The #14 Northwest Missouri football team turned a 14-7 halftime edge into a 34-7 lead with four minutes to play in the third quarter and coasted to 41-14 victory over Emporia State to spoil the Hornets’ Homecoming at Welch Stadium on Saturday. ESU got on the board first on a career-long 55-yard touchdown run by Diego Cearns but Northwest scored twice in the final four minutes of the frame to lead 14-7 before the defenses controlled a scoreless second quarter. ESU went for a fourth and one from their own 46 on the opening drive of the second half and came up short and the Bearcats scored thanks to the short field. Hornet quarterback Jamison Sarver was intercepted on ESU’s next possession and the ball was returned to the 3-yard line and the ‘Cats scored on the next play to go up 28-7 and the Hornets didn’t get closer than 20 the rest of the game. Head coach Garin Higgins said E-State will look to finish out the year the right way beginning next week.
Cearns finished with a career-high 122 yards rushing for ESU and said the Hornets need to bounce back for a rivalry week against Washburn.
The Hornets were held to just 71 yards passing, the first time ESU had passed for less than 100 yards since throwing for 91 against Washburn in 2019. Landon Boss had nine tackles while Nehemiah Figueroa notched his second interception of the year and forced a fumble. ESU (4-5, 3-4 MIAA) heads to Topeka to face the Ichabods on Saturday, November 8. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. with pregame coverage at 12:00 p.m. on Mix 104.9.
