FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2007

Lions fall, 49-14 at fifth ranked Northwest Missouri

Box Score

Maryville, Mo. - The Missouri Southern football team scored first, but fifth ranked Northwest Missouri scored 42 unanswered points and defeated the Lions 49-14 in the season finale at Mel Tjeerdsma field at Bearcat Stadium today in Maryville.

Southern (6-5, 4-5 MIAA) opened the scoring with a 30 yard pass from Adam Hinspeter to Colin Bado with just 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Hinspeter, on that drive, went over 2,000 yards passing this season, making him the only quarterback in Missouri Southern history to pass for 2,000 yards in a season three times.

Northwest (9-1, 9-0 MIAA) answered back when Xavier Omon rumbled in for a one yard score to cap off a six play, 74 yard scoring drive. Omon on the play became the only player in Division II history to rush for 1,500 yards four different times in a career.

The Bearcats added a score when they blocked a Brian Malette punt and Brian Shannon returned the ball 16 yards into the endzone. A 26 yard pass from Joel Osborn to Mike Peterson put Northwest up 21-7 and another Omon score, this time a 15 yard rush, put the Bearcats up 28-7. Ryan Jones put Northwest up 35-7 with just 41 seconds to play in the half, when Bado was hit over the middle and fumbled. Jones picked up the loose ball and ran 72 yards for the score.

Northwest added another passing score, before Anthon Aiono picked up a one yard rushing touchdown, capping off a 16 play drive and making the score 42-14 just a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Northwest added one last score with five minutes left.

Turnovers were the story of the day for the Lions offense. Two fumbles were returned for a score, while Hinspeter was sacked four times and intercepted once.

Hinspeter did venture his way up the record books for both Southern and the MIAA today. His 198 passing yards on the day give the junior 6,993 on his career, ranking him first all-time at Southern and sixth in the MIAA. His 22 completions give him 677 in his career, also a Southern record and moves him to third in the conference. He finished the season with 2,105 yards of total offense giving him 7,112 in his career and moving into second place on the all time list just behind Josh Chapman.

Colin Bado caught 11 passes for 115 yards and a score. The 11 passes give him 84 on the season and give him the top two single season totals at Southern. The 84 passes raise his career Southern record to 250, placing him third all-time in the MIAA and 13th all time in Division II history. His 905 receiving yards give him 2,789 in his career, trailing only Southern hall of famer and current Denver Bronco, Rod Smith (3,122).

Southern, as a team, rushed for 2,071 yards this season, the most since the 2002 season. The Lions defense caught 21 interceptions, the most since the record was set at 28 in 1975. The team finished with a 6-5 record, the best since the 1996 season.