ABILENE, Texas ­­­— Nobody had been able to stop Abilene Christian’s offense this season. On Saturday, penalties and Northwest Missouri State’s big defensive line finally did.
The Bearcats took advantage of 15 Abilene Christian penalties for 115 yards, and they harassed quarterback Billy Malone for two interceptions, two sacks and seven hurries in a 45-36 victory against the Wildcats.

Cody Lanus has stayed off the injury list in his senior season as a Northwest Missouri State Bearcat, but his status became questionable for just a few moments before Saturday's national quarterfinal game at Abilene Christian.

Northwest Missouri State has been good on third down all season. Abilene Christian coach Chris Thomsen found out just how good on Saturday, as the Bearcats defeated his Wildcats 45-36 in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.
“They made the plays when they needed them,” Thomsen said.

ABILENE, Texas — Northwest Missouri State quarterback Joel Osborn took a knee in the end zone for a safety on the game’s final play Saturday.
But it didn’t matter. Osborn and his teammates had already done enough to fashion a 45-36 victory against Abilene Christian and earn their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Division II semifinals.
The Bearcats (12-1) play North Alabama on Saturday. The site wasn’t announced by late Saturday.

ABILENE, Texas -- E.J. Hawkins intercepted a fourth-down pass by Abilene Christian quarterback Billy Malone, and Northwest Missouri State reached the NCAA playoff semifinals for the fourth straight season with a 45-36 victory on Saturday.

ABILENE, Texas -- I'm not a talkative sort, but when I arrive at a foreign press box for a football or basketball game, I tend to attract the most talkative guy in the place.
Not that it's such bad thing, mind you. It gives you an interesting insight into how things work around there. It also gives you some nifty trivia.

Here's a capsule look at today's quarterfinal matchup between Northwest Missouri State and Abilene Christian.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — His red cap has become a fixture at Northwest Missouri State football games. Primarily for visibility as he calls plays and maybe just a little bit for luck, defensive coordinator Scott Bostwick always dons the notable head wear on game day.
At Abilene Christian today, he may find out exactly how much magic that hat contains.

Travel for a sports reporter covering the MIAA beat generally means boring van rides to such points of interest as Joplin, Mo., or Pittsburg, Kan., in which the major highlight consists of twirling the dial on the AM radio to try to hear enough through the scratchy noise to determine the score of the game we had just been arguing about.
On Friday, things were a little different, with a chartered plane trip from Rosecrans Memorial Airport to Abilene, Texas, for Saturday's NCAA football playoff game between Northwest Missouri State and Abilene Christian.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — When they saw senior offensive tackle Reid Kirby come up limping Saturday, Northwest Missouri State fans held their breath.
“I held my breath for a couple of plays myself,” Kirby said, recalling the pain he felt in his surgically repaired right knee when it got twisted under a pile during the NCAA Division II playoff game against Pittsburg State.