Bevins, Bearcats back in national title game

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Collin Bevins raised his arms in triumph as time wound down Saturday in the NCAA Division II national semifinal against Ferris State.

While his teammates raced out on to the field, the Creston product gingerly maneuvered himself off the training table on the Bearcat sidelines towards the middle of the field.

He adjusted a pair of crutches, the slowly made is way out to the field to celebrate with his teammates, family, friends and Bearcat backers.

As excited as he was in the moment, it was bittersweet as he struggled with the aftereffects of an injury suffered late in the game.

Still, the smile was plenty visible for Bevins knowing what the Bearcats just accomplished.

Northwest Missouri State won its nation leading 29th straight game with a 35-20 decision in front of 5,264 fans on a cold afternoon at Bearcat Stadium.

Northwest Missouri State (14-0) advances to its second straight national championship game and 10th in school history. The Bearcats will face North Alabama Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. The Lions advanced with a 23-13 win over Shepherd, which lost to the Bearcats in last year’s championship game.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

Northwest Missouri State will be going for its third national championship since 2013 and sixth in program history.

“It means a lot,” Bevins said. “We dream about it. To be here as a freshman, to do it as a junior, as a senior, I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

“I can’t really put it into words. We dream about it all year. We talk about it. To see it happen is big.”

Bevins was having a monster game, despite being held virtually the entire game by the Bulldogs offensive line.

He finished with six tackles, one sack and one and a half tackles for loss.

In the second half, the right sleeve of his undershirt was ripped off after being held once more.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Bevins said. “It’s not easy. You’ve just got to play through it.”

Even if Bevins and his mates weren’t sacking the Bulldogs’ quarterbacks, they were making life plenty miserable for them.

Northwest Missouri State’s pressure was disruptive particularly in the second half.

“Our pressure really picked up in the third quarter,” said Northwest Missouri State coach Adam Dorrell. “It was a huge difference in the third and fourth quarter compared to the first half. Even if they weren’t getting the sack, they were getting around them, getting in his vision.”

Ferris State’s quarterbacks struggled to settle into a consistent rhythm through, led by Bevins and company.

“They are a great defense, one of the best that we have seen this year,” said Ferris State senior quarterback Trevor Bermingham. “It is their physicality as a whole. Upfront, they are pretty physical. Their secondary guys made it hard for our guys to get in their routes. They got a couple of pressures on us. Realistically, we didn’t get to officially settle in and establish what we wanted to do.”

Late injury

The play that led to the injury drew a holding call as Bevins was bearing down on Bermingham.

As Bevins was being taken to the ground, 315-pound Bulldog offensive lineman Devon Johnson landed on Bevins right foot. Bevins sat on the turf for a couple of minutes before being aided off the field.

“I beat the tackle inside and he grabbed me, pulled me to the ground,” Bevins said. “He landed on my feel, flattened my foot.”

According to CNA senior features reporter Larry Peterson, X-rays were negative on Bevins’ right foot. He was diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain. His status for Saturday’s game is probable.

Bevins didn’t know the severity of the injury right away, but didn’t hesitate when asked about his status for Saturday.

“I think I’ll be fine, be able to go,” Bevins said.

Bevins was one of four Bearcat starters to go down with a game-ending injury. Quarterback Kyle Zimmerman left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Starting cornerback Marcus Jones went down in the first half, along with wide receiver George Sehl.

Between the injuries and some uncharacteristic mistakes in the second quarter that allowed Ferris State to take a 13-7 lead, Northwest Missouri State was faced with the most adversity its had to deal with all season.

It didn’t phase the Bearcats in winning their ninth straight home semifinal game.

“It’s hard not to get emotional when talking about our team and the performance,” Dorrell said. “It was one of the guttiest performances in Bearcat history. I’ve been a part of a lot of big games here, fortunate to be an assistant, and head coach. I don’t know if I’ve seen a team grind out a victory against a better team than we did today.

“I’m really proud of our kids and really proud of our seniors.”

Senior leadership

Bevins and his 15 senior classmates have provided strong leadership for the team all season.

It shined brightest with the season on the line.

“Back in January, I talked about it, told them I wasn’t going to remember them, their legacy wasn’t going to be defined on whether we got back to Kansas City. I really meant that,” Dorrell said. “It was on how they treated the younger guys. To get to where we’re going, we knew we were going to have to have younger guys step up. Those guys have done a phenomenal job all year of staying committed to the process, focusing on our younger guys and having fun.”

Northwest Missouri State took control early. After forcing a Bulldogs punt in their opening drive, the Bearcats marched 92 yards over 14 plays, chewing up nearly six minutes of the clock. Randy Schmidt capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.

Early deficit

Two fumbles led to 13 unanswered Ferris State points early in the second quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 13-7 lead.

The Bearcats found themselves in a highly unusual position of trailing in a game.

Northwest Missouri State’s offense came alive on the ensuing drive. A 16-yard pass from Zimmerman to Dre Washington for 16 yards got the offense moving.

Later in the drive, Baker found Shane Williams for a 19-yard strike to give the Bearcats a 14-13 lead.

They wouldn’t relinquish it the rest of the game.

The Bearcat offense came up big once more on their next drive. Schmidt ran for 28 yards to set up first and goal. On the next play, Cameron Wilcox rushed in from 3-yards out to give the Bearcats a 21-13 lead.

The Bulldogs closed within 21-20 on a touchdown early in the third quarter.

Northwest Missouri State’s defense stepped up from there, stymieing Ferris State’s offense the rest of the way.

Northwest Missouri State’s offense then came up with its most clutch drive of the season in the fourth quarter.

Phil Jackson’s 10-yard run capped a 13-play, 68-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock in giving Northwest Missouri State a 35-20 lead with 4:45 to go.

As soon as Jackson scored, Bearcat students converged on the northeast and southeast entrances to the field awaiting a longstanding tradition in Maryville for home semifinal games.

Nearly five minutes later, the students raced out to the field to rip down the goalposts once more.

Smiles abounded for Bevins, Dorrell and company as the students took the goalposts out of Bearcat Stadium.

The Bearcats now stand one win away from completing a second consecutive perfect season.

“It’s very gratifying, especially winning a game the way we did,” Dorrell said.