Football 11/2/2011 12:54:00 PM

GRIFFON FOOTBALL SET FOR PIVOTAL MATCH UP WITH RIVAL BEARCATS

Live Stats / Live Audio / Live Video / NWMSU Notes / MWSU Notes

Setting the scene:
The Griffons will look to extend their winning streak to six in a row this weekend when they take on the 3rd ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in St. Joseph, Mo. in a huge regional game. This will be the third meeting between the two teams in the past two season. Both teams have been ranked in the top-25 in two of the last three meetings and are both ranked in the top 25 for this years meeting. Western will look to snap an eight game losing streak against the Bearcats. Western fell twice last season by scores of 42-0 on September 25 in Maryville and 28-24 on November 20 in Maryville in the first round of the DII National Playoffs. The Griffons come into the contest with a 7-2 overall record and 5-2 in MIAA play. Western is 4-1 at home this season winning their last four home game after falling in the season opener against Pittsburg State. The Bearcats are 8-1 overall which includes 4-0 on the road. They beat the Missouri Southern Lions 52-21 in Joplin last weekend. The Bearcats hold a 21-10 lead in the series which includes winning the last eight meetings including the last three in St. Joseph. This will mark the first meeting between the coach Partridge and Adam Dorrel.

Griffons on Radio:
The game will be broadcasted live on KFEQ 680 AM. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.gogriffons.com by following the “webcast” link under game day. Dave Riggert will be the play-by-play voice of the Griffons and Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Orf will be the color analyst. Kent Heier will provide sideline insight for listeners on the field. The broadcast will start approximately one hour prior to kickoff.

The Coaches:
Missouri Western head football coach Jerry Partridge is in his fifteenth season as the Griffons head coach. Partridge is 110-61 (.643) and 82-48 (.631) against MIAA opponents as the Griffons head coach and third all-time in the MIAA in victories. He led the Griffons to their first MIAA title and to two DII Playoff appearance in 2006 and 2010. He shared MIAA Coach of the Year honors in 2000 after leading the Griffons to an 8-1 MIAA record. This marks the 16th meeting in Coach Partridges era against the Bearcats of NW Missouri State. Coach Partridge is just 2-13 in his career against NWMSU. Coach Partridge is 1-6 against the Bearcats in St. Joseph and 1-7 in Maryville against NWMSU. Western lost the last meeting with Northwest 28-24 in Maryville on November 20, 2010. The last victory for Western came on October 25, 2003 by a score of 30-27 in overtime in St. Joseph. Overall coach Partridge has guided Western to eight post season appearances with six being in the Mineral Water Bowl. Western is 0-2 in NCAA Division II playoffs and 7-4 in postseason bowl games.
Dorrel, a member of the Bearcat coaching staff since 2004, takes over a program that enters its 96th season three wins shy of 500 (497-388-33) and owns a 46-game regular season winning streak against MIAA opponents. The Bearcats have made the NCAA Division II football playoffs 13 of the last 15 seasons. As offensive coordinator, Dorrel helped lead the Bearcats to an unprecedented five straight NCAA Division II championship appearances and the program's third national title in 2009. In his seven seasons as a full-time coach at Northwest, the Bearcat football squad is 87-14 (.861) with five MIAA championships. This season Dorrel is 8-1 in his first season as the Bearcats head coach.

About Northwest Missouri State
The Bearcats enter Saturday's game at No. 3 in the AFCA after holding a
spot at every position in the poll except Nos 5, 9, and 10. Northwest continues to lead the nation in scoring at 55.78 points per game. The MIAA record for scoring averaging in a season was set by Pitt State in 2004 (55.8) who through eight games averaged 67.3 ppg. However, Grand Valley set the NCAA record for scoring in 2001 at 58.4 ppg, and ironically through eight games was averaging 56.25 ppg. The Bearcats are second in the nation in total offense averaging 532.89 yards per game. They are also second in the nation in passing efficiency at 183.27.

Individually James Franklin is 56th in the nation averaging 81.11 yards per game which is sixth in the MIAA. Jordan Simmons is T-7th in the nation in scoring averaging 10.67 per game which ranks him 1st in the MIAA. Todd Aldoff is 13th with 9.78 while James Franklin is T-18th with 9.33. Those numbers rank them third and fifth in the MIAA. Jordan Simmons is also first in the MIAA averaging 143.89 yards per contest.

