They rolled over West Texas. They got by Chadron State.
But last night, it came down to one more game, the semifinal round, against Grand Valley State for a chance to get to the championship game in 'Bama. And this time, it was being broadcast live on ESPN2, baby!
Now, you might recall Grand Valley edged the 'Cats for the title in 2005 and in 2006 ... Last night was different, though. The commentators noted it too -- Going in, even with Grand Valley ranked No. 1 and Northwest ranked No. 5, you had to believe Northwest had the edge; they were trying to avenge the championship game losses and they were playing on their home turf, arguably one of the greatest atmospheres in D-II. It was a chamionship game atmosphere, indeed, and an incredible feeling to be watching my alma mater! my team! and the sidelines I'd paced for four years! right there on national television ...
Kates and I were roaring with every positive yard the Bearcats gained ... and beaming with every shot or reference the commentators made on the surrounding campus ( ... Freezing fans -- it was 17 degrees -- in the student section, snowy shots of the Memorial Bell Tower and the kissing bridge, and a few minutes of amusing conversation about the residents watching the game from their cheap seats in the South Complex -- complete with frenetic fans bouncing in their dorm windows. HA-larious.)
The teams battled in the first half, and it looked as though field goals were going to make and break the game. Northwest went into the locker room at halftime down 13-10 ...
Then ... Xavier Omon came to the rescue. The dude was unbelievable ...
He helped put Northwest ahead, 17-13 for good, midway through the third quarter with a short touchdown run ... Then Grand Valley and Northwest traded field goals to make it 20-16 ...
Just a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Omon caught a screen pass and broke a couple tackles for an 11-yard touchdown pass ...
And then!, after Grand Valley punted and put Northwest on their own 2-yard line, Omon took the first play from scrimmage 98 yards to the opposite end of the field for the knockout punch ... Omon had rushed for a total of 292 yards, and 204 of those came in the second half.
Grand Valley surrendered and ran out the clock. Northwest had won 34-16. The students stormed the field. Sweet Home Alabama started blaring from the public address system. The goal posts came down and off they went toward College Avenue ... Just like old times.Good reads ...
a Northwest Missouri State advances to NCAA Division II title game
a Northwest Missouri savors rematch with reigning champs
* * *
The game ended a little after 11 and Kates and I promptly went to bed ... Little did we know, around the same time Stephanie and Joel were heading to the hospital and our little niece was about to make her grand entrance to the world ...
About 8:30 this morning, as Kates and I were sitting down for breakfast, we got the call from Joel that she had been born. Can hardly wait to meet her ...
Here's a picture Joel passed on ...
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