In Maryville, Northwest Missouri State QB Brady Bolles threw 3 third-quarter TD passes to turn another "anybody's ballgame" at halftime into just another blowout victory, a 49-7 thumping of winless Northeastern State.

In St. Joseph, it was a little different. Pittsburg State only added 3 points to a 17-13 halftime lead, but held the ball for over 11 minutes in the third quarter, stealing away any chance Missouri Western may have had at further penetrating the Gorilla defense, adding another FG in the 4th for a 23-13 victory. The Gorillas won the time of possession battle 38:29 to 21:31, holding the Griffons to just 39 total yards in the second half.

Northwest was once again unspectacular in the first half, allowing a fake punt from the RiverHawks to go 45 yards for a score to cut their 14-0 lead in half about 6 minutes before halftime. Bolles finished the day 19 of 35 with 4 TDs to 4 different receivers and 0 interceptions.

Pittsburg's defense, which hadn't allowed more than 7 points in a single game all season, gave up 10 in a 7-minute span in the 1st and 2nd quarters before putting the foot down and completely shutting down the No. 21 Griffons (3-2). QB Anthony Abenoja, who still has yet to throw an interception this year, finished 15 of 25 for 183 and a TD.

The win gives No. 1 Northwest Missouri (5-0) its 20th consecutive victory since losing 2 of 3 to end the 2012 season. It was a huge rebound victory for No. 16 Pittsburg State (4-1), especially offensively, after their letdown last week against Fort Hays.

Also in the MIAA on Saturday, Central Oklahoma (4-1) pounded Nebraska-Kearney (0-5) 49-0 in the MIAA TV game of the week. Washburn and Central Missouri overcame 2nd-half deficits, pushed their opponents into overtime and came out on top. Washburn (2-3) outlasted Fort Hays (3-2) 27-24 and Central Missouri (3-2) moved past Missouri Southern (2-3) 34-31. Emporia State also blasted Lindenwood 37-22.

NOTES/THOUGHTS FROM WEEK 5

-- Down 14-7,, Northeastern State went 3-and-out to start the second half. Instead of punting it away, they tried ANOTHER fake punt, were stopped and gave Northwest a short field. In every drive Northwest started in its own territory in the first half, they punted. In the 2 they started at midfield (both started at exactly the 50), they scored. I get the final score probably makes this meaningless, but giving the Bearcats a short field after halftime in a close game was not a good idea.

-- In the second quarter, Missouri Western was down 14-10 when KR Josh Walker went back to return a Pittsburg punt. Walker made a few moves and was running toward the end zone for a go-ahead score, but was caught from behind by Pitt's Skylarr Gatson, who not only made a game-saving tackle, but popped the ball out of Walker's hands. Pitt punter Griffin Knopp recovered the fumble at the Pitt 4. The Gorillas responded with a 12-play, 88-yard drive, adding a FG. Pitt scored 10 points off 2 Missouri Western turnovers. The Gorillas didn't turn the ball over. They won by 10. 'Nuff said.

-- It was a wild finish in Topeka. Down by 3 in overtime, Washburn went for it on 4th and 1 from the 16 instead of electing for a game-tying field goal, a call I thought could end up hurting them. They got the first down, barely. You won't see what happened next very often. On the next play, DaJuan Beard caught the ball in the end zone, but was hit as he landed, popping the ball out. The officials initially called the play a game-winning TD, but after a lengthy conference on the field, reversed their call to an incomplete pass. After some huffing and puffing from the Washburn players and coaches, RB Vershon Moore took the next play 15 yards into the end zone for what was, and stayed, the game-winning touchdown.

-- You think UCO was happy to have its 'Big 3' back? WR Marquez Clark had missed 2+ games and QB Chas Stallard and RB Jake Gandara both were out for last week's loss against Northwest Missouri. All 3 returned today, in big ways. Clark took the game's opening kickoff to the UNK 7, and scored a third-quarter TD on a 16-yard run. Stallard was 15 of 23 for 212 yards, adding 26 yards and a TD on the ground. All Gandara did was account for 152 offensive yards, including all 73 of one drive, finishing with 3 TDs, all on the ground.

-- No Brent Wilson? No problem. In Emporia, redshirt freshman QB Ty Reasnor stepped in for Wilson, out with a broken collar bone, quite nicely. In his first start under center, he completed 30 of 37 passes for 197 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INT.

-- Lindenwood's offensive woes are real. Really. A pick-6 for Emporia made the score 37-8 with just over 8 minutes left in the game. Two garbage-time touchdowns were the only thing that helped the Lions over the 9-point plateau for the first time since Week 1.

-- Central Missouri RB LaVance Taylor had a good day, 120 rush yards and 46 more through the air, but was kept out the end zone after the first quarter. Had UCM lost, that would be bad news, but it's good to see, for the first time, Central finding ways to win without relying entirely on their dynamic back. Sure, he made some pivotal plays as Central overcame a 15-point 4th-quarter deficit, but so did QB Hayden Hawk and a number of other Mules, both offensively and defensively.

SOUND OFF!!

What are your takeaways from Week 5? What are you looking forward to as we are about to cross the halfway point of the 2014 MIAA football season?

Leave me a comment below, drop me a note on Twitter @miAARONd2, send me a message at www.facebook.com/apheintz or shoot me an email at [email protected].