Northwest Missouri State defensive end Matt Longacre was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-America team in a release from the organization on Tuesday. Longacre becomes the 13th Bearcat all-time to earn All-America honors from the AFCA.

Longacre, a junior from Omaha, Neb., was the 2013 MIAA and Daktronics Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year. This season, he leads the team with 11.5 sacks, and 19.5 tackles for loss. He has also forced a Northwest single-season record five fumbles and has been credited with 19 quarterback hurries. He is tied for fourth on the team with 54 tackles.

For his career, Longacre now has 23 sacks, third all-time, and has 25.5 tackles for loss, tied for fifth all-time. He has also scored two career touchdowns, one coming back in 2001 and the other came earlier this season against Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 28.

Northwest AFCA All-Americans: Matt Uhde (1996), Chris Greisen (1997 & 98), Tony Miles (1999 & 2000), Seth Wand (2001 & 02), Jamaica Rector (2003 & 04), Dave Tollefson (2005), Mike Peterson (2006), Xavier Omon (2007), Jeremy Davis (2008), Myles Burnside (2009), Ryan Jones (2010), Chad Kilgore (2011) & Matt Longacre (2013).

— Northwest Sports Information —

Wednesday is your last day to buy advance tickets in the Bearcats section at the national championship football game Saturday.

Northwest Missouri State faces the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Saturday (11am CST kickoff) at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

Media Relations Specialist Mark Hornickel tells us they’d sold about 1,100 tickets from the university’s allotment by Tuesday morning.

They will continue selling tickets until noon on Wednesday. Hornickel says any tickets left over will be available at the box office at the stadium.

He adds that there should be seats available outside the section reserved for Bearcats fans as well. The ticket office phones at Northwest were busy on Tuesday morning.

Tickets to the game, and the post-game celebration, may be purchased in person at the Student Services Center on the first floor of the Administration Building at Northwest. Or you can call (660)562-1212 from 9am to noon on Wednesday.

A free tailgate party begins at 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 21, in the parking lot north of the Stadium. Complimentary coffee, hot chocolate and donuts (while supplies last) will be available to all Bearcat fans prior to the game. Souvenir rally towels will be handed out, and the Bearcat Marching Band and Northwest cheerleaders will perform.

The postgame celebration begins immediately after the game at the Florence/Lauderdale Coliseum, 702 E. Veterans Dr., in Florence. The event will include a buffet catered by Whole Hog Express, trophy presentation and remarks from Bearcat coaches and players. The coliseum will easily accommodate all Bearcat fans and is an alcohol-free environment. Tickets to the postgame celebration are $20 and attendees will receive a wristband to be admitted.

(Directions: From the visitors’ side of Braly Municipal Stadium, head south on Royal Avenue all the way to Veterans Drive. Take a right on Veterans Drive and go about 1/2 mile. The Florence/Lauderdale Coliseum is on the left side, 702 E. Veterans Drive.)

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team picked up a 105-59 victory over Waldorf College on Monday evening inside Bearcat Arena in the team’s final non-conference game of the season. Northwest moves to 7-4 on the season. The game was an exhibition contest for the 4-3 Warriors from Waldorf.

Northwest had no shortage of offense on the evening, connecting on 39-of-66 shooting (59.1%) from the field. Northwest also hit 14 of its 29 three pointers including three from an unlikely source. Dillon Starzl, who had a game-high 23, hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, marking the first time he has recorded an outside shot in his Bearcat career. Starzl also had five rebounds and was 8-for-10 from the field overall.

DeShaun Cooper put together one of his most complete performances, scoring 14 points to go along with nine assists and a career-best eight rebounds. Cooper was 6-of-9 from the field and had one steal.

Conner Crooker hit four three pointers and finished with 16 points. Bryston Williams had 11 points and Grant Cozad had 10 points off the bench.

Northwest forced 17 turnovers with nine steals on the evening. The game moved along quickly as the teams combined were only whistled for 27 fouls and shot just 31 free throws overall. Waldorf was held to just 38.9 percent (21-54) from the field and were outrebounded, 38-27. Northwest never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 48 late in the second half before finishing with the 46 margin of victory.

