Northwest Missourian Nov. 18, 2021

Social workers added to local schools

Mental health has been addressed more in school systems in the past few years, yet it has worsened through the pandemic. Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association declared child and adolescent mental health as a national emergency.

In response to the increased need for mental health resources, Superintendent Becky Albrecht proposed that the district hire two new social workers at the October meeting for the Maryville R-II School District Board of Education.

The board approved the proposal for one social worker to go to the middle school and one to go to the high school. The elementary school was not included in the proposal, because they already have a social worker.

“There aren’t enough hours in the school day for our guidance counselors and building administrators to deal with these situations in addition to their routine tasks/management of the school day,” Albrecht wrote in her report.

In her report, she said the money being spent on these social worker positions would be money well spent. During the first quarter of school, there had been a significant impact on school days, staff and other school activities.

The school district already has the funds to cover these new employees, she said, so the only thing the Maryville Board of Education has left to do is find the right people for the positions.

Teachers, staff and administration inside the schools are seeing this impact firsthand.

SEE SCHOOL | A4

A BROKEN SYSTEM

Local restaurants bear cost of shortages, food price hike

Two truckers pull into Gray’s Truck Stop & Restaurant for a diesel fill-up and a soda. It’s a windy day in Nodaway County, and a cluster of tall, white turbines spins quickly in the station’s backyard. Inside sits Gray’s Partner Marc Neff, who picks up another receipt for tires that reads “one of eight shipped, two of eight shipped.”

Neff sits with his supplier, Derik Lape, who does sales and delivery for Falls City Mercantile Co., a food products provider based in Falls City, Nebraska. The two have been battling a broken supply chain system and a hike in food cost for the last six months, a problem that isn’t likely to be fixed anytime soon.

Product availability has been at an all-time low for Neff, who runs a gas station and restaurant under one business. Some weeks, shipments don’t come with everything he ordered, and some products remain unavailable altogether.

“I have no idea when and where we’re going to get any of it,” Neff said.

Neff and Lape have the most trouble with products like tires, oil, beef, hand-breaded foods and appetizers such as onion rings, fried pickles and cheese balls. At one point, the restaurant went several weeks without a shipment of french fries.

“Chickens don’t grow wings anymore; onions don’t grow rings,” Lape said with a chuckle.

And when it is easier to get these products, the price goes way up.

No food categories have decreased in price from 2020 to 2021, the Department of Agriculture reported. They have all gone up, some seeing an overall increase of 4%. This issue grew exponentially when scarcity of food and other products caused the price of them to skyrocket even further.

The problem of scarcity isn’t unique to a small county in northwest Missouri, but rather it stretches to every corner of the U.S. and throughout much of the globe.

Food economics experts are saying the rising cost stems from inflation and has been supplemented by long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neff and Lape are seeing these effects and dealing with a part of life much of the public doesn’t have to think about day to day — the supply chain — the behind-thescenes path of getting goods from where they are made to where they are going, typically to a paying consumer.

With prolonged shortages in products and shipping delays, Lape said timing is a huge factor at play.

“You have to plan ahead. You can’t go week to week like we could before,” Lape said.

The effects of hiked food cost first reached Gray’s Restaurant during the height of the pandemic, in March 2020, a time when local restaurants were simultaneously losing business. At this time, prices for goods were high, but availability was still steady.

Then in June 2021, the broken supply chain seeped into northwest Missouri. Prices rose further as scarcity set in.

Today, Neff organizes papers at his desk, waiting for tires he ordered two months ago. His customers have been patient with him, he said, and they seem to understand the situation everyone has been placed in.

Spike in COVID-19 cases mirrors 2020 holiday season

NATHAN ENGLISH Managing Editor | @nathan_3nglish

As Thanksgiving draws near, northwest Missouri is in the midst of a COVID-19 spike not seen since the 2020 holiday season. Nodaway County has 142 active cases of the virus in the county, as of Nov. 15, and is second overall in all Missouri counties in cases per 100,000 residents, at the time of publication.

“It’s not good; it’s not where you want to be,” said Tom Patterson administrator for the Nodaway County Health Department.

The hope the county was on the downward slope of its November spike was dashed when 27 people tested positive for COVID-19 Nov. 15. It’s the most county residents who have tested positive in a single day in 356 days.

From Oct. 15 to Nov. 15, active cases in the county rose 358%. The positivity rate for the virus in the county has jumped from around 9% to nearly 17% in the last week.

Patterson and Nate Blackford, president of Mosaic - Maryville, both said they are concerned about the cases but are more concerned about what could possibly follow — hospitalizations.

“That’s what makes it difficult for us to care not only for COVID patients, but those who need every other kind of care as well,” Blackford said.

Hospitalizations, which are typically a lagging indicator, normally spike two weeks or more after the initial spike in cases, Patterson said.

SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry

FAMILY AND FAITH What keeps Linda Mattson going

Linda Mattson crossed her hands and rested her elbows on her desk. On her left wrist sat a watch and an orange silicone wristband that read “Karen’s Krew.” On her right hung a rosary under a dainty blue bracelet with a small metal plate that read “Badass.”

What motivates Mattson in her everyday life are represented on each of her wrists: family, faith and strength.

The orange bracelet was made for her sister, Karen, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia during the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020.

“We just wear these in support of her, in honor of her and to just bring her strength on her fight,” Mattson said. “There’s been a lot that’s been tough. We couldn’t be with her; I haven’t hugged her since then.”

Mattson was one of the few family members who could spend time with her sister during the pandemic.

“I was able to take off for a few days, but I had to kind of quarantine before that or people had to leave me alone here,” Mattson said. “You talk about family, I mean, they were careful in the pandemic because of me and my sister, you know, and that’s what family does.”

Her sister is now in remission, but the love and support for her family flows further to her husband, five children and seven grandchildren. Mattson said they are the driving factors in her everyday life and support her to make decisions outside of her comfort zone.

Mattson got married right out of high school to her husband, Francis, and moved to Chillicothe, Missouri, to raise her family. During her time in Chillicothe, she worked as a preschool teacher. There she found her passion for teaching.

After 12 years, Mattson found her way back to Maryville and pursued a degree in elementary education as a nontraditional student.

“I packed up my kids, and I moved them to Maryville while my husband was still in Chillicothe. And I went to college,” she said.

In addition to being a student and a mother, Mattson also decided to be a part of the Northwest women’s basketball team, playing for three years until she did student teaching.

“To juggle the kids, basketball and classes, it was tough. I have good family support here; I couldn’t have done without my family,” Mattson said. “They helped out with the kids, especially when we’d go on basketball trips and things like that. I didn’t sleep very much.”

After obtaining her bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees from Northwest, Mattson taught in the area for five years and was a principal for nine.

After 14 years in education,

Mattson decided to quit her job as a principal in the Northeast Nodaway School District.

