By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A fierce rivalry between Missouri Western State University and Northwest Missouri State University was reignited on the gridiron as the Griffons sought their first win over the Bearcats since 2012. But after a hard fought battle, it was Northwest that came out on top for a 12th straight year, winning 27-23 at Spratt Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The scoring got started by the Griffons midway through the first quarter. Following a six play drive by the Bearcats that ended with a Cole Lammel punt, Missouri Western's offense would go to work. Missouri Western Head Coach Tyler Fenwick would be aggressive early as early on in the drive the Griffons would face a fourth and one in Northwest territory, which Western would go on to convert thanks to Seth Cromwell rushing the sole yard he needed to get a first down.
Later on in the drive Western again would face a fourth and eight, once again Fenwick would go for it, converting again as Jonas Bennett would rush for 10 yards, getting to the Northwest 18 yard line.
But the drive would stall following a two yard rush from Jared Scott. A sack on quarterback Armani Edden, a Western false start, and then an incomplete pass from Edden would make it 4th and 22, to which the Griffons would trot out Cody Watson who would nail a 47 yard field goal with 4:55 left in the quarter.
The Bearcats would answer with a field goal of their own though on the ensuing drive, which started at their own 36 yard line, but quarterback Mike Hohensee would orchestrate a drive to get Northwest to the Missouri Western 19 yard line, where the drive would end after a Noah Guastella 36 yard field goal, knotting the game up at 3-3 with one minute left in the frame.
Missouri Western made a big play to end the first quarter after receiving the kickoff following the field goal. After Edden rushed for six yards to start the drive, a holding penalty would back the Griffons up, making it 1st and 14, which was easily converted thanks to a 56 yard pass from Edden to Bennett, putting Missouri Western at the Northwest 13 yard line to start the second quarter.
In plus territory Missouri Western would score quickly to start the second quarter, Reagan Jones subbing in at quarterback and rushing in from one yard out, Watson converting the extra point to put the Griffons up 10-3.
From there though, it was all Northwest for the remainder of the first half, the Bearcats scoring 21 unanswered points. The first touchdown for Northwest would come on the drive following Jones score, Hohensee finding Tank Young for a 40 yard receiving touchdown. After a three and out by Western, it was Hohensee again this time finding Trevon Alexander for a 29 yard score, pushing the Bearcat lead to 17-10.
The long ball was again what victimized Missouri Western on the final score of the half. Following a Griffon punt from their own 18 yard line, Hohensee would need just one play to complete a 49 yard touchdown pass to Kashan Griffin, Guastella's extra point pushing the lead to 24-10 which is where it would sit at halftime.
Missouri Western did get the ball back to start the second half, but it was not the offense that scored, rather it was the defense. Following an offensive drive that ended with another Evan Williams punt, the Bearcats would begin driving down the field and getting all the way to the Missouri Western 12 yard line, where Hohensee would throw an interception that Western's Desmond Green would take 90 yards downfield, narrowing the gap and making the score 24-17 after Watson's extra point.
Northwest would extend the lead again though late in the third quarter using a 10 play drive to get back into the redzone at the Missouri Western 20 yard line, but after a quarterback hurry on Hohensee by Brandon Johnson, which resulted in an incomplete pass to Alexander, Guastella would knock through a 37 yard field goal to push the lead to 27-17 heading into the final quarter. 8
The score would hold there until midway through the fourth quarter, Missouri Western getting the ball back after forcing a three and out on Northwest, and the Griffons would go 60 yards on 11 plays, the drive ending with Edden finding Traveon James for a 13 yard touchdown pass. However, Watson would miss the extra point putting the Griffons down 27-23 with 7:40 left in the game.
The Griffon defense would hold strong though, forcing yet another punt with 3:26 left in the game and getting the ball back. Unfortunately, that drive would fall short as on fourth and four, Edden would complete a pass that fell just a yard short to Chris Floyd Jr, giving Northwest the ball back with 1:57 left in regulation.
Hope was not lost for Missouri Western though as the Bearcats attempted to run the clock out. The ball was given to Harris on first and second down, with rushes of seven and one yard respectively, but on third down as the ball was handed to Harris, who did pick up a first down rushing for seven yards, but the tides turned in favor of Missouri Western as Dakari Streeter would strip the ball from Harris, giving the Griffons one last chance with 1:39 left in the game.
The Griffons though were unable to answer after the fumble. The drive started with a nine yard reception by Bennett from Edden, but on the very next play Northwest's Shane Fredrickson would pick off Edden with 1:26 left, Hohensee would then kneel out the remainder of the clock ending the game.
For Missouri Western Edden threw for an even 300 yard going 25-40 through the air, throwing one touchdown and one interception. Bennett was the leading receiver with eight catches for 126 yards, while Cromwell rushed five times for 12 yards to be the leading rusher.
The Bearcats were led by Hohensee who was 20-30 on the day throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns as well as one interception. Young had five catches for 126 yards while Griffin had five catches for 82 yards, both scoring a touchdown. Once again Harris rushed for over 100 yards, rushing 22 times for 1o5 yards.
Missouri Western falls to 5-2 (4-2 MIAA) on the year. Next up for them they will travel to Kearney, Nebraska to take on Nebraska Kearney. Kickoff is at noon on Saturday and pregame coverage will begin at 11am on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
Northwest is now above .500, improving to 4-3 (3-3 MIAA). They will return to Maryville on Saturday for Homecoming, welcoming in Pittsburgh State. Kickoff is set for 2pm.