Northwest will resume MIAA play on Saturday when the Bearcats travel to Hays, Kan., to take on Fort Hays State at 4 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

One more big play was needed for Northwest Missouri State to stamp its ticket to Florence, Ala., for the NCAA Division II national championship game.

Senior quarterback Trevor Adams delivered it to Reuben Thomas with just under 5 minutes left.

Grand Valley must have been thinking the Bearcats were going to run the ball on first down to salt away a few more seconds. Instead, Adams dropped back and threw a perfect spiral to Thomas, who nestled the ball into his gut and waltzed into the end zone with 4:58 left in the game.

“We just wanted to play aggressive and play to win,” Adams said. “That was our mantra all week and what it has been all season.”

The championship play gave the Bearcats a 14-point lead, more than enough for them to come away with a spine-tingling 27-13 victory Saturday evening at Bearcat Stadium in the NCAA Division II semifinals.

“We have one more game to go, but it has been so exciting to see all the hard work payoff,” Adams said. “We have such a great senior class. That has been so awesome to be a part of.”

A year ago, the Bearcats lost 38-35 in overtime in the second round to Minnesota State Mankato on a bitterly cold late November day. Northwest knew they had a team that could have advanced deeper in the playoffs.

The returners were determined to get Northwest back to the top. The wanted to hear the cool sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd one more time at Bearcat Stadium.

Sweet Home Alabama – both goalposts go down.

“You can’t really put into words, but it is a great feeling,” Northwest junior defensive end Matt Longacre said. “I am so happy for the guys that we get to experience this.”

Northwest will take its perfect 14-0 record to Alabama and face Lenoir-Rhyne at 11 a.m., Dec. 21 at Braly Stadium. The Bearcats are making their eighth appearance in the national championship game and will be seeking their fourth title.

“We have good positive energy,” Northwest senior running back Billy Creason. “We always talk about sharing the experience of going to the national championship with our young guys. Everybody on the team bought into that and we are here.

“We are like a family. I can turn to anybody on offense and whenever we need a big play, we know somebody is going to step up.”

The Bearcats have put themselves in position for another special game. Earlier this season, Northwest played the final of 12 installments of the Fall Classic at Arrowhead and beat Pittsburg State 24-15.

This will be the last of 28 straight Division II championship games in Florence. Next year the Division II title game moves to Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

It has already been a truly special season for the 2013 Bearcats. They have won 12 of their 14 games by double-digits.

But this one was far more difficult as it should be to reach the title game.

“I am just so proud of our kids, the way they battled today; the way they battled all year,” Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said. “We talked about playing to win and I think we did that for 60 minutes.”

After Northwest took a 20-6 lead with 3:55 left in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Simon Mathieson, Grand Valley showed its championship mettle.

The Lakers went 77 yards in eight plays and scored a touchdown near the end of the third quarter, closing to 20-13.

Grand Valley then stopped a Northwest drive and got the ball back at its 20. After reaching midfield, the Lakers ran into a stonewall known as the Bearcat defense.

With seven minutes left, Northwest started at its 20 and needed to get a few first downs to take time off the clock.

The Bearcats wanted more. On the fourth play of the drive, Adams hit Thomas for a beautiful touchdown that ultimately put Northwest in another championship game.

“That was probably the difference in the game,” Grand Valley coach Matt Mitchell said. “The play-action pass and No. 12 (Thomas) getting behind us.”

Thomas said he has been waiting for this moment. When he saw the ball in the air, he wanted the ball to get there before the defender.

“I looked it in, scored the touchdown,” Thomas said.

Northwest went into halftime with a 10-6 lead. Any lead in a national semifinal game is important, but the Bearcats had a couple of reasons to feel disappointed.

The Bearcats dominated the first half. Two fumbles prevented them from taking more command of the game.

On the second play from scrimmage, Northwest fumbled at its 17. Thanks to stellar defense by the Bearcats, Grand Valley settled for a 37-yard field goal.

