By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics
KEARNEY, Neb. – Stellar defense by Northwest Missouri State played a starring role in the Bearcats’ 33rd straight victory on a brisk, windy Saturday afternoon at Cope Stadium.
Led by the play of junior linebacker Nick Hess and senior defensive tackle Ben Spaeth, Northwest, ranked No. 1 in the AFCA top 25, beat Nebraska-Kearney 13-0 and improved to 3-0. Nebraska-Kearney dropped to 1-2.
“Right now, I think we are playing pretty well defensively,” said Northwest coach Rich Wright. “I think that is something we can take away from this. Moving forward, we can be pretty good on defense.”
It was the second straight grind-it-out win for the Bearcats. Hess played a key role in the second half to keep Nebraska-Kearney off the scoreboard.
“It is unique right now how young we are,” Hess said. “It is a different team than in the past. We have to figure out how to play close games and how to take advantage of opportunities we get. All of this is a good learning experience for us. Gritty games are what we needed.”
Midway through the third quarter with Northwest ahead 13-0, Nebraska-Kearney moved to near midfield thanks to a couple of penalties that gave the Lopers two first downs. But Nebraska-Kearney never crossed midfield because of a sack by Hess that went for minus 11 yards, which pushed the ball back to the 36.
After an incomplete pass, the Lopers were forced to punt. Hess made his presence felt once again early in the fourth quarter when he had a sack for a minus 13 yards that put the Lopers at their 7.
“As a defense, we are a unit,” Hess said. “Our defensive line got a great push. Our coaches got us ready for that. It was a cumulation of great practices and preparation for this game. It was fun to see it come to fruition.”
Once again, Nebraska-Kearney had to punt, but on this occasion, the Lopers had the wind at their backs. Still, Northwest got good field position. The Bearcats used a methodical offense and stingy defense to put the game away. It was the second shutout of the season.
But Northwest managed only one Brett Garner field goal in the second half. The Bearcats didn’t score in the second and fourth quarters when they had the wind in their face.
The best part about Saturday’s game was Northwest with many first-year starters on both sides of the ball on a windy day found a way to win.
The only negative was the three missed field goals, two coming in the second half that could have made it a three-score lead for the Bearcats. Wright, though, felt the special teams played well, improving from last week.
“Our special teams all the way around improved dramatically,” he said. “The field goals we have to make in that area. You have to be able to convert those.”
Defensively, Northwest played well in all areas. Spaeth, who missed last week because of an injury, recovered a fumble in the first half. Senior safety Edward Richey intercepted a pass in the first half. The defensive line stopped the run and the secondary prevented long passes.
Spaeth also had a sack with under three minutes left in the game that ended the Lopers last scoring opportunity.
“It was pretty big,” Spaeth said. “They forgot to block me I guess, and I got in there.
“It felt great to be back out there. It is always hard to be on the sideline, missing a game, but you get to see your teammates go out there and you know they are going to give a good effort.”
The offense didn’t have the same kind of success, scoring just one touchdown. It was an afternoon when the defense had the offense’s back. The defense knows there will be a game when the reverse is true.
Senior wide receiver Shane Williams, who caught the only touchdown in the game, refused to use the wind as an excuse.
“We are used to it a lot,” Williams said. “We play with it a lot in Maryville. We can always adjust to whatever comes at us.”
In the first half, Northwest held its opponent scoreless for the third straight week, and that allowed the Bearcats take a 10-0 lead into halftime.
“As a defense, we are still trying to find our identity, but through these first three games we are starting to click, and when that happens it is scary when our defense comes together,” Hess said.
Nebraska-Kearney’s only scoring opportunity came with 4 seconds left in the second quarter after senior Zach Martin tossed his first interception of the season and it was returned to the Northwest 24. The Lopers only had time for a 41-yard field goal, and it hit off the left crossbar.
Throughout the first half, Northwest defense completely dominated, limiting the Lopers to two first downs. The first one came on a pass interference call in the first quarter and the second one was on a 23-yard pass play in the second quarter.
With the wind at their backs in the first quarter, the Bearcats played nearly the entire 15 minutes on Nebraska-Kearney’s side of the field. The great field position allowed Northwest to score on its second drive of the game. A 46-yard field goal by junior Brett Garner gave the Bearcats a 3-0 lead with 10:30 left in the opening quarter.
Northwest stopped the Lopers on their next two drives. After a punt, Northwest got the ball at Nebraska-Kearney 46. Six plays later, Northwest was in the end zone on a 6-yard pass from Martin to Williams. The extra point increased Northwest’s lead to 10-0 with 2:36 left in the first quarter.
“We were glad we could punch it in,” Williams said. “We got close a lot. Zach did a great job of making a play. I was glad I came up with it.”
The Bearcats missed a golden opportunity to extend its lead early in the second quarter when Spaeth recovered a fumble at Nebraska-Kearney 19 with 10:54 left until halftime.
“The defense up front caused the ball to come loose, and I saw the ball on the ground and ran for it and grabbed it,” Spaeth said.
Northwest was unable to get a first down and settled for a 28-yard field goal attempt that missed. A gusty, swirling wind in the face of Garner made it a difficult field goal.
The loss of senior running back Cameron Wilcox to an injury in the first quarter hurt Northwest offense in the second quarter.
“We were behind the chains too much,” Wright said. “We are in second down and long way too much. We are not there yet as an offense to get behind like that and still come out successful. We have to convert more.”
Despite the struggles on offense, Northwest still won the statistical battle in the first half, gaining 169 total yards compared to 53 for the Lopers.
“They were great again,” Williams said of Northwest defense. “The way Kearney runs the offense, we had to be disciplined. Our offense is proud how the defense played for us.”
— Northwest Athletics —
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt reached the end zone twice, Travis Kelce took a shovel pass 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and Kansas City held on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 on Sunday.