“Honestly, just after being a principal for so long, one day I just decided that I needed to focus on my family a little more. It was kind of consuming all of my time in my life,” Mattson said.

“So, I quit my job with no real plan.”

Without an idea on where to go next, she happened to be browsing the newspaper and saw an advertisement for what would soon be her next job as director of the Children and Family Center.

Getting the job as director of the Children and Family Center, now known as the North Star Advocacy Center, felt like fate, Mattson said. She’s been in the position for half a decade

“I really think it was kind of a God thing. I mean, it really was. I just felt like it was right,” Mattson said. “My husband agreed with me; he kind of felt the same way. It’s kind of a leap of faith.”

In her new role Mattson found herself working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and running the advocacy center like a second household.

Since starting with a clean slate and no background on her new position, Mattson has learned a lot about herself and the clients she has worked with.

“I think I was one of those people that thought, ‘Oh, you maybe shouldn’t put yourself in that situation.’ And, you know, I’m not really proud to admit that, but it’s the truth,” Mattson said. “I was very ignorant. I’ve just learned so much about victim blaming and about why people stay in abusive relationships. So there has been a lot of growth.”

An unexpected obstacle Mattson had to overcome was that she was forced to separate her work and home life. Due to the confidentiality of her position, she was no longer able to go home and talk about work or the people she’d met with during the day.

Because of this, she ended up having a relationship with her coworkers that felt like a second family.

“Most things I can’t go home and tell my family. And so, you just bond over that at work because you’re the only people you can talk to,” Mattson said. “We care about each other. We look out for each other. We all have our bad days.”

North Star Advocacy Center victim advocate and volunteer coordinator Meghann Kosman said Mattson serves as the comic relief for her work family, helping lighten the mood and others spirits.

“I think that she’s funny be-

cause you have to be funny,” Kosman said. “We don’t say that lightly around here. You just have to have a sense of humor because otherwise, the work is going to make you cry.”

Kosman has worked at North Star Advocacy Center for 12 years and has worked with

Kosman said. “She’s not afraid to do the hard stuff, either, and make the hard decisions, even if it’s gonna be unpopular, which is a good leader.”

Mattson said she finds her strength in her coworkers and is inspired by them to continue the work that she does for others.

person. And so I wish I could be like she is,” Mattson said. “She inspires me to keep giving and be selfless.”

Mattson during her time there. Those years working together allowed Kosman to see Mattson’s strength in leadership.

“She just brings good leadership. Like, she tries to be fair, she tries to listen, she tries to really look at it. Not just what’s on the surface, but what’s behind it, like deeper things,”

“They work directly with the clients, and it’s tough. It’s tough work,” she said. “They hear those traumatic things and take that in. And so they inspire me just by their strength in handling those things and their professionalism.”

Not only is Mattson inspired by her coworkers, she also finds inspiration through her faith and in Mother Teresa.

“She was just very giving and never expected anything in return, and was just a good

She found that her faith led her to her current job as director of North Star Advocacy Center and she sees it in her everyday life through her actions. Mattson said her biggest goal in life is to make it to heaven and to help make other people’s lives better at her utmost ability.

“I do feel like if we listen, God does show us the way. So it definitely has guided my life. Going back to college, I couldn’t have done it. It was a God thing. He got me through as much as the support of my family did. Like, I’m looking back thinking, ‘How did I manage all that?’ Well, because that’s where I was supposed to be at that time. I do feel very strongly about that,” Mattson said. Through family, faith and strength, Mattson has found where she was meant to be.

“I do feel like if we listen, God does show us the way. So it definitely has guided my life.”

-LINDA MATTSON DIRECTOR OF NORTH STAR ADVOCACY CENTER

North Star Advocacy Center Director Linda Mattson has an uplifting conversation with her co-workers. Mattson is complimented by her co-workers on her humor and being able to lift the mood of others around her.

MAKAYLA POLAK | NW MISSOURIAN

What motivates Linda Mattson in her everyday life are represented on each of her wrists. On her left wrist is an orange silicone wristband that reads “Karen’s Krew.” On her right hung a rosary next to a dainty blue bracelet with a small metal plate that read “Badass.”

MAKAYLA POLAK | NW MISSOURIAN

SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry

Student Senate split on proposed event form

Northwest Student Senate discussed feedback on a new event registration form at its Nov. 16 meeting.

Implementing this form would require all student organizations to register any event they wanted to host, which is currently only required for Greek Life events. This form would need to be filled out for both on and off-campus events by anyone aged 18 and over.

Senior Class President Brady Fritts raised the first concern about the proposal, challenging the idea that the organization should be responsible for the actions of a member.

This part of the proposal said every member or officer has to discourage activity that would break organizational policy, the law or University policy, and organizations would be held accountable for the actions of a member that breaks any of those rules.

“Holding the student organization as a whole for individually-based acts outside of the University I think is a bit extreme,” Fritts said. “That student organization should be discouraging the behavior, which I do agree with. However, I don’t agree that the actions of one person should take down the entire organization.”

Senior Class Representative Ryan Shurvington questioned what the consequences were if organizations did not fill this out, and he asked how this

would be enforced.

“A lot of small organizations aren’t going to take the time to fill this out for every event they do,” Shurvington said. “I know I’m a part of organizations that won’t fill it out. Not because they don’t want to, but because they won’t remember.”

Later in the meeting, Shurvington also mentioned that if the repercussions of not registering an event was to discontinue the

organization, it could impact Northwest admissions.

He said one of the selling points of coming to Northwest is that there are comparatively a lot of student organizations for the size of the campus. If neglecting to register an event could potentially lower the amount of student organizations, this form could create a problem. On the same side of the de-

bate, Internal Relations Chair Liz Motazedi said she gets organizations that come to her committee thst frequently don’t fill out forms and that adding another form would cause difficulty and confusion for organizations.

Senior Class Representative Joseph Etheridge also said that making sure the organizations fill out the form could become an issue due to lack of response about the new policy if the Of-

fice of Student Involvement was to put it in place.

In favor of requiring the new form, Junior Class President Sydney Looney works in the Office of Student Involvement and said this would be a good way to promote events.

“Students who are looking to get involved can click on a calendar and see all of the events coming up,” Looney said. “So it really only benefits organizations.”

Looney addressed the idea that it may be hard to get organizations to follow the policy by saying that organizations are required to go through training every year, so filling out this form could be added to the other information they learn in the training.

Looney also said this was a way for the University to monitor organizations to make sure their events are safe.

Treasurer Jenna Lee-Johnson added to that idea and said that when they talked to Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Kori Hoffmann about the form, it was more for risk management.

If an organization has an unregistered event that the University doesn’t know about and someone gets hurt, that could be a liability for the University.

All of Student Senate’s feedback and questions about the enforcement of the policy will be relayed back to Hoffmann and the Office of Student Involvement before a final decision is made on implementing the new event registration form.

