The Missouri Western Griffons will play their third ranked team in as many weeks this weekend when they host their rivals to the north the 6th ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. The Griffons are ranked 12th in this weeks AFCA poll which is the highest they have been ranked since November 7, 2006 when they were ranked 11th.
The Griffons hit 10th in the D2Football.com poll which was released on Tuesday, September 29. Western is coming off of a thrilling victory over then ranked Pittsburg State University by a score of 45-40 in a game where they saw a 19 point lead cut to five with two minutes left in the contest.
The Griffons 5-0 start is the best start since 1981 when they started 7-0 and the 3-0 start in the MIAA play is their best start since 2000 when they started 3-0. The Bearcats, who have played in the last four National Championship games in Division II continues to dominate opponents. After an opening season loss at then #2 Abilene Christian, the Bearcats have rattled off big wins against Pittsburg State and then last week against Truman State in a 70-0 win.
Big game this Saturday for Bearcats and Griffons
Division II football roundup
6th ranked Northwest Missouri State wins their biggest game in school history and 11th ranked Central Missouri is upset on the road. Here’s a quick snapshot of Division II football games from Missouri schools.
Northwest Missouri State scored touchdowns on eight of 13 offensive possessions en route to a 70-0 win against Truman Saturday at Bearcat Stadium in the 75 th battle for the Old Hickory Stick. It’s the largest margin of victory for the Bearcats in series history (89 games). Northwest (4-1, 3-0 MIAA) has won eight in a row and 13 of its last 14 games against Truman (1-4, 0-3 MIAA).
Truman ran 31 offensive plays in the first half that netted four yards. The Bulldogs finished with 92 yards with 62 coming on an empty fourth-quarter possession. Truman completed four passes in the contest for 45 yards.
Northwest sacked Truman quarterback Taylor Breen eight times for 65 yards. Sean Paddock got his 25 th career sack on the second play of the game, making him the Bearcats’ all-time leader.
The No. 11 Central Missouri Mules turned it over five times at Washburn on Saturday afternoon on the road and suffered their first loss of the season, 36-21.
Washburn (4-1, 2-1 MIAA) jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead and never looked back, while UCM (4-1, 2-1 MIAA) didn’t catch its offensive stride until the second stanza.
The Mules defense held serve in the first quarter, stopping the Ichabods on two drives inside UCM territory without allowing any points. The WU defense also had their way, but that effort lasted the entire first half, holding the Mules to only 136 yards.
Missouri Western remained undefeated on the season by defeating #23 Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan. by a score of 45-40. Western has defeated the Gorillas three out of the last four years with two of those victories coming in "The Pitt (2007)."
Drew Newhart had four touchdowns (1 rush) with three touchdown passes to receiver Cedric Houston. Western improves to 3-0 in MIAA play for the first time since 2000 and to 5-0 overall for the first time since 1981 when they started 7-0.
The Southwest Baptist Bearcats jumped on the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers early and rolled to a 50-20 victory to pick up their first win of the season. The Missouri Southern football team had its highest point output of the season and Collin Howard threw for three touchdowns, but the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks had a school record 44 rushing attempts from true freshman Levi Terrell in his first collegiate game and the Mavs defeated the Lions 44-36 in front of a Homecoming crowd of 6,127.
Bearcats beat Bearcats
The Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State scored the final 35 points in a 49-14 win against the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist Thursday at Plaster Stadium in Bolivar, MO. (Photo courtesy of NorthwestBearcats.com )
Northwest quarterback Blake Bolles passed for a career high 345 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target was Jake Soy who caught three of those TDs tosses. Soy finished with a career high 107 yards receiving on four catches.
Steven Gachette accounted for all but 20 of Southwest Baptist’s 327 yards of offense. He completed 30-of-46 passes for 267 yards and carried 20 times for 40. He connected with wide out Johnnie King nine times for 116 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown toss early in the second quarter that tied the game at 7-7.
Northwest led 14-7 at halftime and drove past midfield to start the third quarter when Bolles had a passed tipped in the air and intercepted by Tyrin Holt, who was tackled two yards shy of the end zone. Gachette ran in from there to tie the game at 14-14.
