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Northwest Missouri made their fifth national
semifinal appearance in the last ten years and for the fifth time (5-0) they won
and will advance to Saturday's National Championship tilt. This time the
opponent will be a Valdosta State team that rallied in the fourth quarter to
defeat one of the better teams to come out of the Northeast in a long time -
California-Pennsylvania. Valdosta is a worthy opponent and won the title as
recently as 2004, but more on them later.
Last Week's Game
Northwest Missouri 34, Grand Valley State 16
I predicted a Bearcat victory, but certainly
didn't foresee the second half domination by both the offense and defense. After
trailing at halftime 13-10, the Bearcats outscored the Lakers 24-3 for the rest
of the game. Don't get me wrong, Grand Valley did an effective job of moving the
ball all night, but had difficulties putting touchdowns on the board. The
Northwest offense was effective passing, but ran the ball exceptionally.
Tidbits:
What a game for the Xavier Omon and the
Northwest offensive line. Omon figured he would top his 309-yard performance
with 292 against the two time defending champs. While the Lakers have not been
as successful defending the run this season as they have been in the past, they
had really slowed down the rushing of their two previous opponents (North Dakota
and Central Washington). Still, 292-yards! What an accomplishment for a talented
back.
A colleague of mine was making note of Omon's
98-yard run and said it may have been one of the better blocked running plays
he's ever seen. Grand valley was expecting a run and stuffed the box,
Northwest's left side (Tom Pestock and Reid Kirby) turned their defenders and
Brant Gregg took on a linebacker. This allowed Omon to be head-to-head with a
safety that happened to take a poor angle.
One more thing on that run, Omon was nearly
caught but the stadium's videoboard was showing the play in real time, allowing
Omon (who was glancing at the board on the north side of the stadium) to make a
final cut to get himself into the end zone.
If I could use one word to sum up the evening
it would be perseverance. Perseverance was shown on the part of the fans (from
both schools) to show up in the elements and cheer on their teams. Northwest
showed perseverance to make modifications offensively and defensively throughout
to overcome a halftime deficit. Perseverance to finally get over the hurdle that
grand valley has represented the last two seasons. Perseverance from junior wide
receiver Abe Qaoud to will himself to play football again at a high level after
sustaining serious burns in an apartment fire in the off-season. Finally,
perseverance on the part of three Bearcats in particular: Caleb Dohrman, Caleb
Obert and Derek Garrett.
Dohrman was a struggling linebacker for two
seasons that only accumulated 11 tackles total for his career. After a switch to
defensive end, Dohrman has flourished in his senior year. He currently leads the
team in tackles for loss with 14 and sacks with seven; a credit to Dohrman's
hard work and the tutelage of Northwest defensive line coach Rich Wright.
Caleb Obert is a senior wide receiver that
never caught a pass, until this season. And while Obert only has four catches
this season, two of them came against Grand valley this past weekend. One of
them a 24-yard reception on fourth and 16 that led to a Northwest field goal.
Derek Garrett is a native to Maryville that has
endured some injuries and was often lost in the shuffle when it came to playing
time for cornerbacks. This season, Garrett has been a huge asset on special
teams and saw action as a nickelback at Grand Valley. Playing in front of his
hometown crowd for the final time Garrett batted away a third and 11 pass in the
fourth quarter to force a Grand Valley punt.
While it would be easy to get lost in the
accomplishments of athletes to whom bigger expectations fall, the play of these
three men was refreshing, inspiring and significant to their team's win.
Speaking of inspiration, this game was in
general. Both teams (with the exception of one boneheaded personal foul on
Northwest) and coaches handled themselves with a high amount of character and
were very complementary of one another. The game itself and the comments
following the contest helped reaffirm why I love football at this level so much.
This Week's Game
Northwest Missouri vs. Valdosta State
For Northwest to gain their third title in the
last ten years, they must go through the Blazers. Valdosta was the 2004 champion
defeating Pittsburg State and they were the runner-ups to Grand Valley in 2002.
So this school and its athletes are certainly used to big games. Ironically
enough, VSU is the only team without a perfect record that Northwest has faced
in the postseason. The Blazers lone loss was to Delta State 35-31.
About the Blazers:
This is a team with some speed at the skill
positions. Much like West Texas A&M and Grand Valley State, they will
attempt to spread the field and work an intricate short passing scheme.