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities awarded Northwest for its response to the pandemic. It was one of three universities to receive an award for their pandemic response.

The AASCU selected Northwest to receive its 2021 AASCU Excellence and Innovation Award for Campus Pandemic Response in the rural category. This is the fifth time in seven years that Northwest has won an award from AASCU.

University Police Lt. Amanda Cullin, a member of the Crisis Response Team 2 — a team responsible for monitoring COVID-19 at

Northwest — was among the individuals officially honored.

“We collaborated with our community partners, places like Mosaic Hospital, the Nodaway County Health Center, the State of Missouri Senior and Health Services,” Cullin said.

“We worked together well with faculty, staff and students and created these Green Teams.”

The Green Teams are 13 different groups made up of faculty and staff that are designed to respond to aspects of COVID-19 and its effect on the University.

When accepting the award, Northwest President John Jasinski credited faculty, staff and students for doing their part during the pandemic.

“This recognition validates

our approach and deployment thereof, as well as Northwest’s role model status. The unbelievable hard work, dedication, perseverance and resilience of our student body and entire faculty and staff are truly the hallmarks of this recognition,” Jasinski said in the AASCU Excellence and Innovation awards speech.

The University adapted to the pandemic as more information became available from state and nationwide data. The adjustments started with not having students come back from the 2020 spring break and switching all classes to an online format. At that time, a measure was put in place that kept students from dropping more than one grade level than what they had.

This was followed by having a campus-wide mask mandate and blended classes during the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters. Students spent roughly half of their class time over Zoom and the other half in classrooms. This change was to allow for more social distancing inside the classroom.

Jasinski credits staff, students for national pandemic response award 610

have done our best to adapt to the new guidelines in order to fight COVID,” Cullin said.

The University implemented all of these changes to adapt to constantly developing information and guidelines for how to best combat the pandemic.

Days since Northwest postponed in-person classes on March 16, 2020

The most recent campus guidance regarding COVID-19 includes requiring face coverings in classrooms but not in common areas where social distancing is possible. Cullin said that decision is based on data and does not contradict the University’s previous work on following medical guidelines.

Cullin said the ability to adapt to change was a driving force to keep students and faculty safe.

“The thing about this pandemic is that things have changed. We have seen different guidelines sent out, and we

“We base all of our decision on that data, as well as recommendations from our medical partners. And based on the information we had, we made that decision,” Cullin said. “We were also expecting a small increase just because, historically, we have had that small increase during this time. It’s the cold and flu season.”

Senior Class Representative Ryan Shurvington raised questions about a possible new event registration form at the Nov. 16 Student Senate meeting. This form would require all student organizations to fill out forms for events they hold.

MAKAYLA POLAK | NW MISSOURIAN

CRIME LOG

for the week of Nov. 18

Maryville Police Department

Nov. 15

A summons was issued to Connor D. Delong, 19, for larceny on the 1600 block of South Main Street.

Nov. 14

A summons was issued to Corene K. Keele, 19, for a minor in possession and giving false information to law enforcement on the 400 block of North Buchanan Street.

A summons was issued to Annaika N. Thorson, 19, for giving false information to law enforcement on the 400 block of North Buchanan Street.

Nov. 13

A summons was issued to Joshua L. Salas, 30, for failure to appear in court on the 400 block of North Market Street.

A summons was issued to Zoie E. Wiley, 18, for a minor in possession and being under 19 in a bar on the 400 block of North Buchanan Street.

A summons was issued to Leilani N. Brooks-Jackson 19, for possession of drug paraphernalia on the 1000 block of North Country Club Road.

A summons was issued to La’Monie T. Simms, 20, for possession of marijuana on the 1000 block of North Country Club Road.

Nov. 12

There is an ongoing investigation for fraud on the 100 block of East Edwards Street. There was an accident between Robert C. Mauck, 19, and Trevor M. Shell, 29, on the 900 block of South Main Street. Mauck was issued a citation for careless and imprudent driving.

Jeanie K Scott-Pillen, 67, was involved in a single car accident on the 1200 block of South Main Street.

Dana F. Poe, 65, was involved in a single car accident on South Main Street and West Lincoln Street.

Nov. 11

A summons was issued to Tammy R. Foster, 51, for trespassing on the 1600 block of South Main Street.

SCHOOL

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Though the school website still lists Maryville High School counselor Becky Houtchens as a guidance counselor, she said the nature of her job has changed over her 21 years in the profession.

Rather than only being focused on helping students with class and career choices, the position has now shifted to focus more on the mental health and well-being of students.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in the need for those services, without a doubt,” Houtchens said. “I think it was growing and expanding even before the pandemic. However, I would say, like, these last two school years, especially, it has just skyrocketed.”

With the mental health decline spreading nationwide, it hasn’t only affected the Maryville R-II School District.

School closures during the pandemic limited an estimated 55 million children and teenagers from seeing teachers and other staff who would help them with issues they were facing in everyday life, according to The New York Times.

Houtchens said that although she has seen an increased need for help with mental health, she doesn’t think the pandemic is the only factor.

“I would say a dramatic increase in students dealing with anxiety and depression and just not having the skills to cope with difficulties that come their way,” she said.

Having a social worker wouldn’t only benefit the students by helping them find skills to cope and resources that are available to them, Houtchens said, but would also alleviate the counselors who are working with a large volume of students on a day-to-day basis.

“I think someone that their number one focus is connecting students to resources in the community, which is something we do as part of our job, but really having someone who can dig in and know these are all the resources that we have, would be a huge help to us,” she said.

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“You just wait, you know,” Neff said, leaning back in his chair.

“Our customers are just waiting. You take it one day at a time.”

As time passed throughout the pandemic, experts reported the supply chain simply became overwhelmed with unusual consumer habits. Money that would ordinarily go to experiences like concerts or cruises went toward goods for the homes people were stuck in — homes that, across the nation, became makeshift classrooms, gyms and work areas.

Before the unusual spending, supply and distribution companies kept short inventories for years to limit their costs. This went on to exacerbate the already existing scarcity issues brought on by the pandemic.

“Throughout this whole deal, it doesn’t matter what it is — oil, tires, food — you can’t just go to the next place and say, ‘Here’s what I want,’ because everybody is in the same boat,” Lape said.

Simply Siam, a Thai food restaurant in Maryville, has experienced similar problems.

On a busy Thursday night, owner Tue Chang opens the walk-in cooler door to reveal fresh-cut produce for the night. The next day, his staff will prepare for a wedding it’s catering over the weekend.

For his restaurant’s needs, Chang makes a weekly trip to Restaurant Depot in either Kansas City, Missouri, or Omaha, Nebraska.

