Northwest Missouri State finally got their revenge.
After losing the previous two Division II National Championship games to the Lakers, the Bearcats ended the nation’s longest winning streak in convincing fashion Saturday night, defeating GVSU 34-16. Leading the way for the Bearcats was senior running back Xavier Omon, who torched the Laker defense for 292 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Though I did not attend many games this year, I was disappointed by the play of the Lakers on both sides of the ball. Our offense looked somewhat stagnant and predictable. Only when we were down late in the fourth quarter did we actually have success throwing the ball downfield. The defense was a mess. Whether it was the slick field or not, our players took terrible angles and attempted far too many arm tackles. With a top-tier running back like Omon you simply cannot have mistakes like that happen. For instance, Omon raced untouched 98 yards for a touchdown because of a bad angle taken by our safety. Other times, he broke numerous tackles before finally being hauled down.
In any case, NW Missouri simply outplayed GVSU. However, two good things can come out of this. First, the Lakers get their first taste of a loss in three years. Hopefully, this will light a fire under the returners and we should see another successful season coming next year. Second, it was a pleasure to watch Omon, and I’m definitely hoping that a team like the Lions will take a chance on him in the draft. He’s big, has decent speed, and can catch; something that would be a great asset in Mike Martz’s pass happy offense.
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