Series Notes
This marks the 32nd meeting between the two schools and third time in two years. The Bearcats hold a 21-10 advantage in the series. Northwest has won 14 of the last 16 meeting which in includes the last eight. The Bearcats have won 10 of the 17 meetings in Maryville and 11 of the last 14 meetings in St. Joseph. The last time the Griffons defeated the Bearcats was on October 25, 2003 by a score of 30-27 in overtime in Spratt Stadium. The last victory in Maryville came in 2001 by a score of 37-30 on November 3, 2001.

The Bearcats are in the midst of their longest winning streak in the series. Western's longest winning streak was from 1993-1995. The largest margin of victory for the Griffons was in 1994 when they won 20-0 in Maryville. The largest margin of victory for the Bearcats was this season when they defeated the Griffons 42-0 on October 3 in Maryville.

Coach Partridge is 2-13 all time against the Bearcats. Coach Partridge is just 1-6 in St. Joseph and 1-7 in Maryville. This marks the 1st meeting between Partridge and coach Adam Dorrel.

Western has scored 20 or more points against the Bearcats in six of the last seven meetings but the Bearcats have scored 24 or more in all seven of those meeting which includes over 40 in four of the last five meetings.

Coach Partridge is 1-2 in November against Northwest which includes last seasons 28-24 loss in the DII playoffs. His only victory was on November 3 at Northwest by a score of 37-30.

vs. Northwest when the Bearcats are ranked
The Griffons are ust 2-14 since 1990 against the Bearcats when Northwest is ranked in the top-25. They are 1-6 at home against Northwest and 1-8 on the road. Under Partridge the Griffons are 1-13 against Northwest when the Bearcats are ranked. they are 1-6 at home and 0-7 on the road. Their lone victory under Partridge came on October 25 when the Griffons defeated the Bearcats 30-27 in overtime in St. Joseph.

vs. Northwest when the Griffons are ranked
Since 1990 the Griffons are 0-3 when they are ranked against the Bearcats. Western is 0-1 at home and 0-2 on the road. Last season the Griffons were ranked 8th in the regular season when they fell 42-0 in Maryville. Western's first meeting with Northwest when they both were ranked was in 2006 when they were 16th and the Bearcats were 2nd. Western fell 24-21 n Maryville, Mo. on September 23.

Western against Ranked Opponents
Western is 19-35 against DII ranked opponents after defeating 12th ranked Central Missouri 23-6 on September 10 in Spratt Stadium. Under head coach Jerry Partridge the Griffons are 15-28 against ranked opponents as their previous victory came last season in a 36-33 victory against Washburn University who was ranked 15th at the time.

Western against ranked opponents at home
The Griffons are 11-13 under Partridge at home against ranked opponents after last weeks victory over the Mules. The previous victory at home against a ranked opponent was on September 19, 2009 when they beat #22 Washburn University by a score of 37-34 on a 53 yard field goal by Brad Beckwith giving the Griffons the victory.

Western against ranked opponents on the road Under Partridge
Western is 4-15 under coach Partridge on the road against ranked opponents. Western's last victory on the road came last season in Washburn by a score of 36-33 on September 18, 2010. The Griffons first victory against a ranked opponent under Partridge on the road was on October 2, 2004 when they defeated 16th ranked Central Missouri 49-44.

Griffons in TV Games Under Partridge
Western is 2-4 under Partridge after their victory three weeks ago over the Mules in television games. Western is 1-1 this season after their loss to Washburn. Last season the Griffons went 1-1 in television games defeating Pittsburg State 42-24 on September 25 in St. Joseph and falling 42-0- against Northwest Missouri State on October 2. Western fell at 10th ranked Pittsburg State 21-14 back on November 6, 1997 and to #18 Emporia State on October 8, 1998 by a score of 42-34 in St. Joseph, Mo. Western is 0-1 in nationally televised games falling to Washburn earlier this season.

Getting to the Quarterback
As a team the Griffons rank 7th in the nation in sacks per game at 3.56. They ranked second in the MIAA with Missouri Southern leading the way with 3.63. Individually David Bass is 2nd in the nation in sacks per game with 1.44 and is first in the MIAA. He has 13 sacks on the year.