“We can’t ever get too down because we know those guys coming on the field are going to shut them down no matter where the ball is at,” Adams said. “Matt (Longacre) and D.J. (Gnader) and those guys have done an awesome job all season.

“The trust that we have has been huge for us. When I was running to the sideline after I had just thrown that pass backwards, D.J. and those guys came up and said we got you and that is what is so awesome about our defense. They got our backs just like we have theirs.

The Lakers added another field goal later in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead. Northwest answered that score with a nine play, 80-yard drive and scored on a 6-yard run by Bolles.

Northwest was in position to increase its lead when it moved to the 1 on a 14-yard pass reception by Korey Jackson. The Bearcats fumbled on the next play, erasing a tremendous scoring opportunity.

Grand Valley put together only one good drive in the second quarter and ended with a missed 32-yard field goal into a stiff north wind.

The Bearcats took over late in the second quarter and moved 78 yards and on fourth down, Mathieson nailed a 19-yard field goal on the last play in the first half.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State had nine players represented on the Don Hansen Football Committee’s Super Region Three squad on Friday. Head coach Adam Dorrel was named the Super Region Three Coach of the Year and Matt Longacre was the Defensive Player of the Year.

Earning first team honors with Longacre were offensive lineman Cody Carlson, defensive tackle Brandon Yost, linebacker Eric Reimer, linebacker D.J. Gnader and defensive back Brandon Dixon. Quarterback Trevor Adams earned second team honors. Earning third team honors were defensive back Brian Dixon and offensive tackle C.J.Keeney.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen’s Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2013 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named in January.

— Northwest Sports Information —

When the wind chill is zero, the running game takes on more importance. Northwest Missouri State proved that to St. Cloud State Saturday afternoon in frostbite weather at Bearcat Stadium.

Freshman running back Phil Jackson II rushed for four touchdowns and seniorrunning back Billy Creason added three more on the ground as the Bearcats came away with an impressive 59-21 victory in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.

“It is getting that time of the year where we need to see a kick start to our running game,” Northwest coach Adam Dorrel said. “I thought we got that today. I am really proud of our guys. I feel like they bought into that.

“Obviously, Billy ran well and Phil was able to come in and do some things.”

That is an understatement. The combined seven rushing touchdowns shattered the school playoff record of four rushing touchdowns, established on six different occasions.

Jackson goes into the record book with Xavier Omon and LaRon Council with four rushing touchdowns in one playoff game.

All those rushing touchdowns led to the biggest margin of victory in Northwest’s storied playoff history. The previous mark was 35 set last year in the Bearcats’ 35-0 win over Harding.

“Congratulations to Northwest,” St. Cloud coach Scott Underwood said. “It was a great job by them. They are a very good football team. Obviously, we felt we didn’t play quite to our best potential, but they had a lot of reasons for us playing that way.”

Northwest, 13-0, moves on to the semifinals and will face Grand Valley State next Saturday at Bearcat Stadium. The last time the Bearcats faced Grand Valley in the playoffs they won 30-23 in the Division II championship game.

“It is very special,” said Northwest junior linebacker D.J. Gnader about playing the semifinal game at home. “I am pumped up. There is no other place better than Bearcat Stadium. Our fans do a great job coming out and supporting us.

“I am so excited about next week that I wish it was tomorrow.”

The Bearcats had plenty of success through the air. Senior quarterback Trevor Adams completed 18 of 21 passes for 212 yards and back-up Brady Bolles connected on all three of his passes for 33 yards before he left the game in the second quarter with an injury.

And the defense played its usual stellar game, shutting out the Huskies in the first half.

“Our defense played really well again,” Dorrel said. “That was a good offensive team we went against. They got a lot of weapons.”

But it was the way Creason and Jackson ran the ball that really sucked the life out of the Huskies. They pounded the ball up the middle, especially when the Bearcats got close to the goal line.

