Football: Bearcats advance

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Northwest Missouri State's Tyler Roach blocked the potential game-tying extra point with six seconds left to help the Bearcats defeat top-ranked Central Washington 21-20 Saturday in an NCAA Division II quarterfinal game at Tomlinson Stadium.

The win sent the second-ranked Bearcats (12-1) into the semifinals for the fifth straight year.

California (Pa.), which beat West Liberty 57-35 on Saturday, will be Northwest Missouri State's opponent at a date and location to be determined.

“Tyler's blocked four this season,'' Northwest Missouri State Mel Tjeerdsma said. “That was a picture of the other three. That wasn't an accident.

“These guys are good at it. It's not scheme, it's effort. That's all it is. It was a great effort on their part.''

Roach, a senior defensive tackle from Elkhorn, swatted away Garrett Rolsma's extra-point try that followed a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Cole Morgan had tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mike Waller to pull Central Washington within one point. Morgan hooked up with Waller twice for 36 yards on a drive that began with 1:11 remaining.

Asked where the victory ranks among his program's playoff wins, Tjeerdsma said: “Right now, it's the best. It's been an unbelievable run, and we've had some great games.

“What made this so special is that some of our kids really stepped up at halftime and it wasn't necessarily our seniors, but some juniors who stepped up and said, ‘We're going to get this thing done and we're a team and we're a family and we care about each other and that's about it.'

“I'm just proud of the way they responded.''

Northwest scored touchdowns on two 70-plus-yard drives to begin the second half, turning a 14-7 deficit into a 21-14 lead.

Jake Soy hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Blake Bolles to finish the first drive. Jordan Simmons caught a 19-yard pass from Bolles to cap the second.

Central Washington faced a fourth-and-1 from the Bearcat 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but linebacker Adam Vondrak knocked down a Morgan pass to end the drive.

“Our defense, after the first two series, did an outstanding job,'' Tjeerdsma said, “and gave us great field position. When you play a great defense like Central Washington, you have to have some help with special teams or defense scoring and we got it today.''

After stopping Central Washington, Northwest took nearly seven minutes off the clock before Bolles was intercepted by Jerome Williams.

Northwest picked off two Morgan passes.

Linebacker Chad Kilgore grabbed the first interception and scored on a 25-yard return to account for the Bearcats' first TD. Kilgore's score tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter. Safety Myles Burnsides got the other interception, the 16th of his career. He also finished with 12 tackles, which tied his career high.

Central Washington responded to Kilgore's interception return on the ensuing drive and regained the lead on a 12-yard run by Randall Eldridge.

He scored twice for Central Washington and had 69 yards on 19 carries.

LaRon Council carried 27 times for 102 yards for Northwest, his sixth 100-yard effort of the season.

He did it against the nation's top run defense. The Wildcats were allowing 55 yards per game before Saturday's game.

Bolles completed 31 of 40 passes for 295 yards.

Soy caught a season-high 11 passes for 136 yards and eclipsed the 100-yard mark in his fourth straight game and the eighth time this season. He caught his 23rd touchdown of the season, which leads the nation and ties him for the fifth-most in Division II history.

Northwest has beaten five 12-0 teams since 2006 and has won 15 straight playoff games leading up to the final. The Bearcats improved to 3-5 all-time against top-ranked teams.

“Obviously we're thrilled to win in a tough atmosphere and tough situation against a tough football team,'' Tjeerdsma said. “These guys just said, ‘Coach, these are the best guys we've played all year.' I guess you'd expect them to be, since they're undefeated and No. 1.

“It was a great game. I really want to compliment all these guys and our team, the way we came out after halftime. It wasn't anything any coach said. It's some things that some of our players said that really inspired these guys to get out and get after it the second half.

“We felt like we weren't playing aggressive football, we were playing more not to lose than playing to win, and I thought our first two drives in the second half said a lot about that.''

NW Missouri St.................7 0 14 0—21

At Central Washington............7 7 0 6—20

CW: Eldridge 1 run (Rolsma kick)

NWMS: Kilgore 25 interception return (Adolf kick)

CW: Eldridge 12 run (Rolsma kick)

NWMS: Soy 15 pass from Bolles (Adolf kick)

NWMS: Simmons 19 pass from Bolles (Adolf kick)

CW: Waller 15 pass from Morgan (kick blocked)