No. 1 CWU loses
NW Missouri State hands ’Cats 1st loss
ELLENSBURG – Central Washington University’s dream season came to an abrupt end on a blocked extra point with 6 seconds remaining in Saturday’s NCAA Division II regional final playoff game at Tomlinson Stadium.
Northwest Missouri State Bearcats senior defensive tackle Tyler Roach burst through Central’s line to block kicker Garrett Rolsma’s potential game-tying point-after kick, handing the top-ranked Wildcats their only loss of the season, 21-20.
It was Roach’s fourth blocked kick of the season.
Central marched the ball 70 yards on nine plays – using just 1 minute, 5 seconds – to pull within a point on quarterback Cole Morgan’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Mike Waller.
It was the second blocked PAT in three games for Rolsma, who had made a school record 99 straight extra points dating back to the 2007 season.
But it was a kick he didn’t get to try that may have sealed CWU’s fate. Trailing 21-14 at the start of the fourth quarter the Wildcats drove down to the Bearcats’ 5-yard line. Faced with a fourth-and-1 CWU coach Blaine Bennett elected to go for it. But Morgan’s pass was batted down by Bearcats linebacker Adam Vrondak.
Had CWU converted on a 22-yard field goal, the three points could have provided the margin of victory.
“The only regret I have in that game was that fourth-down decision down inside the 5,” a somber Bennett said. “Getting points is something that I’ve tried to do all year. I decided to take a shot and throw it in the end zone and the ball got batted.”
The victory was the 12th straight for Northwest Missouri State (12-1), which has played in the NCAA Division II national championship game in each of the previous four seasons – losing all four times. Central Washington (12-1) lost in the regional final for the second time in three years.
The Bearcats advance to the national semifinals against California (Pa.), which beat West Liberty 57-35.
NW Missouri St. 21, CWU 20
| NW Mis. St | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | -21 |
| C. Wshingtn | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | -20 |
CWU–Eldridge 1 run (Rolsma kick)
NWMSU–Kilgore 25 interception return (Adolf kick)
CWU–Eldridge 12 run (Rolsma kick)
NWMSU–Soy 15 pass from Bolles (Adolf kick)
NWMSU–Simmons 19 pass from Bolles (Adolf kick)
CWU–Waller 15 pass from Morgan (kick blocked)
| NMS | CWU | |
| First downs | 25 | 18 |
| Rushes-yds | 42-100 | 30-87 |
| Passing yds | 295 | 250 |
| Passes | 31-40-1 | 21-38-2 |
| Punts-Avg. | 4-38.5 | 4-38.2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yds | 10-86 | 5-35 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing–Northwest Missouri State, Council 27-102, Creason 5-15, Welch 1-3, Team 1-(-2), Simmons 1-(-4), Bolles 7-(-14). Central Washington, Eldridge 19-69, Kelly 7-24, Dyer 1-2, Morris 2-2, Morgan 1-(-10).
Passing–Northwest Missouri State, Bolles 31-40-1-295. Central Washington, Morgan 21-38-2-250.
Receiving–Northwest Missouri State, Soy 11-136, Shaw 6-51, Kilgore 4-29, Council 4-10, Simmons 2-24, Rhodes 2-22, Qaoud 1-18, Shannon 1-5. Central Washington, Waller 6-88, Eldridge 5-37, Westmoreland 4-69, Spevak 3-30, Helwege 1-19, Hekker 1-5, Morris 1-2.