No. 5 Bearcats pick off six passes in rout of No. 16 Washburn

Northwest Missouri State only used the maximum allowable amount of 11 players on defense Saturday.

To Washburn quarterbacks Mitch Buhler and Joel Piper, it must have felt like there was 14 or 15 Bearcats out there.

More often than not, when Buhler or Piper attempted a pass, the Bearcats had at least one defender there to take the ball away.

Displaying an insatiable appetite for take-aways, No. 5 Northwest picked off Buhler and Piper three times each for a season-high total of six interceptions that expedited a 56-6 rout of the No. 16 Ichabods on Homecoming at Yager Stadium.

Six different Northwest defenders had one interception, and the Bearcats turned all six into touchdowns.

The last one was a pick-six by Chet Meneely deep in the fourth quarter, putting the final stamp on Northwest's signature defensive game of the year.

"That was a heck of a performance," said Northwest Missouri State defensive coordinator Richard Wright. "The kids came out and they were focused and mentally prepared. We had talked to them all week that it was going to be a big football game and they responded."

The Bearcats' 50-point margin of victory was their largest ever over Washburn in a series that until the last two years had produced seven straight tight games.

Just two years before in the same venue, Northwest and Washburn dualed to a 41-40 shootout that came down to the final minute.

This one was over in the second quarter, and results against common opponents in previous weeks indicated that was a distinct possibility.

"Offensively, we didn't keep pace with them," said Washburn head coach Craig Schurig. "That's what we needed to do in the first half and then it's a ball game. We got ourselves way too far down and the second half was just kind of playing it out. That's a very solid Northwest team."

Northwest (8-1, 7-1) collected four of its six interceptions in the first half, and scored 28 second quarter points following a huge end zone pick by Travis Manning to stretch its lead to 35-0 at the half.

The Bearcats went ahead 49-0 mid-way through the third quarter before letting their foot off the ignition.

This was Northwest's seventh straight win and eighth in a row over the Ichabods (7-2, 7-2).

It enabled the Bearcats to finish their October road slate 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 46 points.

Self-proclaimed "road dogs,"—a slogan that developed during Northwest's 2005 playoff run to the national title—Bearcat players made barking sounds as they approached their huddle.

"We battled through it all month and did a great job of capping it off today," said Northwest junior quarterback Trevor Adams. "It was huge. Road dogs is the mentality we take. We know we can go into anywhere and hopefully take care of business."

Now in a three-way tie for first in the MIAA, Northwest has two home games remaining against the other two co-conference leaders, Emporia State and Missouri Western.

The Bearcats will win the conference outright with wins in both games.

As far as the playoffs go, Northwest should move ahead of Emporia State in Monday's Super Region 3 rankings, putting the Bearcats at least fourth.

Washburn can consider itself out of playoff contention after being thoroughly exposed by the Bearcats.

"I'm very excited about our team today," said Northwest Missouri State head coach Adam Dorrel. "I thought we took a big step."

Defensively, the Bearcats couldn't have been much better.

Northwest held Washburn to its lowest point total since 2003, and the Ichabods didn't crack 100 yards until the third quarter.

It was the seventh time in nine games Northwest has held an opponent under 14 points. And the Bearcats six interceptions raised their league-leading total to 21.

"Just the combination of kids really being prepared and us understanding what offenses are doing to us," said Wright. "And then having guys that can make plays. That's the big thing. The fact is we can do more things and disguise more stuff because we are a little better in the back, and it's enabled us to open our playbook."

Secondary starters/key reserves Nate DeJong, Clarke Snodgrass, Brian Dixon and Manning combined on the first four interceptions, all occurring in the first half. DeJong's was his team-leading fifth of the year and gives him one in each of the last four games.

Linebacker Collin DeBuysere snared the next pick in the third quarter.

Meneely returned the final one 14 yards for a touchdown with 1:26 left.

Buhler and Piper's game total of six picks was more than they had thrown in the previous eight games combined. Buhler came into the game with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions.

"I thought maybe a couple of times we did confuse them a little bit," said Dorrel. "I may be dead wrong, but that's what it looked liked from the sideline. When you got guys like Clarke and Nate back there that are your information center, you can do a lot with those guys."

Buhler and Piper completed only 15-35 passes for 175 yards and looked far less competent then their predecessor Dane Simoneau.

Washburn also rushed for just 71 yards and averaged 2.5 per carry.

Northwest topped 50 points for the third time during its win streak and outgained the Ichabods 406-246.

In less than three quarters, Adams completed 19-26 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns. That gives him 14 touchdowns since returning from an ankle injury in week five.

"I think when I got hurt it put a lot of things in perspective," said Adams. "I really look at it as a blessing from God because that was a time in the season when we were struggling offensively a little bit in the first game and then lost the second game. I hadn't felt great about the way I played and getting hurt was tough. I really thank the Lord for the opportunity to put me through that because it made me appreciate what we got here."

Adams connected with senior Tyler Shaw on two first half touchdowns. Shaw finished with a team-high 67 yards on four catches. Senior John Hinchey added his second touchdown of the year and totaled four catches for 36 yards.

Running back Jordan Simmons made a team-high five catches for 51 yards and ran for 43 on eight carries with a touchdown.

James Franklin III scored twice on the ground and led the Bearcats with 66 yards on 14 carries.

Northwest scored its only first quarter points on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Shaw with 10:52 left. This followed the game's first interception by Snodgrass who stepped in front of a screen pass.

Later in the first quarter with the Bearcats still up 7-0, Adams fumbled a hand-off to Simmons and it was recovered by the Ichabods at the 6-yard line. Handed an opportunity to pull even, Washburn promptly gave the ball back to Northwest when Buhler threw a slant pass that was picked by Manning in the end zone.

"It was unbelievable, wasn't it?," said Dorrel. "If we don't get that interception and they score there, the momentum is swung in their favor. I felt really good about our defense after that."

The play had a demoralizing effect on the Ichabods.

Northwest scored on four of its next five drives to bury the Ichabods in a 35-0 halftime hole.

Northwest marched 80 yards on 11 plays to score its second touchdown on a 7-yard run by Franklin III. This made it 14-0.

After Piper's first interception gave the Bearcats the ball back at Washburn's 22, Franklin III scored again from five yards out with 8:13 left to raise the lead to 21-0.

Northwest's lead reached 28-0 on a 1-yard run by Simmons. Following another Piper interception, a 13-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Shaw made it 35-0 with 24 seconds left in the half.

Adams had a 7-yard touchdown pass to Hinchey in the third quarter, and Billy Creason scored on a 2-yard run to make it 49-0.

Washburn got on the board for the first and only time with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Buhler to Jordan Hart with 4:09 left in the third.

Of course, the Ichabods missed the extra point.