just one first half score. UCLA got a 25 yard field goal from Mateen Bhaghani in the first quarter, before Ethan Garbers connected with Jalen Berger on a 10 yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.
Nebraska got onto the board and narrowed the lead to three on the ensuing drive following the Bruins touchdown, getting a four yard rushing score by Dante Dowdell, but UCLA answered the score with one of their own on the next drive, another field goal by Bhaghani, again from 25 yards out. The next three drives ended in punts for both teams before the Cornhuskers ran out of time and went to the locker room trailing 13-7 at halftime.
The Bruins defense extended the lead on the first play of the second half, Kain Medrano taking an interception back 38 yards for a score. After Nebraska turned the ball over on downs UCLA scored again on Garbers second passing touchdown of the day, 48 yards to Kwazi Gilmer, to push their lead to 27-7.
The rally for the Cornhuskers started on the very next drive, going 75 yards in seven plays, where freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola connected with Isaiah Neyor on an eight yard touchdown pass to cut into the deficit.
After a turnover on downs on their next offensive drive, Nebraska cut into the lead again late in the fourth quarter, Dowdell rushing in from one yard for his second touchdown of the day. With 3:57 left in the game UCLA got the ball back and was forced to punt, but their defense would secure the win, intercepting backup quarterback Heinrich Haarberg with 29 seconds left, going on to kneel out the remaining time.
Raiola was 14 of 27 passing for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Dowdell rushed 17 times for 61 yards with two touchdowns. Neyor (four catches, 89 yards, 1 TD), Jacory Barney Jr. (four catches, 78 yards), and Thomas Fidone II (four catches, 16 yards) were the leading receivers.
Nebraska will have to wait one week to hope to snap a three game losing streak, with a bye coming in week 11. They'll be back in action on Nov. 16th at USC. Kickoff time has yet to be determined by the conference.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.