Northwest led 21-14 when Gachette was intercepted by defensive lineman Micah Wilson at the Northwest 11-yard line. Bolles hit Soy with the 89-yard score two plays later to pull ahead by two scores. It was the second of five straight touchdown drives by Northwest.
Portions of this story courtesy of Bryan Boettcher of Northwest Missouri State.
Central Missouri VB picked 3rd in MIAA. Truman 4th
Defending MIAA volleyball champion Emporia State was selected as preseason No. 1 by a slight margin over Washburn in the 2009 MIAA coaches poll. Central Missouri was the top state school coming in third.
The Hornets and Ichabods each received five first place votes, with Emporia State tallying 94 points and Washburn totaling 92 points. In addition to winning the 2008 conference title, Emporia advanced to the NCAA regional final a year ago. Washburn placed third in the MIAA and advanced to the NCAA regional tournament in 2008.
Coming in at No. 3 was Central Missouri, as the Jennies picked up 79 points. Central finished fourth in the MIAA in 2008 and made it to the NCAA regional semifinals.
Truman State tied with Nebraska-Omah for the fourth spot with 69 points. Truman finished as the 2008 MIAA runner-up and advanced all the way to the national semifinals.
Northwest Missouri State came in at No. 7 with 40 points, Missouri Southern State was voted eighth with 37 points, Southwest Baptist took the ninth spot with 35 points, Fort Hays State was 10th with 15 points, and Missouri Western State was voted 11th with 14 points.
The 2009 MIAA volleyball season starts Friday, Aug. 28, with several tournament matches. MIAA league play begins Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Story courtesy of the MIAA conference .
2009 MIAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Emporia State (5) – 94 pts.
2. Washburn (5) – 92 pts.
3. Central Missouri – 79 pts.
T4. Nebraska-Omaha (1) – 69 pts.
T4. Truman State – 69 pts.
6. Pittsburg State – 61 pts.
7. Northwest Missouri State – 40 pts.
8. Missouri Southern State – 37 pts.
9. Southwest Baptist – 35 pts.
10. Fort Hays State – 15 pts.
11. Missouri Western State – 14 pts.
Northwest Missouri State FB picked to win MIAA
Three-time defending Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Champion Northwest Missouri State was selected as preseason No. 1 in both the MIAA coaches poll as well as the first-ever MIAA media poll, it was announced Monday afternoon at the MIAA Football Kickoff Press Conference at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City.
The Bearcats received 80 points with eight of 10 first-place votes in the coaches poll and 464 points with 42 of 47 first-place votes in the media poll.
Pittsburg State was selected as number two in both polls, receiving 407 points and four first-place votes in the media poll as well as 71 points and two first-place votes in the coaches poll.
Central Missouri was tabbed preseason No. 3 in both polls, receiving 59 points in the coaches poll and 321 points with one first-place vote in the media poll.
The number four spot was the first difference in the two polls, as Washburn was picked in fourth position in the coaches poll while Nebraska-Omaha was selected No. 4 in the media poll. The Ichabods and Mavericks swapped places in each poll, as Washburn was No. 6 in the media poll while Omaha was sixth in the coaches poll.
Numbers five and seven through 10 were exactly the same in both polls. Missouri Western State was voted number five in both, while Missouri Southern State was seventh, Emporia State was eighth, Truman State was ninth and Fort Hayes State was 10th.
The 2009 MIAA Football season begins Thursday, Aug. 27, with five conference schools competing. MIAA league play begins Saturday, Sept. 12.
2009 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri State (8) – 80 pts.
2. Pittsburg State (2) – 71 pts.
3. Central Missouri – 59 pts.
4. Washburn – 55 pts.
5. Missouri Western State – 50 pts.
6. Nebraska-Omaha – 49 pts.
7. Missouri Southern State – 31 pts.
8. Emporia State – 25 pts.
9. Truman State – 19 pts.
10. Fort Hays State – 11 pts.
2009 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1. Northwest Missouri State (42) – 464 pts.
2. Pittsburg State (4) – 407 pts.
3. Central Missouri (1) – 321 pts.
4. Nebraska-Omaha – 315 pts.
5. Missouri Western State – 307 pts.
6. Washburn – 289 pts.
7. Missouri Southern State – 160 pts.
8. Emporia State – 139 pts.
9. Truman State – 100 pts.
10. Fort Hays State – 83 pts.
