Nov. 30, 2002

Final Stats

MARYVILLE, Mo. - The University of Northern Colorado Bears football team defeated No. 4 ranked Northwest Missouri State 23-12 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the Division II playoff semifinals next weekend.

The Bears (12-1) will meet Grand Valley State, (12-0) the No. 1 ranked team in the country who were big winners over Indiana, Pa. today, next Saturday in Allendale, Mich.

The Bears used an outstanding defensive effort on the day to stymie the powerful Bearcat offense. UNC limited the Bearcats to only three first downs in the second half of the game. Two of those first downs came in the final 28 seconds of the game when the contest was already decided.

UNC held the Bearcats to minus-8 yards rushing and only 131 yards passing. Meanwhile, UNC ran up 89 rushing yards and 268 through the air.

The game was played in windy, chilly conditions but that did not stop the Bears from driving into the stiff wind on the first series of the game for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Mark Passard hooked up with junior receiver Brad Pyatt for a 27-yard score to put UNC on the board. Mike Swim added the extra point to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead with 11:18 to go in the first quarter.

Northwest responded with an 8-play 36-yard drive later in the first quarter after only a 16-yard punt by Chad Harter. Northwest scored on a five-yard pass from John McMenamin to Chris Burke. But Bearcat kicker Eddie Ibarra shanked the extra point and UNC held a 7-6 advantage.

The second quarter was a battle of field position until UNC drove the length of the field and capatilized on a 20-yard field goal by Swim to up the lead to 10-6 at the break.

UNC took the ball to begin the second half and let Northwest have the wind in the third quarter. But UNC again drove the ball into the teeth of the wind and caught the Bearcat defense off guard when Passard again hit Pyatt, this time for 40 yards, for a touchdown.

UNC's defense then took over and would not let the Bearcats penetrate the endzone until the final gun sounded. Adam Matthews punched in the final blow with a five-yard touchdown scamper with only 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Northwest scored a meaningless touchdown on the final play of the game on a 10-yard scoring strike from McMenamin to Mark Stewart.

Matthews rushed for a game-high 66 yards. Passard tossed for 268 yards on 20-of-31 passing and threw two touchdowns to go against only one interception. Pyatt had a huge day receiving with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

UNC lost starting wide receiver Eric Nelson on the third play of the game to a torn MCL and Nelson will likely miss next week's semifinal game. Matthews missed most of the first half after suffering a mild concussion in the first quarter, but came back and played the entire second half.

UNC played without the services of starting defensive end Steve Frye, who sat out the game with a high ankle sprain. Frye is expected back next week in the semifinals.

Check out the Northwest Missouri State and NCAASports.com sites for more game coverage. Travel and ticket information for next Saturday's game will be available at the beginning of next week.