MARYVILLE, Mo. – The ACU Wildcats put together a stirring second-half rally last week to beat Midwestern State, 24-21, in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, recording the program's first road win in NCAA post-season play.
Their reward?
A trip to America's Heartland to take on the pre-eminent football program in NCAA Division II football in Northwest Missouri State.
The Wildcats and Bearcats will get their second-round playoff matchup underway at noon Saturday from Bearcat Stadium. The Wildcats have good memories from their only visit to the stadium as they rallied from a 21-7 deficit to beat Northwest
Missouri
State, 44-27, in the 2008 season-opener, snapping the Bearcats' 17-game home winning streak.
The Bearcats, however, returned the favor last November, marching into Shotwell Stadium and
putting the clamps on the nation's top offensive unit in a 45-36 win over the Wildcats in a national
quarterfinal matchup.
ACU opened the 2009 season with an ugly 19-14 win over the Bearcats at Shotwell Stadium in what would generously be described as a defensive battle. That means Saturday's game is either Northwest's chance to even the four-game series between the two schools or ACU's chance to play a third playoff game in one post-season for the first time in school history.
The Wildcats, however, know that it won't be easy.
Northwest, after all, is 15-3 all-time in 18 home playoff games and hasn't lost a home playoff game since a 23-12 loss to Northern Colorado on Nov. 30, 2002. The Bearcats have reached the NCAA Division II national championship game in four straight seasons and will be anxious to avenge their only home loss of the last four seasons and their only loss of the 2009 season.
“We know what we're facing this weekend, and we've got a lot of respect for Northwest Missouri State,” ACU head coach Chris Thomsen said. “They're running the program that everyone around the country is trying to emulate. We're making strides toward that, but to get to the top of the mountain you know that sooner or later you're going to have to go through Northwest.”
ACU earned its trip to Maryville, Mo., on the strength of its second-half performance last Saturday in Wichita Falls.
The Wildcats trailed Midwestern State, 14-7, at halftime and had posted only 60 yards of offense in the first two quarters. ACU's only points in the opening 30 minutes came on
Dennis Campbell's 97-yard kickoff return to start the game.
After that, however, Midwestern State dominated the opening 30 minutes of play and appeared to be headed to a first-round victory.
But late in the third quarter the Wildcat offense finally came to life, and over the last 25 minutes of the game put up 17 points and 189 yards of offense. Redshirt freshman quarterback
Mitchell Gale was 9 for 11 for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, while junior running back
Reggie Brown did the heavy lifting in the backfield, finishing the day with 111 yards on the ground.
The Wildcats eventually pushed out to a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter before holding on for the 24-21 win over the Mustangs.
But the real story of the second half for ACU was the defense's ability to get pressure on MSU quarterback Zack Eskridge, as well as its ability to create turnovers. Time after time on Saturday, the defense – led by
Kevin Washington,
Aston Whiteside,
Fred Thompson,
Major Culbert and
Tony Harp – came up with big plays to stall MSU drives.
The Wildcats will have to have another big defensive effort Saturday against the Bearcats if they want to snap Northwest's eight-game home playoff game winning streak.
ACU has recorded 13 sacks and given up just 36 points in its last two games, and the Wildcats will have to get pressure on Northwest Missouri quarterback Blake Bolles to have a chance at pulling the upset Saturday. Bolles enters Saturday's contest having completed 235 of 344 passes (68 percent) for 3,204 yards and 35 touchdowns. He's only been sacked 18 times on the season, including twice by ACU in the 19-14 Wildcat win on Aug. 27.
Bolles' favorite target is Jake Soy, who has caught 61 passes for 1,116 yards and 22 scores, while Tyler Shaw has caught 41 passes for 679 yards and six touchdowns. The running game is led by senior running LaRon Council, who was voted the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year after he finished the regular season with 1,202 yards and 16 touchdowns on 212 carries.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the national quarterfinals (Super Region Four championship game) where it will play either Central Washington or Tarleton State. The Wildcats and Texans are playing Saturday in Ellenburg, Wash.