With Omon in the backfield, the focus will be
on VSU's run defense that enters the game with statistics similar to Grand
Valley a week ago. The Blazers allow 124 yards per game on the ground. Their
pass defense allows 210 yards per contest. So VSU is solid defensively, but has
given over 25 points per game in the playoffs.
The secondary is athletic and has hauled in 25
interceptions this season. The Blazers also have 38 sacks on the year.
Quarterback Willie Copeland, running back
Michael Terry and receiver Cedric Jones are the offensive players to be aware
of. Copeland completes almost 64-percent of his passes and has 2,903 yards
passing and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 27:10. Terry is often in a
one-back set but is typically running or blocking (only seven receptions this
season) but has gobbled up 1,071 yards this season and averages seven yards per
carry. Jones has had an electric season as he has 92 receptions on the season
for 1,076 yards and ten touchdowns.
The receivers for VSU in general are pretty
good and deep (since they will often incorporate a five-wide scheme). Five
Blazers have caught at least 23 passes this season and ten players are in
double-figures.
The kicking and punting units are
average-to-good and Coach Tjeerdsma has made mention already that the return
teams will be as good as any that Northwest has seen this year.
Northwest Keys to Victory:
Pressure Copeland! It took a while last week,
but once the defensive line was able to place pressure on Grand Valley, good
things began to happen. The most notable was Ryan Jones's interception. With so
many receivers in the sets, the Bearcat secondary will have their hands full. If
Northwest chooses to blitz some - they defenders better get there as VSU strikes
me as a team that can capitalize on an opponent's impatience with a big play.
Don't give up the big play! Grand Valley moved
the ball well last week at times, but the Bearcats clamped down in the red zone
and forced field goal attempts. A similar defensive effort this week should land
another victory.
Solid on special teams, nothing flashy, just
everyone doing his job. Punter Michael Stadler has been a welcome addition this
season, but needs another solid performance, the same goes with Tommy Frevert.
Frevert really needs to focus on depth and location of kickoffs, since both will
be important.
Get the ball to Omon! Omon has played in 14
postseason games in his career. During those games he has had 378 carries, 2,100
yards and 25 touchdowns against some of the best teams in D2. In fact, only one
team has held him scoreless in a postseason game (Pittsburg State in 2005).
Also, during his last 11 playoffs games, Omon has eclipsed 100-yards rushing in
each of them (over 200 twice and 300 once). Omon needs to and will be a vital
put of this offense and needs 30-plus touches on Saturday.
Joel Osborn needs to continue his current play!
Osborn is a heady guy that kind of has a spunky Jim McMahon-like quality to him.
He's not the reserved, stoic leader some quarterbacks are - he's vocal when he's
happy or upset and it seems to be working. While a good athlete, Osborn does not
possess anything great other than the intangibles and his knowledge of the
offense. During the playoffs, Osborn has played smart and rarely has forced the
issue. His ability to take advantage of what the defense gives him will go a
long ways in determining the victor in this game. Well, that and the continued
solid play from Northwest's receiving unit. The same unit that played lights-on
on a cold evening where a lot of drops were anticipated last week.
Get out early! An early significant lead by
Northwest may force VSU to take more chances and possibly into more turnovers.
If the Bearcats can't establish an early lead, keep it close until halftime so
that adjustments can be made - just like last week.
Limit the penalties! Once again "just like
last week." Northwest didn't have to sweat out a victory because their
mistakes gave their opponent an opportunity to come back. The officials for this
game should come from the SIAC, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.
Prediction:
After a 17-10 win over Fort Hays, I assumed it
would just be a matter of time before the wheels fell off of the Northwest
Bearcats. I figured I would be writing about how a team with some much talent
underachieved. But after a slew of close wins in the MIAA, Northwest has found
another gear for the playoffs and is finally utilizing their talent to the
fullest. Certainly Omon is the focal point on offense, but he wouldn't be where
he is without one of the better lines in D2. The defense isn't as great as a
year ago, but they are certainly good and have shut down teams' ability to run
the second half of the season. With weather, injuries, departures, unexpected
close games and a multitude of other issues, the season has been interesting.
Now it is up to the players and coaches to persevere one more time and do what
is on the back of this season's t-shirts - Finish.
Northwest Missouri 35, Valdosta State 24
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