Chang said the distributors have most recently run out of products such as cream cheese, cooking oil and to-go contain-

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Mosaic as a whole is seeing less hospitalizations per positive case than in previous spikes, Blackford said. At the time of publication, 32 patients are hospitalized from COVID-19. The vaccine helped limit the number of severe cases locally. Blackford estimated around 80% of hospitalizations for COVID-19 at Mosaic were unvaccinated patients.

“It’s still far more advantageous from a hospitalization standpoint to get the vaccine,” Blackford said.

“That’s the primary purpose for vaccines, to reduce the severity of illness,” Patterson said.

The number of booster shots administered in the county is far outpacing the first and second doses given out. Since Oct. 1, 1,809 booster shots have been administered in the county, with 462 being administered at the mass vaccination clinic Nov. 9 in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. During that same span, 672 first and second doses were administered.

At the time of publication, those over the age of 65, those aged 18-65 with underlying conditions, and those at high risk of transmission — law enforcement, educators, among others — are eligible to receive booster shots. Soon third shots of the vaccine could be open to all adults. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve Moderna’s version of the vaccine for all adults within the

ers. While he could usually bet on at least one of his distributors having a product he needed, for the past six months, that hasn’t been the case.

Often, Chang had to buy products like to-go containers from independent sellers for nearly triple the normal cost. It’s not good for business, but it’s not really a matter of choice, either, he said.

“The issue is, we can’t get the stuff. And where we can, the price just skyrockets, and we have no choice,” Chang said, talking over a persistent hum emanating from the cooler’s fan. “That’s how we lose money. And I know I’m not the only one that does this; everybody is.”

His suppliers are likely to continue raising the price of the goods while demand is high and availability is not guaranteed, Chang said. Minced garlic, for example, tripled in price over the course of two months.

Persistent issues like this forced Simply Siam to increase menu prices 10% to make up for the cost.

But even with higher menu prices, business has remained constant for Simply Siam. This held true throughout the course of the pandemic. Chang said that without the support of the community and regular customers, he would have been worried about the future of his familyowned restaurant.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” Chang said. “The girls and boys who work for me, they all went home. … It really scared us, actually. But everybody here really supported us.”

“We’re not going to get rich from working here, because our restaurant is so small and in a small town,” Chang said. “It’s

next week.

At the time of publication, 43.7% of Nodaway County has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Nodaway County does have one of the higher vaccination rates among rural Missouri counties, Patterson said. Currently, Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccination rate is 50.4%.

“It’s a plus all the way down the line to be vaccinated,” Patterson said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that unvaccinated individuals are six times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 and over 11 times more likely to die from it.

Patterson, Blackford and Lt. Amanda Cullin, member of the Crisis Response Team 2, attributed the cold weather and a shift of gatherings to indoors as among the primary causes for the spike. Cullin said the team determined Halloween and Homecoming were key factors in the spike at Northwest, which mirrored that of the county’s in November. At the time of publication, there are 23 active virus cases at Northwest, down from 32 a little under a week ago.

Cullin said the team expected the increase in cases based on data from 2020 festivities and the fact that Northwest is somewhat of an “outlier” locally by having a mask mandate.

“We’re staying the course and keeping a close eye out,” Cullin said.

Northwest’s longest break of the semester to this point begins next Monday, with a full week off of classes for Thanksgiving.

enough for a living. If it just stays the way it is, we’ll be OK.”

To restaurant owners’ dismay, experts are saying food prices are likely to continue their climb well into next year. This overall increase depicts an obvious outlier more expensive than most — the price of beef.

Wholesale beef prices shot up 14.2% from July to August of 2021, according to a USDA consumer price index. That same CPI also predicts a 20% increase in beef prices for the whole year.

This spike affects local businesses like A&G Restaurant, which cuts all its steaks in-house. Beyond beef, a price hike in all sources of protein has been a problem area for the restaurant.

A&G General Manager Deno Groumoutis said the restaurant has been trying to absorb as much of the cost as possible and not pass any of the increases onto the consumer. But a time may come, he said, to reevaluate the situation and change pricing.

“Between shortages and labor cost, everything is costing more,” Groumoutis said in a phone call with The Missourian.

Groumoutis also said A&G hasn’t raised any menu prices since May 2020, and he would like to keep on that same track. But today, that track is tougher to stay on.

Groumoutis’ parents George and Sue Groumoutis own the restaurant, but Deno Groumoutis handles the day-to-day operations. This includes ordering products for each day’s meal service.

Having three different distributors to choose between for products has been the restaurant’s saving grace, Deno Groumoutis said. A&G receives six trucks each week with products it needs to

keep menu items available.

Even with different options, Deno Groumoutis agrees with Lape: projecting and planning ahead during these times is key. He can’t risk running out of a popular menu item during a home Bearcat football game, he said, or ingredients for a favorite soup during the ever popular “Souper Bonanza.”

Of course, Deno Groumoutis and his staff have been through more than just increased prices and a shortage of Andes Chocolate Mints. When things seem hard, he thinks back to the early days of the pandemic and counts his blessings.

“I think of that time when we were shut down last year, in March,” Deno Groumoutis said. “I think about the time when we had to let our staff know that, you know, ‘You don’t have a job right now temporarily until we figure this out.’”

“That’s just what kind of keeps me going is that we’ve had it tough before, but this is just a challenge. And we just gotta win. We have to beat it,” Deno Groumoutis said.

Reports are showing the broken supply chain will likely continue its strain on businesses well into 2022, effectively impacting the upcoming holiday season. Desired goods could become scarce, and food prices will keep going up.

With potentially harder days ahead, Neff, Chang and Deno Groumoutis reflected a similar message about their purpose — one that doesn’t change when the world does.

“The goal is to keep staff motivated, family all together and keep the community happy,” Deno Groumoutis said. “As long as we can do that, we’re happy.”

Deno, Sue and George Groumoutis stand in front of the bar at A&G Restaurant Nov. 17. The family owned restaurant has been working to avoid raising menu prices as food costs, particularly beef, skyrockets. For the past three months, A&G has faced shortages from suppliers on restaurant goods.

KENDRICK CALFEE | NW MISSOURIAN

Director of Career Services, Hannah Christian receives her COVID-19 booster shot Nov. 9 in Carl & Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. Another vaccine drive will be held in the Fieldhouse Thursday for Moderna booster shots.

MAKAYLA POLAK | NW MISSOURIAN

About eight months ago, the editorial staff of this newspaper penned an Our View about COVID-19. It came out during our special COVID-19 issue, a paper released almost exactly on the one-year anniversary of the virus bringing the U.S. to a standstill and irrecoverably changing the way we all live.

At the end of that editorial, there was a statement of hope, of optimism. It was written at a time when COVID-19 vaccines were just beginning to open up to everyone over the age of 18. It looked as though there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, we had heard from medical experts that the virus wouldn’t completely disappear anytime soon, but we would no longer be in a pandemic.

