It didn't exactly look like Northwest Missouri was able to move on from last week's loss, but like the Fall Classic, four unanswered scores turned the tables, with the Bearcats being the beneficiary this time.

When Central kicker Aaron Jamieson booted a 22-yard field goal a little more than midway through the third quarter to give the Mules a 20-14 lead, things were looking pretty good for the home crowd of more than 14,000.

Backup Bearcat quarterback Trevor Adams, playing for Blake Christopher (who sat with lingering affects from a shot to his head at Arrowhead) had already thrown two interceptions and Northwest hadn't moved the ball more than 11 yards in their first three second-half drives.

But things started to click for Northwest, who took the ensuing drive 69 yards for a touchdown to go ahead, got the ball back when Central fumbled the kickoff, added a field goal and two more touchdowns to come out on top.

Northwest's defense did a great job containing Central's high-powered passing attack, especially MIAA receptions, yards touchdowns leader Jamar Howard.

Central could only turn those two interceptions into three points, and a bomb down the middle from quarterback Tommy Corwin to Howard glanced off his fingertips on a fourth and four late in the game to seal the 38-20 Bearcat victory.

In his third start, Adams was as ineffective as he's been this year, but Bearcat running backs James Franklin and Jordan Simmons carried the load, each gaining well over 100 yards on the ground, Franklin with three rushing touchdowns and Simmons with a TD on a great catch down the sideline that was a near interception.

More senseless penalties for Northwest this week have me worried, as they appear to be as undisciplined as I've seen them in my three years covering this league.

But if you can overcome the absence of your starting QB, a sub-par day from your backup and double-digit penalties, you're probably in pretty good shape, and I think the Bearcats are right back in the middle of the MIAA title hunt.

Moving on from Warrensburg, Pittsburg State used two late turnovers by safety Paul Robinson and a huge day on the ground from running back Briceton Wilson to get past Fort Hays on homecoming at Lewis Field in a 38-17 victory.

Once again, Zac Dickey was good enough for the victory, and the Gorillas continue their trek towards a return trip to the playoffs. For Hays, linebacker Alex Whitehill had 17 tackles and has an NCAA D2 best 92 on the season

Washburn might have played their most complete game of the season, dominating Truman State from start to finish to win 42-14. Dane Simoneau three three touchdowns, Justin Cooper ran in three more and Dakota Palan Johnson had three sacks for the Ichabods, who remain on the top of the conference along with Pitt. Washburn head coach Craig Schurig picked up his 68th win an the Ichabod head man, making him the winningest coach in school history.

On a night when head coach Jerry Partridge and legendary quarterback Kasey Waterman were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame, Missouri Western tied a school record for points in their 81-20 victory over Lincoln, who was on the bottom end of the Griffons' other 81-point performance last year. Western moves to 4-2 and has a few 'easy' MIAA games left before they face Northwest while Lincoln has now lost all five conference games by an averatge of more than 42 points a game.

And we'll end this week's recap with probably the most exciting game of them all. Emporia State came back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to knock off Missouri Southern 31-24 at Welch Stadium. Tyler Eckenrode has now thrown 79 passes in his last three games without an interception, and tossed three touchdowns in the second half to help fuel the come-from-behind win (including a 6-yard toss to RayRay Davis with just 29 seconds to play to win the game).

Overall, it was a pretty exciting day in the MIAA. For the second time in three weeks, I got all my predictions right (pretty sure that's never happened before) and while the nation's top teams continue to stumble, the top teams in the country's best league have yet to falter to an unranked opponent.

My picks for MIAA Players of the Week:

Offense: James Franklin RB NWMSU 28 rushes, 143 yards, 3 TDs (other top candidates include his buddy in the Northwest backfield Jordan Simmons, Washburn's Justin Cooper, MoWest's Michael Hill and Emporia's Shjaun Robinson)
Defense: Paul Robinson S PSU - He recovered a fumble that resulted in one late score and returned an interception for a score of his own, all in the fourth quarter of what was once a tight game (Washburn's Dakota Palan Johnson deserves a mention as well)
Special Teams - Tarrel Downing KR/PR MWSU - A 72-yard punt return for a score and an 88-yard kickoff return to paydirt make him the runaway winner in this category.

What'd you think of the games? Do you agree with my picks for Players of the Week? Do you think I'm a mororn, or less-likely a genius? Tell me all about it by leaving a comment below, e-mailing me at [email protected], mentioning me on Twitter @miAARONd2 or sending me a message and/or friending me on Facebook.com/apheintz.