Northwest Missouri State sophomore kicker Todd Adolf rushed on the field as time was winding down and kicked a career-long, 45-yard field as time expired to give the third-ranked Bearcats a 17-16 win against sixth-ranked Central Missouri Saturday at Walton Stadium.
Northwest (8-1, 8-0 MIAA) clinches a share of its fifth consecutive MIAA championship while extending its conference winning streak to 45 games. The Bearcats can win the title outright with a victory against Pittsburg State next Saturday in Kansas City.
Central Missouri (9-2, 8-1) got 392 yards passing from quarterback Eric Czerniewski, but lost for the first time against a Division II opponent this season. The Mules missed field goals of 24 and 25 yards in the fourth quarter. The second miss came with 1:52 remaining.
Following the second miss and starting from his own 20-yard line with no timeouts, Bolles completed back-to-back passes to Jake Soy for 13 yards. Bolles then found Josh Baker over the middle for a short pass. Baker lateraled to Tyler Shaw who scooted 26 yards down the sideline before running out of bounds at the 37.
Following two incompletions, Bolles hit Soy for eight yards, but was tackled in play with 20 seconds remaining. Northwest sent Adolf onto the field, the snap came with three seconds remaining and the kick split the uprights to send Northwest’s sideline into a frenzy. It was redemption for Adolf, who missed a 26 yarder just before halftime.
Story courtesy of Northwest Missouri’s athletic department
