The Omnibus

Issue date: 11/4/04 Section: Sports

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The Southwest Baptist football Bearcats continued their season last Saturday by hosting nationally-ranked MIAA opponent Northwest Missouri State. Although SBU played one of their best games of the season, NWMSU was able to come away with a 34-22 victory.

Northwest opened the game with a drive to the SBU 7-yard line, but after two penalties and two failed passes by NWMSU quarterback Josh Matthews, Northwest was forced to try a 34-yard field goal, which they missed. After just three plays on their initial drive, SBU was forced to punt. NWMSU then got on a three-play 73-yard drive with Matthews finding Andre Rector for a 61-yard touchdown pass.

SBU answered back with a long drive of their own. Sophomore quarterback Robert Clardy led the 'Cats offense 81 yards on 14 plays before freshman running back JoJo Rawls put SBU on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive featured five Rawls' runs totaling 28 yards with Clardy finding three different receivers in running 6:13 off the clock.

Northwest took a 14-7 lead 33 seconds later, however. Rector returned a kickoff 54 yards to the SBU 43-yard line with Matthews then connecting with Rector in the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown pass.

NWMSU kicker Luis Berlanga added two field goals early in the second quarter. Northwest scored another touchdown before the half ended, giving them a 27-7 halftime lead.

SBU threatened to score early in the second half after Rawls ran the opening kickoff back 53 yards to the NWMSU 47-yard line. After the SBU offense drove to the NWMSU 15-yard line, Northwest's defense held strong, helped by penalties, to stop SBU on fourth-and-24. SBU's defense kept hope alive when freshman Brigham Rowe sacked Matthews in the end zone two plays later for a safety, making the score 27-9.

After the NWMSU punt following the safety, the SBU offense was stopped short on a fourth down. With the momentum and the ball, it took Northwest only six plays to stretch their lead to 34-9. NWMSU's Oman Xavier ran the ball six straight times for 77 yards and ended the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run.

Down but not out, the SBU offense put together a four-play drive that ended with Clardy hitting junior Travis Howry on a 55-yard touchdown pass, making the score 34-15.

SBU then attempted an onside kick which they recovered. The offense, however, was stopped on another fourth down play to end the drive.

SBU scored one more time on a 1-yard touchdown run by Deon Boykin with 1:43 left in the game, but did not get the ball back. Northwest won the game 34-22.

Individually, Howry led the team with seven catches for 127 yards. Clardy finished the game with 92 yards rushing, 270 yards passing and a touchdown.

Asked about his team's performance against NWMSU, SBU Head Coach Ray Richards said, "I thought we played decent, they're just better than us."

Despite losing, SBU managed to rack up 461 yards of offense, including 347 yards passing, more than double their season average. However, they rushed for only 114 yards, just over half their season average. Richards commented on the difference in passing and rushing numbers saying, "We knew we'd have to pass. Nobody has been able to run on them all year."

With the win, Northwest improved to 10-0 overall and 8-0 in the MIAA while SBU fell to 2-8 and 1-7. Northwest will take on Pittsburg State this Saturday for the MIAA championship in Kansas City.

SBU will play its final game of the season this Saturday, Nov. 6 against MIAA opponent Truman State. Kickoff for the game is set for 12 p.m. in Kirksville.

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