MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western football team struggled offensively in a 44-3 loss to end the 2016 season Saturday at No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State.

The Northwest defense held the Griffons to just three points and 197 total yards of offense in the loss. The Griffons only points came on a 20-yard Tanner Pettet field goal with 5:27 to go in the first half. Missouri Western trailed 17-3 at halftime on the heels of a tremendous effort by the Griffon defense. Missouri Western limited the Bearcats to 183 yards in the first half and just one third down conversion in six tries.

Northwest’s offense got it going in the second half, outscoring the Griffons 27-0 in the second half. It was the third straight week the Griffons were shut out in the second half of a game.

The loss ended Missouri Western’s season at 4-7. It’s the first seven-loss season for the program since 1991 and the first five-game losing streak to end the season was the first time the team lost five in a row since 1995.

Josh Caldwell came 10 yards short of becoming the first Griffon back to rush for 100 yards against Northwest since Michael Hill in 2012. Caldwell finished with 92 yards on 26 carries. Corey Bertini was 9-26 through the air for 104 yards with one interception. Brock Broughton had three catches for 23 yards and Jesse Dickens had two catches for 58 yards.

— MWSU Athletics —