“It is a big ego boost for the running backs,” Creason said. “Like coach said, we stress running the ball in December. We stressed we had to control up front and they did and that made it easy to run the ball.

“Our line was very physical. We saw people lying on the ground all day. And Trevor was able complete passes, which was big, especially in cold weather.”

It was a spectacular performance all around for the Bearcats, particularly the way they quickly reacted to the only threat that came their way in the second half.

St. Cloud received the ball to start the third quarter and used nearly 6 minutes to go 75 yards in 12 plays. The Huskies scored on a 17-yard pass from Phillip Klaphake to Dan Brown, making it 28-7.

Northwest needed only 12 seconds to respond. Sophomore Bryce Enyard returned the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to give the Bearcats a 35-7 lead.

“I know we had a big lead, but they drove down the field and scored and got the momentum,” Dorrel said. “For us to get that was important. He popped it. He really showed his speed.”

For the seventh straight week, Northwest made sure there was no late-game drama. The Bearcats have won each of those games by at least 24 points.

Northwest came two plays short of a perfect first half. A fumble deep in St. Cloud’s territory in the game’s opening drive and a low throw on third down in another drive.

And if you are nitpicking, the Bearcats defense did give up three first downs in the first two quarters.

Truthfully, Northwest coaches will need to look at tape into the wee hours to find mistakes in the first 30 minutes. The Bearcats dominated on both sides of the ball and went into halftime leading 28-0.

“We stopped the run early on, which was a big goal for us,” said Northwest junior defensive end Kevin Arnold. “Our offense wanted to run the ball so stopping the run was big for us. “Getting pressure on their play-action pass they are so good at was big for us in the first half.”

The first three series gave clear indication that the Bearcats were in for a good game. They took the opening drive at their 35 and quickly moved to St.Cloud’s 15.

Although the Bearcats fumbled, they prove they could move the ball on the ground and through the air.

St. Cloud took over at its 11, ran three plays and punted.

Northwest got great field position at the Huskies’ 26. The Bearcats needed only five plays to score on a 3-yard run by Creason with 8:32 left in the first quarter.

The Bearcats solidified their lead in the opening minute of the second quarter when Creason scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run.

St. Cloud picked up its first, first down of the game with 13:32 left in the second quarter. The Huskies even moved to Northwest’s 39, but the drive stalled.

Northwest then put together a 13 play, 85-yard drive that ended on a 1-yardtouchdown run by Jackson. Jackson added another touchdown with 30 seconds left in the second quarter.

Simply put, it was total domination by the Bearcats. They had 326 yards of total offense and picked up 19 first downs. St. Cloud had just 75 yards of offense and managed just three first downs.

“I am surprised,” said Gnader of the one-sided score. “Their quarterback is a great player. He is a playmaker and they have a great team.

“Defensively, our coaches did a great job of getting us in position to make plays and we executed the game plan they made for us.

“It was just a great day.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

Wow! Something special is brewing inside Bearcat Arena. The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team played an entertaining brand of team basketball Saturday night against Emporia State.

In beating Emporia State 89-68, the Bearcats played with intensity throughout. They dove for loose balls and were tenacious on defense.

On offense, Northwest shared the basketball, always looking inside to Dillon Starzl or Grant Cozad for the high percentage shot instead of settling for outside jumpers.

“When you have a presence in the post like that and you have guards on the outside, it is pretty hard to stop us,” said senior guard DeShaun Cooper, who finished with 10 points and six assists. “When you have all of us going, we can get it rolling pretty quick.”

It’s why Northwest held a double-digit lead most of the game.

“It is very fun when you are sharing the basketball like that, especially when you have a bunch of guys around you who love you and want to play the game.” Cooper said. “I had a lot of fun.”

Because Starzl and Cozad did such a great job scoring off passes from Cooper, Matt Wallace and others, the outside opened up for three-pointers. The Bearcats made five of eight from behind the arc in the first half.

Northwest only took five, three-point shots in the second half. The Bearcats didn’t need to launch long-range bombs.They started the second half similar to the way they started the game.