There was a hope that masks would become a thing of the past for many of us — a strange piece of cloth that would be buried at the bottom of closets and drawers, only to be pulled out years later with a sigh and a “Remember when we had to wear these everywhere?”

“

We wrote about medical experts telling us the goal of herd immunity was finally within grasp. By the summer, we would all be living normal lives because of the vaccines created in record time.

The common sentiment for the first year of this pandemic was that the vaccine rollout would spell the end of the pandemic. It would be the ex machina, the thing produced in the third act of a movie that solves all the problems and returns the world to normal. However, midway through the summer, the opposite happened.

back where they started a year ago. Undoubtedly, the recent spike in COVID-19 is linked to Homecoming and Halloween, among other reasons. University and county cases have reached highs not seen since 2020, and hospitalizations have seen a significant increase in the Mosaic system.

At this point, we at The Missourian are exhausted.

We know many of you don’t like reading stories with COVID-19 mentioned in them — that number swelling to over 500 since March 2020. We are tired of writing them.

We are tired of writing about spikes and mask mandates. We are tired of sharing the proper guidelines for mitigation measures and the information that the vaccine is not only safe, but it is effective at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19.

As journalists in college, we understand that, while knowledgeable in many areas, rarely are we the foremost experts on anything. We don’t have a single person on staff with a background in immunology or virology, but we listened to those who did.

V I D - 1 9 ’s re i g n o f of COVID-19’s reign of t e r ro r o n t h e U . S . We a re terror on the U.S. are h o p i n g t o a t t e n d c o n c e r t s i n hoping to attend concerts in p a c k e d s t a d i u m s , g o o u t t o packed stadiums, go out to t h e m o v i e s a n d h a v e e v e r y the movies and have every s e a t i n t h e t h e a t e r o p e n , seat in the theater open, a n d g o o n v a c a t i o n w i t h o u t and go on vacation without n e e d i n g t o b r i n g a m a s k . ” needing to bring a mask.”

-SPRING 2021 EDITORIAL BOARD

Vaccines weren’t rolling out in the droves people predicted as hesitancy and misinformation spread as fast as the virus had. Then, COVID-19 did what viruses do; it mutated. The summer of 2021, which initially gave everyone hope, became a nightmare scenario. The delta variant, a more contagious and deadly strain of COVID-19, began ravaging communities across the country.

Suddenly, everything felt like we were back to a time before the vaccine: masks everywhere, hospitals overflowing.

Recently, it felt like maybe we were out of the woods. Local health officials held on to cautious optimism that the downward trend in fall cases would continue and that they could put their main focus on an issue other than COVID-19.

Then, the past few weeks happened, and it feels like Nodaway County and Northwest are right

It’s been said to the point of exhaustion, but the vaccines for COVID-19 are safe and are effective. The Editorial Staff of The Missourian isn’t creating that statement out of thin air; we are relaying facts from experts.

We aren’t pushing some liberal agenda, attempting to help “the state” control people, or any of the other feckless conspiracy theories touted on social media. We are pushing the agenda of not wanting us, you, your loved ones or our loved ones to die from a virus that we have a vaccine for.

Because until we get to a point where two-thirds of the people in this country are vaccinated, we won’t be able to focus on anything else.

The Missourian won’t be able to “stick to sports” when athletes getting COVID-19 is still a real concern. We won’t be able to focus on events like graduation on campus without at least mentioning the possible dangers of mass gatherings.

We will continue to be tired of writing them, and you will continue to be tired of reading them. Until we reach herd immunity, until people make the common sense decision backed by science, we won’t be able to focus on anything else.

It’s been over a year. Somehow, we are back where we were.

TOURNEY CONTINUED FROM A8

Then, it was the Central Region’s turn.

Graduate student forward

Alex Mausbach said the possibility was already discussed among the team before the show.

“A lot of us were confident,” Mausbach said. “This past weekend, we’ve just been looking at all the stats, and we’re like, ‘No way we don’t get in.’ We’re like, ‘We have worked way too hard. Our record shows it. There’s no way we don’t get in.’ And, honestly, when you saw it got to the Central Region and the names started appearing, that’s kind of when the nerves kicked in. I was like, ‘Oh, no. What if we don’t get called?’”

The room fell in silence, and the players watched intensely at the screen, hoping Matthes would say exactly what they wanted to hear.

He did just that, announcing the Bearcats as participants in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s 22-year history.

What was previously silence became anything but that, as the players — barely able to remain in their seats — erupted in cheers at the sound of their names being called.

Three years ago, that would’ve been a hard thing to imagine.

After battling against Linden-

wood for 90 minutes Oct. 28, 2018, the match went into overtime. Both teams were held scoreless throughout regulation despite 24 combined shots.

The first overtime came and went the same as the first 90 minutes — without a score. The second overtime didn’t seem as if it was going to end any differently. There was just one minute left on the clock, and a tie seemed imminent.

With a mere nine seconds left in the match, a scramble in front of the goal gave Lindenwood then-freshman forward Emily Jowers an opportunity to take a shot on the goal. From eight yards out, she took it.

Jowers nailed it, and the Bearcats lost their 15th game of that year — the program’s most losses in a single season.

On that 2018 Northwest team was then-sophomores forward Alex Mausbach, forward Madison Krueger and midfielder Madison McKeever. They were joined by then-freshmen goalkeeper Alexis Serna Castillo, midfielder Joanna Shaw and midfielder Jessie Brown.

Three years later, Mausbach reflected on that season and said she never would have guessed what the team would accomplish in 2021.

“I mean, it’s incredible,” Mausbach said.

McKeever said there was a sigh

of relief after the announcement.

“We made it,” McKeever said. “All our hard work had paid off, and we were all very excited.”

After filling their postseasonhopeful resume with a record of 13-6-1, Northwest was slated at the No. 7 spot out of the eight teams selected from the Central Region to participate in the tournament.

McKeever was barely able to find the words to describe the feeling of watching her team’s name come up while watching the selection show in Hughes Fieldhouse.

“Honestly, I’m still shocked,” McKeever said in the aftermath of the team’s watch party. “When I came here, I never thought that would happen. So to see our name up there is amazing, and I’m still in shock.”

When the Bearcats take the field Nov. 19 for their first NCAA Tournament match, it will be against a familiar opponent — Emporia State. The ’Cats have played the Hornets twice this season, including a 2-0 loss to the Hornets in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament.

“We know how they play and how we match up against them,” McKeever said. “We can fix some things in practice this week, and we’re very confident we can go give them our best and get the win.”

Mausbach said the team is confident in “a third time’s the charm,”

UP NEXT

NW vs. Emporia State

1 p.m. Nov. 19 Warrensburg, Missouri

and she expects the intensity to be at its highest for the game.

“Honestly, just to, like, definitely have this be my last season, it’s so awesome, and there’s no better way to go out, no matter what the result is,” Mausbach said. “Obviously, we’re looking for the win, but I’m just so proud of the girls on this team, and of (Gordon) and how he just turned around a program within three years. It’s just awesome to be a part of.”

