December 12, 2009

Northwest Missouri Wins National Championship

By David Boyce

Northwest Missouri unleashed four years of frustration in the first half on Grand Valley State Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division II football championship in Florence, Ala.

And when the game got close in the fourth quarter, Northwest Missouri made clutch, championship plays to bring the title home to Maryville.

The Bearcats showed that the fifth time is the charm. After falling in the previous four title games, Northwest Missouri scored touchdowns in its first three possessions and then hung on to beat Grand Valley 30-23 at Braly Memorial Stadium.

"It just feels great," Northwest Missouri coach Mel Tjeerdsma told an ESPN2 audience immediately after the game.

"The past is the past. I'm just so proud of these guys. They are national champions. That's all I care about."

It was Northwest Missouri's third national title and it came against a program that has won four national titles, two coming against the Bearcats.

But this time the Bearcats were a different animal, one hungry to show that they weren't going to allow recent history to derail their mission.

Northwest Missouri dominated the first half and never allowed the Lakers offense to sniff the end zone in the first two quarters.

After stopping Grand Valley in the game's opening drive, Northwest Missouri zipped down the field and never needed a third down to score the first touchdown of the game.

The Bearcats later put together a 97-yard drive for another score and quickly scored again after a great punt return.

Northwest Missouri went into halftime ahead 21-0 and it could have easily been 28-0 if not for a fumble near the goal line.

All season the Bearcats said their focus was on the present and not the past. They openly talked about falling short the last four years whenever they were asked about it.

They answered the questions with honesty and never gave the impression they were tired of speaking about it.

And that was a characteristic of the Bearcats. They never allowed anything negative to detract from their goal.

When the offense turned the ball over, the defense went out and did its job. When the defense gave up a few points, the offense simply went out and scored more.

The Bearcats showed the country early in the third quarter the right way to handle adversity.

Northwest Missouri appeared to go ahead 28-0 when Myles Burnsides intercepted a pass and ran 75 yards for a touchdown. The defensive play was nullified on a pass interference call on Burnsides.

The Lakers used that break to score a touchdown and gain some momentum.

Northwest Missouri quickly snatched mo back by blocking the extra point and returning it for a two-point conversion so instead of it being 21-7, the Bearcats were up 23-6, a three-point swing on a routine play.

It was a huge play because Grand Valley started playing much better on both sides of the ball and closed to 23-20 with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the game.

The Bearcats were in trouble. History was starting to creep in.

But Northwest Missouri responded the way it has all season. On fourth and 4 from Grand Valley's 26, Blake Bolles tossed a beautiful 26-yard touchdown pass to Jake Soy with 10 minutes left in the game.

The Bearcats answered the challenge again.

"These guys persevered," Tjeerdsma said.

Northwest Missouri finished its championship season 14-1. The Bearcats won blowouts. They won close games. They overcame injuries. They responded to a season-opening loss.

No matter what happened in a game and throughout the season, the players stayed positive.

They were a joy to watch and write about and they deserved to finish the season as the best team in NCAA Division II football.

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