The Bearcats scored the first two buckets to start the second half and built a 43-27 lead.

It was team basketball at its finest. Five Bearcats scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Conner Crooker and 17 each from Bryston Williams and Cozad.

“Coop was getting me a lot of open shots,” Crooker said. “I tried to attack when I saw the lane open and it was working for me.”

The showstopper came with 3 minutes left when senior Tyler funk drove to the basket and then did a no-look, over-the-shoulder pass to Cozad, who laid it in for an easy layup. It gave Northwest an 83-61 lead.

“We are attacking more,” Cooper said. “Before, when we got up, we were trying to protect the lead instead of going at their throat. Now, we are going at their throat instead of protecting the lead. We are going after them.”

The Bearcats went into halftime with a 39-27 lead and had several scintillating moments that brought rousing applause from their fans.

Like they have in most of their games this season, the Bearcats started fast, scoring the first six points of the game. They never trailed in the first half.

Northwest’s lead grew to 20-11 on a three-pointer by Crooker. A minute later, the Bearcats pulled off a thrilling play. On a fast break, Cooper threw a nice bounce pass to Crooker on the run and it lead to a layup and pushed Northwest’s lead to 24-14 with 7:52 left in the first half.

The interior passing by the Bearcats was impressive. Another example of it occurred when Funk used a bounce pass that Cozad gathered and scored on a layup. It gave Northwest a 34-23 lead.

Several possessions later, Cozad battled for an offensive rebound, grabbed the ball and finished. He was fouled on the basket and made the free throw for a 37-25 lead.

The Bearcats played with that type of passion throughout the first half. It was a complete half of basketball for Northwest on both ends of the court. The Bearcats made 50 percent of their shots and held Emporia State to 35 percent.

— Northwest Sports Information —

During different stretches, Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team competed nicely with undefeated Emporia State.

One notable time came late in the second half when the Bearcats trailed by 18 and brought their deficit to a couple of points.

In the early part of the season, Northwest is trying to find its identity and comfort zone under first year coach Michael Smith. Emporia State knows who it is and expects to compete for a MIAA title every season.

That one difference played a part in Northwest’s 68-64 loss to Emporia State Saturday evening at Bearcat Arena.

“We know in the back of our heads they are the No. 3 team and they are suppose to come out and play the way they did, but at the same time, we don’t want to underestimate ourselves,” said junior Ariel Easton, who finished with 17 points. “We came out and gave all the fight we had.”

Emporia State appears to have nine players who are all extremely confident when they take their shots. It is easy to see why Emporia State is now 8-0 and ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II.

For the Bearcats, who fell to 2-6,they learned the level they have to play to beat a top team in the MIAA. They nearly found it in the final 3 minutes of the game.

Northwest gave much more than a glimpse of what they will become in January, February and March.

“I felt all along this team is making progress every game,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “This is the most excited I have been. We had people playing within their abilities tonight. We were being a lot more patient on offense. We had people come off the bench and brought energy and gave us positive minutes.

“Obviously, we were outsized and we knew that going in. I think our heart can go along ways. If anything, this team showed me in the second half that we have a big heart.”

Northwest started well. Easton drained a three-pointer for the first points of the game.

The Hornets immediately tied the game on the first of three, first-half three-pointers by Kelly Moten. Emporia State scored five more points for an 8-3 lead. The Hornets never trailed again.

Emporia State pushed its lead to 19-7. The Hornets scored points inside and outside.

“I felt like in the first half we just didn’t bring the energy that I expected because we had nothing to lose going into this game,” Smith said.

Northwest continued to play hard. The Bearcats closed to 22-16 on a basket by senior Meridde Scott.

The Bearcats just didn’t have enough firepower to keep pace with Emporia State’s high-octane offense. The Hornets went into halftime ahead 36-25.

Early in the second half, Emporia State extended its lead to 42-27. Northwest battled back and closed to 42-33, but the Bearcats started to sputter again on offense.

The dry spell allowed Emporia State to increase its lead 55-37. It was too much of a deficit for the Bearcats to overcome. But they tried and nearly succeeded.

