It's over .... ACU Dominates from second quarter on to defeat No. 3 Northwest Missouri

ACUSPORTS.com is down, here is a brief recap from Lance Fleming ....

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Abilene Christian running back Bernard Scott ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns and Billy Malone threw four touchdown passes Saturday night as the eighth-ranked Wildcats knocked off third-ranked Northwest Missouri State, 44-27, in front of more than 9,000 fans at Bearcat Stadium.

The Wildcats (1-0) trailed 21-7 in the first quarter, but rallied with five straight scoring drives to outscore the Bearcats (0-1) 30-0 to take a 37-21 lead through three quarters.

After falling behind by two touchdowns, Malone hit Jonathan Ferguson for a 61-yard scoring strike to cut the lead to 21-14. Matt Adams followed with a 34-yard field goal to cut the Bearcats’ lead to 21-17 at the break.

ACU then dominated the third quarter, scoring on three straight as Malone hit Kendrick Holloway with a 1-yard scoring strike, Scott scored on a 1-yard run and Johnny Knox scored on a 7-yard scoring pass.

The Bearcats seemed to grab some momentum early in the fourth quarter when Kendall Wright scored on a 23-yard scoring pass from Joel Osborn, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 37-27 with 13 minutes to play. But ACU’s defense stood up in the fourth quarter, stopping three straight Northwest Missouri State drives, in part because of dominating play from defensive ends Vantrise Studivant and Aston Whiteside.

Scott finished it off for the Wildcats with a 14-yard touchdown run with 2:10 to play to stretch the lead back out to 44-27.

The Wildcats’ victory snapped a 17-game home winning streak by the Bearcats, who have played in the NCAA Division II national championship game in three straight seasons.