Despite it being hard for most to imagine that in three years the team would be in the NCAA Tournament, that’s exactly where the Bearcats are.

They aren’t going to marvel at the fact that they’ve added another notch to this historic season’s belt, though. Instead, they’re planning on adding another. They’re excited they’re in the tournament, but they’re not planning on being done anytime soon.

“I mean, we’re all expecting a dogfight, based on just the last time we played them,” Mausbach said. “We’re on their grounds, but we’re ready to go out guns blazing.”

REMATCH CONTINUED

FROM

“Normally, we don’t get too much man (coverage),” Donadelle said Nov. 16. “I feel like a lot of people are gonna try to stack the box since we’ve got Al at running back, so we’ve just gotta take advantage of our matchups outside.”

The defensive-minded Wright has been at work this week, curating a plan designed to slow down a Wildcat offense that’s scored more than 46 points per game this fall, one that’s led by redshirt freshman quarterback Quincy Glasper. Glasper has been Washington’s starter since injuries forced him into the role. Since he took over in the Wildcats’ 36-14 win over Simon Frasier Sept. 18, Glasper has completed 92-of-143 passes for 1,280 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s been nearly perfect, too, throwing a pair of interceptions, both of which came during a 45-14 win over Western Oregon Oct. 9.

Wright got to work immediately following the NCAA Division II Selection Show Sunday evening, when it was revealed what the Bearcats’ firstround matchup would be. He’s had to prepare to face some of the best talent in the country in the MIAA, including Harlon Hill candidate T.J. Davis from Nebraska-Kearney. But an unfamiliar opponent presents its own set of challenges.

“It’s really grinding,” Wright said of the preparation. “Sunday night, when we found out, I got home at 2:30 in the morning. (Monday) night I was home at 1 o’clock in the morning and back in the complex at 5:30 (Wednesday) morning. We’re gonna maximize the amount of hours that we have.”

“We’ll create several plans to play against this football team. I usually try to have — usually I get to about ‘J’ in the alphabet, as far as plans as to what we’re gonna do,” Wright said. “If ‘A’ works then we’ll stick with ‘A,’ but we’ll get to ‘J’ if we have to.”

It isn’t just an unfamiliar opponent but an out-of-conference matchup that differs from Northwest’s conference-only regular season. The Wildcats’ style of football will be diff erent than anything the Bearcats have seen to this point.

CONTINUED FROM A8

After the defense forced a threeand-out, Northwest sophomore quarterback Mike Hohensee used the second play of the Bearcats’ next possession to scramble to his right before connecting with senior wideout Imoni Donadelle, who took the pass 79 yards to the end zone to give Northwest a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes and 51 seconds left in the first quarter.

Donadelle was one of four Northwest receivers with at least two receptions, forcing Emporia to respect the Bearcats’ passing game.

“It’s real fun. Everybody touching the ball kind of makes my game a little bit easier,” McKeller said. “Everybody can’t just focus in on me or focus in on one person. Like, we give everybody the ball. … I’m very blessed to be

a part of an offense like the one we have.”

And as much as the offense tried to disrupt Emporia’s defensive plan, it was Northwest’s defense that ultimately prevailed.

The Hornets entered the contest with the MIAA’s best passing offense, led by quarterback Braden Gleason, who had passed for 2,999 yards and 26 touchdowns throughout the first 10 weeks of the season.

The Bearcats held the Hornets’ gunslinger to a meager 85 yards passing while going 13-of-32 with two interceptions.

It was a Northwest secondary that featured an abundance of new pieces at the start of the year, a unit that was torched for 265 yards during the Week 1 win against Fort Hays.

“Our backend kids were the ones, if you guys remember early in the season, that were the question mark,” Wright said. “I’d tell

you that, defensively, for us to have been able to do what we’ve been able to do, there’s been a lot of growth there.” That doesn’t matter now, though. Wright doesn’t care what his secondary did more than two months ago. He cares that those individual pieces are finally conforming to create one collective piece.

“I felt like we came out dialed in. We were ready to play,” Wright said. “I was pleased with the way we covered them. I had a pretty good feeling they weren’t going to be able to run the football against us, and I haven’t looked at stats, but I can’t imagine that they did.”

The Hornets, not to Wright’s surprise, did not. In fact, they had 21 yards rushing throughout the entirety of four quarters, including a first half that featured 18 of those yards.

That’s not an anomaly for the Bearcats. They entered the game as owners of the country’s best rush defense, limiting opposing offenses to a mere 38.4 yards rushing per contest. They faced the Hornets on the heels of a Week 10 matchup with Missouri Southern, a game in which they held the Lions to minus-10 yards rushing.

“All day, every day, we focus on stopping the run — that’s our main thing,” said Northwest senior defensive lineman Sam Roberts, who finished with seven tackles and a sack. “We set our goal at 50 rushing yards per game, and we try to exceed that. We put the bar at 50, but we try to get below it. To see them be way below is crazy, but I’m not surprised, in a sense.”

The conference-clinching matchup was significant for Roberts, who was honored prior to the game as part of the program’s Senior Day. The Waynesville, Missouri, native has been at Northwest since he was a redshirt freshman in 2016, and the program’s first outright title

since his arrival is something he’ll remember for awhile.

He’s been a part of both MIAA titles since Wright took over as head coach prior to the 2017 season, both of which were ties (Fort Hays 2018, Central Missouri 2019).

Having the title all to themselves made this year feel a little bit different.

“We put in a lot of hard work over the years,” Roberts said. “To see it come to fruition at this moment in time is just amazing. WIth COVID and stuff, we just had a little extra motivation to play this season, and we’re just using that, and we’re gonna do the thing and run it up.”

“It just hits different when that ‘Co’ is on there, you know?” Roberts said. “Just to say I’m an MIAA champion, no one else, no ties, it’s just amazing.”

The Bearcats won’t spend too long marveling in the fact that they checked off the first box on their proverbial to-do list. Being the kings of the conference is nice, but they have bigger goals in mind and more boxes they want to check off on that same list.

They don’t know who it’ll be against, and they don’t really care, but the Bearcats are expected to host a first-round playoff game next Saturday in Bearcat Stadium. They’ll find out for sure during the NCAA Division II Selection Show 4 p.m. Nov. 14.

“I’m just happy to get another week, and I hope we just keep getting more weeks all the way up until December,” Roberts said. “I think we’re gonna be good.”

“To be in the national playoffs is special, and I think people — because we’ve had so much success here — take it for granted,” Wright said. “It’s something that a lot of programs would give anything to be able to do. … I just know that we’re playing our best football at the right time, so I’m looking forward to the challenge of whomever we play.”

