An instant NCAA Division II playoff classic.
That might be the best way to describe what took place Saturday afternoon at James S. Malosky Stadium, where two of the most successful NCAA II teams in the country over the past half dozen years butted heads in the first weekend of Super Region Three play. The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs delivered a rally for the books as they scored 19 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes of play to upend No. 6 Northwest Missouri State University 25-21. With the win over the defending national champion Bearcats (No. 5 seed in Super Region), UMD kept its perfect 2014 record intact at 12-0 and punched its ticket to the second round of the NCAA II playoffs.
The Bulldogs, the Super Region Three's No. 4 seed, started the day in promising fashion, taking the opening kickoff and driving 71 yards on nine plays -- capped off by a
Drew Bauer-to-
Taylor Grant touchdown pass from 13 yards out -- to grab a quick 6-0 lead. Phil Jackson got Northwest Missouri State (No. 5) on the board with a two-yard touchdown run with 3:48 to go in the second quarter and then went up 14-6 a little over two minutes later when Kohlman Adema-Schulte scooped up a blocked punt and took it three yards into the end zone. Kyle Zimmerman tacked on another touchdown (a 29-yard jaunt) for the Bearcats shortly after the start of the second half to make it 21-6. Northwest Missouri State, had a chance to perhaps put the game away late in the third quarter, but failed to score on four tries from inside UMD's four-yard line (including a fourth-and-goal rush from the two in which
Gavin Grady and
Daryl Brown stopped running back Robert Burton for a one-yard loss)
Bauer, who went on to lead both teams with 131 yards on the ground (on a career-high 25 carries) ignited the UMD comeback with 4:45 into the four quarter by darting 14 yards before hooking up with
Beau Bofferding on a 26-yard strike on UMD's next series. After the Bearcats went three-and-out for the second straight time, UMD took over at their own 30-yard line with 4:18 to play. Ten plays later, Bauer hit paydirt with a two-yard keeper off the left side to put the Bulldogs back on top and did so with only 26 seconds to spare. Northwest Missouri State (10-2) was able to run off four plays and make it down to the UMD 11-yard before time expired.
"Being down a couple of touchdowns to the defending national champion is not a spot you want to be in," said Bauer, who is 23-2 as a collegiate starter. "But in playoff football, you are going to play a bunch of tough teams so you just have to that fire, energy and emotion to get the job done."
The Bulldogs, now 13-6 all-time in the NCAA II playoffs, finished with 207 yards rushing -- the most given up by Northwest Missouri State this fall (the Bearcats had allowed an NCAA II-best 58.1 yards per game coming into the day) and 313 yards of total offense, including 183 in the fourth quarter. Bauer completed 12 of 22 passes for 106 yards with no picks but was sacked three times. Northwest Missouri State rolled up 380 overall yards, all but 100 of those on the ground. Sophomore inside linebacker
Beau Bates was credited with a personal-best (and UMD 2014 single-game high) 13 total tackles, the last of which came on the final play of the day, while senior outside linebacker
Gavin Brown had a hand in 12 stops in his last collegiate home appearance.
"Our hats are off to Northwest Missouri State," said UMD head coach
Curt Wiese, whose Bulldogs were ousted by the Bearcats in the second round of the NCAA II playoffs one year ago. "We knew we were in for a dog fight. Our kids believed they were ready to go and they had a great week of preparation. Our staff and our players deserve a tremendous amount of credit for what they just did."
The Bulldogs will take on No. 1 seed Ouachita Baptist University next Saturday afternoon in Arkadelphia, Ark. It will mark the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.
Post-Game Press ConferenceHighlight VideoPhoto Gallery
