About halfway through the second quarter, the University of Central Missouri was stuck at a total of -2 total yards and Northwest Missouri had just scored a touchdown to go up 14-0 in a game that could have been much worse if not for a few Bearcat miscues early on.

Even with the dominance NWMSU had displayed, a nice KO return from UCM WR Anthony Kirkwood and a quick 39-yard drive that made it 14-7 gave the Mules some life. Up in the press box, for a brief moment, I thought Kirkwood's return might be the spark needed for UCM to get things going and make this a game.

But then I remembered where I was and the name on the front of the home jerseys.

Central wouldn't end up scoring again until halfway through the fourth quarter when the game was all but decided. Northwest added two 3rd-quarter touchdowns and one more in the fourth for a 37-15 final in front of 9,068 fans on Family Day at Bearcat Stadium. The Bearcats outgained the Mules 486 to 195 on the day.

Northwest used dominant performances from both lines to control the ball much of the day, limiting UCM to just 26:00 TOP and sacking QB Hayden Hawk 8 times. With obviously less chances this week, I'm still shocked LaVance Taylor only saw 9 touches offensively for a total of 17 yards. This comes just a week after his record-breaking performance against Emporia.

On the flip side, Northwest had 3 players (RBs Robert Burton III & Phil Jackson and QB Brady Bolles) who rushed the ball more times than Taylor.

Bolles finished the day 18 of 30 for 285 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. He added 38 yards and another TD on the ground. RBIII found paydirt twice for the Bearcats on 18 carries (60 yards).