“I won’t draw any comparison, because it’s almost impossible. When you have no common opponents, and you’re watching stuff on film, it’s hard to make that correlation,” Wright said. “They get rid of the ball in a hurry. So your Emporias, your (Missouri) Southerns, your quicker tempo, great screen game. … Better run game than what you think; their back is tough.”

It isn’t the quarterfinals this time around. Neither team is riding the high of two consecutive postseason wins. The winner won’t be one of four remaining teams left on the prowl for the pinnacle of Division II football.

The importance now, though, is as high as ever, with one team soon to have its season ended and the other soon to have its season live on for at least one more week.

Fisk and the Wildcats don’t see a reason their climb toward the top has to stop in Maryville.

“There’s power in being in that underdog position,” Fisk said. “I was walking around, and I heard somebody say, ‘Why not us?’ … I’ve challenged the team on this, ‘Why not us?’ because we work as hard as they do … so why not us?”

The Bearcats are used to being the favorites; it’s something they’ve become accustomed to since Tjeerdsma resurrected the program and turned it into a perennial powerhouse starting in 1996. It’s a position Northwest has been in prior to every game this season, and that’s not changing heading into this weekend.

Wright knows that, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

JON WALKER | NW MISSOURIAN

Saturday in the fall is typically a day designated to college football. This week won’t be any different, of course, but there will be an addition. The Maryville football team will play on the same day as the Northwest football team.

The Bearcats’ will kick off with Central Washington at 12 p.m. At the same time, five minutes south on Munn Avenue, Maryville will be set for kickoff against Richmond in the Class 2 quarterfinals.

“We make a big deal about playing on Saturdays,” Maryville coach Matt Webb said. “It’s a special feeling to play when the big boys do. Everybody plays on Friday nights. That happens every week, and we love that. But you have to earn the right to play on Saturdays. It’s ‘Title Town’ for a reason. If you like football, Maryville is the place to be on Saturday.”

While both teams will get a shot to add to the tradition that coined Maryville as “Title Town,” the Spoofhounds (7-4) will do it a week after earning the Class 2 District 7 title with a 33-7 win against Macon.

Despite being almost 120 miles apart, Maryville is familiar with meeting Richmond (10-1) in the playoffs.

The teams have met six times in the Class 3 State Tournament, most recently in the District 8 championship game in 2020, when the Spoofhounds won 4614. Through the six meetings, Maryville is 4-2 and is on a threegame win streak. Richmond’s last win in the series was in 2011.

“Obviously, Maryville has been a very good program for a long time, and a chance to go play one of the best programs in the state is always a great opportunity,”

Richmond coach Nick Persell said over the phone. “I think our kids are excited about it.”

Throughout the regular season, and to this point in the playoffs, the Spartans have seemingly been on mission.

Richmond is coming off a 7014 win in the Class 2 District 8 title game, the biggest margin between all Class 2 district championships and the third-biggest margin in the entire Class 2 playoffs. The Spartans totaled 539 total yards of offense in their game against St. Michael the Archangel (7-4).

The Spartans’ lone loss came in Week 5 by a score of 35-26, a defeat courtesy of Lafayette County (11-1) — the Class 2 District 5 champions.

“If you want to make a run in the playoffs, you certainly have to be playing your best football at the end of the year,” Persell said.

“I’d say any of the teams left are probably in the same boat.”

The ‘Hounds have defeated their opponents by an average margin of 37.5 points and have given up a mere 9 points, combined, during their first two games this postseason.

When it comes to playing their best football at the end of the year, Webb said it definitely feels like what Spoofhounds are doing.

“I think I made a comment after the game (against Macon) that I think this is the most we’ve played complimentary football all season, which makes you a good team,” Webb said.

While some teams are really good at one phase at the game, Webb said, they’ll struggle on the other side. That’s not the case for Maryville as of late.

The Spoofhounds may have to play more complimentary football than ever against Richmond.

The Spartans enter the quarterfinals having scored an average of 48.3 points per game while allowing a meager 12.2 points per game.

Maryville boys soccer has used this fall to rewrite the program’s history, and the Spoofhounds plan to continue doing just that.

With a 1-0 win against No. 2-ranked Smithton Nov. 13, the Spoofhounds (15-5-1) advanced to the state semifinals for the program’s first ever trip to the final four, led by another shutout performance by sophomore goalkeeper Jaxson Staples.

The defensive battle’s 0-0 tie was broken with nearly five minutes left in the second half, when senior midfielder James DiStefano dished an assist to senior forward Jacob Ferris to seal the win for the ‘Hounds.

“Just knowing, like, all the hard work we put in, it was so nice to see (the ball) go in,” Ferris said. “I keep replaying it in my head over and over — the ball just slowly rolling into the goal and then running up to my teammates and celebrating it.”

“At first I couldn’t believe it,” senior midfielder Andrew Cronk said. “It was just kind of a blur with people screaming and yelling at me.”

With Maryville winning seven of its previous eight matches — the lone loss being against LeBlond Oct. 26 with no starters playing —— some consider them to be the hottest team in Class 1.

The Spoofhounds’ hot streak is led by four seniors, including Cronk, DiStefano and Ferris, along with fellow senior defender Teagan Haer, who made his return to the starting lineup against Smithton from an ankle injury suffered in the Excelsior Tournament Sept. 7-11.

Through grit and adversity, the ‘Hounds have prevailed through their past two matchups with a pair of 1-point victories in each.

“There were definitely moments (against Smithton) that, as a senior, if I wanted something to happen, I needed to step up. Or any of our seniors had to step up and make a play, and that’s what we’ve been doing during this postseason,” DiStefano said. “I feel like, especially the past two games, we’ve been off. But somebody stepped up and made a play, and that’s what

sends us on to the next round.”

“We’re kind of the leaders, but we try to lead by example, too,” Haer said. “We try to be leaders and show them how it’s done, but also get along with them and be their friends.”

This group of seniors has been playing together since they were all six years old, and the chemistry between them shows on and off the field. They’ve made history twice already with the program’s first conference title in 20 years and taking the team to the final four.

They’re hungry for more, though.

“It’s really awesome. Hopefully, this is a new page in soccer for us,” Cronk said. “Hopefully, we can show that we are a good program and we belong in the final four more often. Hopefully, even further than that.”

“It’d mean a lot. I mean, state is state,” Ferris said. “It’d be great to just go that far and win it. If we go all the way, we have to win it. Just to be able to tell people, ‘We won state,’ would be awesome.”

The Spoofhounds kick off the final four with a matchup against Lutheran St. Charles (20-5-1) at noon Nov. 19 at the World Wide

Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri. It’s simple from here on out. If the ‘Hounds win, they play for first Nov. 20 in the same location against the winner of St. Pius X (17-6) and Fair Grove (15-8). Should Maryville lose, it will play the loser of the same game in Fenton.

Whether the Spoofhounds come out first or fourth, they have made their school and community proud, and these four seniors know it.