A free throw by freshman Ashley Guenther with 3:10 left brought the Bearcats to within 10 at 65-55. It ignited an impressive late run by the Bearcats.

Tember Schechinger added two free throws 30 seconds later and then she made a basket, which pulled the Bearcats to within six at 65-59 with 1:16 left.

The most impressive part of the run came next when Northwest grabbed two offensive rebounds before Easton got a put-basket to make it 65-61 with 45 seconds left.

Forty-three seconds later, junior Ashleigh Nelson sank three free throws, pulling the Bearcats to within two at 66-64 with 1.2 seconds left.

“We are not about moral victories. We have to get over the hump and start getting the wins,” said Nelson, who finished with 17 points. “Tonight we showed we can do it and can beat anybody in this league if we just come together as one and play with a passion as we did when we were down by such a big deficit.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

On Tuesday afternoon, Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum insisted his team was playing well in spite of two losses over the weekend.

Two days later, the Bearcats proved McCollum has a solid grasp of his team.Northwest scored the first 10 points and never trailed in its 75-59 victoryover Pittsburg State Thursday evening at Bearcat Arena.

“We started to become the prey instead of the predator,” McCollum said. “When you become like that, you can get up early and get a lead, but you are never going to close because you are not in an attacking mode.

“I thought tonight, at the 7 or 8 minute mark, we started to slow it down. I told our players let’s run, let’s go and play fast and let’s keep attacking. That’s the mentality I want them to have throughout the rest of the season.”

The win pushed Northwest’s record back over .500 at 5-4. More importantly, the Bearcats won their MIAA opener.

The start could not have gone better. The Bearcats mixed a couple of three-pointers with a few baskets inside. Dillon Starzl was nearly unstoppable inside and point guard DeShaun Cooper created havoc with his quickness.

“We got the ball inside right off the bat,” said Grant Cozad, who finished with 12 points, making four of six from the field. “Once we get our inside-out game going, our shooters start to get going and everything starts clicking.”

Midway through the first half, Northwest still maintained a solid hold of the lead when Conner Crooker hit a three-pointer, giving the Bearcats a 27-14 lead.

It was definitely Crooker’s night. He finished with a career-high 27 points.

“Conner’s potential is there,” Cozad said. “He works hard. When he has the ball, something good is going to come out of a drive or a shot. He is a great passer inside.”

Pittsburg fought back and closed to 31-26. The Gorillas never got closer in the first half. Northwest went into halftime ahead 38-30.

“The key was we kept running the ball and we were not afraid to shoot it,” Crooker said. “The last couple of games we were afraid to score and kind of tried to keep the lead. This time we were trying to build a lead and keep attacking.”

The second half started nearly as well as the first 20 minutes for the Bearcats. Starzl scored the first basket on a power move in the paint. Crooker followed that up with a three-pointer that increased Northwest’s advantage to 43-30.

It got even better for the Bearcats midway through the second half. One nice play came when Crooker drove to the basket and slipped a pass inside to Cozad who finished to make it 51-39.

A minute later, Bryston Williams drove and passed the ball inside and once again Cozad finished. The basket gave Northwest a 55-39 lead.

Unlike the previous two games when Northwest blew double-digit leads and lost to Drury and Truman State, the Bearcats held firm control of their advantage throughout the second half.

“The last two games we gave up those runs so we tried to handle that adversity and once they hit us with that run, let’s go back at them with another run,” Cozad said.

“It was definitely a learning weekend for us, handling other teams’ runs. We are looking to improve off this game. We have Emporia State next.”

With 4:45 left, Northwest built a 63-46 lead on an interior pass from Cozad to Kyle Schlake.

The Gorillas made a very mild run and closed to 63-53. But Northwest made them pay when they went to a full-court press. The Bearcats quickly broke it and the end result was a dunk by Starzl.

Two free throws by Crooked pushed Northwest’s lead to 67-53 with 3 minutes left.

— NWMSU Sports Information —