Defensive Pass Success
The Griffons are outstanding in pass coverage as they are 16th in the NCAA in Pass Efficiency Defense and second in the MIAA. Jeremy Weston and Shane Simpson are tied for 33rd in the nation and 6th in the MIAA averaging .44 interceptions per game.

Rushing Attack
The Griffons are a perfect 6-0 this season when they rush for over 200 yards as a team. The Griffons are 13th in the nation in rushing offense averaging 235.89 yards per game which puts them second in the MIAA. Individually Michael Hill is 19th in the nation averaging 108.56 yards per game which puts him 1st in the MIAA.

Kicking Game
Junior punter Scott Groner is 11th in the nation in punting average at 42.20 yards per punt and is third in the MIAA. Senior place kicker Greg Zuerlein is 1st in the nation in field goals per game at 2.14 and 10th in Scoring averaging 10.29 points per game.

Griffon Football History
Western is 243-202-9 in their 42nd year of Griffon football.

A win for Western would
Lift the Griffons to 244-202-9 in their football history...lift the Griffons to 11-21 all-time against the Bearcats and 3-11 in St. Joseph...give Western its 6th straight victory on the season...snap an eight game winning streak by the Bearcats...lift Partridge to 3-13 against NWMSU and 2-6 in St. Joseph...lift Partridge to 1-1 in St. Joseph in November against NWMSU and to 1-3 in November against NWMSU...give Travis Partridge a 1-0 record against Northwest as the starting quarterback.

A loss for Western would
Drop the Griffons to 243-203-9 in their football history...drop Partridge to 2-14 against the Bearcats...extend the losing streak to nine against Northwest and to four in St. Joseph...drop Western to 10-22 against NWMSU...drop Western to 3-12 in St. Joseph..drop Partridge to 0-4 in November against NWMSU...drop Travis Partridge to 7-3 in ten starts as the Griffons starting quarterback.

The Griffons in the polls
Western is in a tie for 25th in this weeks AFCA top-25 coaches poll. They are still out of the D2Football.com poll. The Griffons were ranked 4th in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls. Western is ranked 7th in the latest South Central Regional poll.

Post season under Coach Partridge
The Griffons have made a postseason appearance seven of the last eight years with five of those being in the Mineral Water Bowl (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009). Western made its first ever playoff appearance in 2006 against Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas. Last season Western made their second ever playoff appearance against Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo.

Griffons on Nov. 5th
Since the 1970 season, the Griffons are 5-0 overall on November 5th. The Griffons are 4-0 at home and 1-0 on the road. Coach Partridge's only contest on November 5th came in 2005 when he defeated the 5th ranked Washburn Ichabods 28-21.

In November Under Partridge
In November under Partridge the Griffons are 19-10 since 1997. Western is 13-2 at home in November and 6-8 on the road. The Griffons are 1-2 against the Bearcats under Partridge with their only victory coming in Maryville.

Climbing The Record Books
Griffon junior running back Michael hill keeps climbing the record book in the rushing category. Hill sits in 6th all-time with 2,473 yards in his career. He is 130 yards out of fifth and 923 yards out of first. He is fourth all-time in carries with 541 just one behind Rodney Stephenson and 152 behind Thomas Hodges for first. In the receiving category Adam Clausen is 15th in receiving yards with 1,336. He is 134 yards out of 13th and 1,588 out of first.

Defensively David Bass is climbing the record books as well. Bass has 17.5 tackles for a loss this season which is just one behind Eric McDowell's single season record of 18.5 in 2003. He has 13 sacks on the year which is two back of McDowell's record of 15 set in 2003 and he has 27.5 sacks in his career which is three behind Kinney Redding 30.5 which he set during the stretch of 1974-1977. He is 12.5 tackles for a loss away from tying Michael Cobbins 50 which was set between 2002-2006.

Up Next
The Griffons will take on their final MIAA opponent of the season on Saturday, November 12 when they travel to Hays, Kan. to take on the Fort Hays State Tigers. Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm.

Print Friendly Version

Missouri Western State University Athletics

Schedule

Events

GRIFFON FOOTBALL SET FOR PIVOTAL MATCH UP WITH RIVAL BEARCATS