“It would just be disappointing, but I’m happy where we are,” Ferris said. “I keep on telling people, ‘I’m really happy right now.’ But we still have two more games to go, and we will see what happens.”

“It wouldn’t be what we wanted, but I wouldn’t consider it a failure,” DiStefano said. “Earlier in the year, we got papers that said, ‘What’s our goal for the season?’ And I put, ‘Make it to state.’ And now here we are — two games away from winning the whole thing.”

Maryville football senior quarterback Connor Drake (15) connects with ju-

Back in Bearcat

For live coverage of football’s first-round home game,

Soccer earns first

bid to NCAA Tournament, set to face familiar foe

In a classroom on the second floor of the easternmost side of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse, 30 Northwest soccer players sat in their seats waiting for the announcement they’ve been anticipating since the end of their MIAA Tournament game against Emporia State Nov. 12.

On the room’s outskirts stood coach Marc Gordon, awaiting the same thing his players were.

As the NCAA Division II Selection Show went live, the announcement was that much closer.

Waiting on their names to be called, the Bearcats had to sit anxiously as the Atlantic and East Regions of the tournament were announced first.

As Jonathan Matthes, the

host of the selection show, read through the names of all the teams participating in the tournament, senior midfielder Madison McKeever wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

“We were all stressed, like, huddled together, kind of freaking out,” McKeever said.

CONFERENCE KINGS

Football nabs outright MIAA title with win over Emporia

Northwest senior Al McKeller had just bulldozed through a group of Emporia State defenders for a 4-yard touchdown at the north end zone of Bearcat Stadium to give the Bearcats a commanding 35-0 lead over the Hornets with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

After spending the first three seasons of his collegiate career at the University of Indianapolis, the running back came to Northwest in search of greener pastures, hoping to play in games as big as that one.

“Northwest gave me a second chance,” McKeller said. “I gotta just keep doing what I’m doing and show them that they didn’t make a wrong move.”

McKeller used his performance Saturday afternoon to prove that joining the Bearcats was anything but the wrong move. He used 169 yards rushing and three touchdowns en route to No. 4 Northwest claiming a 35-7 win over Emporia to clinch the program’s 31st overall — and 21st outright — MIAA title.

“Al was motivated this week, because I’m just gonna tell you, there were some Twitter things that were out there that people had said from the other camp that — Al was ready to play; he was locked in today,” Northwest coach Rich Wright said in the aftermath of the 28-point victory.

The Bearcats (9-1) knew they’d have a tall task prior to the matchup, one that Emporia (6-5) presented with the MIAA’s best passing offense and a defense that the defensive-minded Wright said mimicked Iowa State’s.

McKeller personified the Bearcats’ ability to thwart Emporia’s unfamiliar defensive attack from wreaking any havoc, as Northwest was able to put up 590 total yards of offense on the Hornets.

The ’Cats were 10 yards shy of eclipsing the 600-yard mark for the third time in the last four weeks.

The Northwest football team hadn’t done too much throughout the first two quarters of action during a matchup with Central Washington in the Division II quarterfinals Nov. 28, 2009.

If it weren’t for Chad Kilgore returning an interception 25 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter, perhaps the ’Cats would’ve been in a bigger hole than the 14-7 halftime deficit they were tasked with surmounting in the second half.

back into that game, eventually taking a 2114 lead halfway through the third quarter. It was a lead they clung to until Washington scored with six seconds left in the fourth.

That’s when then-senior defensive tackle Tyler Roach used an extended arm to block the game-tying extra point, effectively punching Northwest’s ticket to the semifinals en route to the Bearcats putting the punctuation on that season with the program’s third national title.

Wright’s now in his fifth year as the head coach at Northwest, and he doesn’t want to have to use a season-preserving, Tjeerdsma-like speech to wake his team up at halftime when the Bearcats host Washington for a first-round matchup Nov. 20 at Bearcat Stadium.

Despite being one of three teams in Super Region III with a regular-season resume good enough to earn a first-round home game, the Bearcats (9-1) aren’t overlooking the challenge of facing the non-seeded Wildcats (8-2) in the second ever meeting between the two programs.

Hill Award, and who gashed Emporia’s defense for 169 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 29 carries.

He’s the seventh-best rusher among the ranks of Division II, rushing for an average of 133.7 yards per contest, and Washington third-year coach Chris Fisk knows creating a plan to stop one of the most dominant players the Wildcats will see this season won’t be easy.

“Whether we stop the run and are able to run the ball, that’s gonna drive this football game,” Fisk said. “If we can’t stop them from running the football, it’s gonna be a long day in Maryville. If we can’t run the football, it’s gonna be a long day in Maryville.”

“We’re really starting to find a groove on that side of the ball,” Wright said. “Once we got our quarterback situation resolved, and could do all the things we wanted to on offense, it makes us pretty difficult to defend. …. There’s a lot of toys in the toy box for Coach (Todd) Sturdy to play with.”

Northwest’s offense didn’t take long to establish itself in the game. The Bearcats mustered 56 yards on 11 plays during the game’s opening drive before missing a 36yard field goal attempt.

“Mel Tjeerdsma came into the locker room at half and told those guys that they had won 12 games, and at Northwest Missouri State that was firmly average, and if we didn’t change how we were gonna play then we were gonna get beat,” said Rich Wright, a defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at Northwest in 2009. “(Tjeerdsma) doesn’t have a whole lot of — Coach T said words I say all the time, but he doesn’t usually say. … It was about a five-minute speech, and it was phenomenal. It was just what the doctor ordered.”

The Bearcats — behind then-coach Tjeerdsma — used the second half to claw

“You get to this point — there’s 28 teams left — everybody’s really good,” Wright said Tuesday afternoon at the Northwest Athletics Media Luncheon. “We’re gonna have to play well. … I think that we’re playing at a very high level, and we’ve finally got everybody healthy and clicking on all cylinders. So I’m excited for the challenge.”

Northwest will enter the matchup on the heels of a 35-7 win over MIAA foe Emporia State in Week 11, a triumph that was used to clinch the program’s 31st conference title, including the first outright one of the Wright era.

It was a dominant outing spearheaded by senior running back Al McKeller, who transferred to Northwest after being a two-time candidate for the Harlon

Wright knows the Wildcats — members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference — will try their best to contain McKeller, and so does Northwest senior wideout Imoni Donadelle, who had 19 catches for 445 yards and four touchdowns throughout the Bearcats’ 10-game regular season.

The Bearcats possess the eighth-best offense in the country, putting up an average of 484.2 yards of offense per game. It’s a high-octane attack fueled by a run game that’s been able to muster 234 yards per contest.

Donadelle will be tasked with exposing lapses in the Wildcats’ man-heavy defense when the Bearcats elect to pass, but he doesn’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. He’s up for the challenge.