Northwest in National Spotlight Once Again

By David Boyce

The happiest place in Missouri Saturday will be a friendly, quaint town in the northwest corner of the state known as Maryville.

And the subtitle of the town's name could easily be, "Home of the NCAA Division II football semifinals."

For the fourth straight season Northwest Missouri will play host to a game that is one step shy of the national championship in Florence, Ala.

Northwest Missouri, 12-1, will take on California (Pa.), 11-3, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bearcat Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS College Sports.

Simply put, Northwest Missouri has been on ESPN or CBS College Sports in the last five years far more than 100 or so Division I schools who are just happy to have their basketball scores scroll across the bottom of ESPN.

Despite the frequency the Bearcats get to play in front of a national audience, the players still get a thrill and they understand what it means.

"I don't think it can ever get old in any sort of way," Northwest Missouri junior quarterback Blake Bolles said. "This is why you play the game to get the opportunity to play in big games like this and be on television to represent yourself, your team and your school and all that stuff."

The Bearcats know how to handle the added attention and take full advantage. As the saying goes, this isn't their first rodeo.

Northwest Missouri wants to put on the best show possible in its quest to reach a fifth straight championship game.

Division II football fans across the country will be intrigued as to whether Northwest Missouri can once again play in the final game of the season. They are wondering will the fifth time be the charm.

Whatever the case maybe, Northwest Missouri coach Mel Tjeerdsma welcomes the spotlight on the football team, the university and the Maryville community because he knows how special all three are.

"We all have to realize what a great opportunity it is, not just for our football team, but for our university, our community, and our fans," he said. "The exposure we get is just incredible and it is well deserved. We have great fans and this is a great university and this gives us an opportunity to showcase it."

Of course, the story is so much better if Northwest Missouri wins and the sounds of Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama" are blaring from the sound system as students rush the field to tear down the goalposts after the game.

The Bearcats, though, recognize they are in for another tough game. California (Pa.) started the season 0-2. But the Vulcans are now playing their best football of the season. They beat West Liberty 42-35 last week in the quarterfinals.

And in the second round, California (Pa.) avenged a 42-35 loss in its regular-season finale to Shippensburg by winning 26-21.

"They are a real good team," Northwest Missouri senior free safety Myles Burnsides said. "Offensively, they can put up some big numbers up like they have the last couple of weeks in the playoffs.

"They have a quarterback who can run and he throws real well, too. He has a great supporting cast, great receivers and a great running back. It will be a big test for us."

Tjeerdsma said his defense needs to be prepared for quarterback Josh Portis, who has thrown for 3,054 yards and rushed for 427 yards.

"He's really dangerous coming out of the pocket," Tjeerdsma said. "They don't have a lot of designed runs for him but he's sure good scrambling and that's a concern of ours. They have some big receivers and will be a tough match-up for us. They are just a good team."

But going through the rigors of a tough MIAA schedule unscathed has prepared the Bearcats for these tough playoff games.

None of their regular-season games were tougher than the 22-19 overtime victory against Washburn on Oct. 24. The Bearcats trailed at home for a large portion of the game, including most of the fourth quarter before rallying late.

A game like that certainly provided the Bearcats the mental muscle to overcome a 14-7 halftime deficit at No. 1 Central Washington last week and win 21-20.

"The Washburn game was huge for us and kind of a big a turning point in our season even though it was later in our season," Bolles said. "The offense couldn't get anything going. Somehow we fought and clawed our way and finally got a chance to get a win.

"From that point on we had no doubt about ourselves, and now after going to Central Washington and playing the No. 1 team in the nation at their house in the quarterfinals and coming out with a win like we did I think confidence is through the roof for us."

Bolles is glad the seniors have one more game at home. He calls the fans of Northwest Missouri the best in Division II.

Burnsides, who grew up in Maryville and played at Maryville High School, is definitely thrilled he gets one more game at home.

He has watched all the success Northwest Missouri has accomplished on the football field for over a decade, but he never expected all that he has experienced in four seasons.

"I'm just fortunate to have this opportunity to play out here for coach Tjeerdsma and all these coaches," he said.

"It's just exciting to have the game here. We know our fans are going to pack Bearcat Stadium."

Fun facts: This is the seventh time in the last 12 years that Northwest Missouri has reached the semifinals. The Bearcats won the previous six times. All but one of those semifinal games were at home...Northwest Missouri sophomore wide receiver Jake Soy leads Division II in receiving yards with 1,393 and his 23 touchdown receptions are tied for fourth most in Division II history...Junior quarterback Blake Bolles has completed nearly 77 percent of his passes in postseason.

Offensive player to watch: Junior center Ryan Lessman will need to be the anchor of the offensive line. Northwest Missouri coach Mel Tjeerdsma said the strength of California (Pa.) is its defensive line. Northwest Missouri's offensive line needs to be strong to counter it.

Defensive player to watch: Junior cornerback Ryan Jones will need to play big, literally. Jones is listed at 5-11. Tjeerdsma said the Vulcans have a couple of receivers who are 6-6.

Last meeting: This is the first meeting between the two schools.

To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.