<table> </table> Northwest Missouri turned Saturday&#8217;s Fall Classic into its coronation as the unquestioned king of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.</p><p>In the seventh installment of the football showdown at Arrowhead Stadium, the Bearcats thoroughly whipped undefeated Pittsburg State 35-10 &#8212; and dominated more than the final score indicated.</p><p>&#8220;This is always my favorite game of the year, coming to Arrowhead,&#8221; said Northwest Missouri senior offensive lineman Reid Kirby, a graduate of Oak Park. &#8220;I was just really happy the way we finished the game because even a couple of our wins and the blowouts, we didn&#8217;t always finish the best.</p><p>&#8220;That drive at the end felt so good. It had to be demoralizing for them. It was the best-feeling drive I&#8217;ve had maybe my entire career here.&#8221;</p><p>Northwest Missouri, 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference, has won 23 straight MIAA games. Pittsburg State dropped to 5-1 and 3-1.</p><p>On offense, Northwest Missouri reduced the Gorillas&#8217; roar to a whimper. Wide receiver Kendall Wright was open all day, pulling in a career-high 11 receptions for 157 yards.</p><p>&#8220;When I&#8217;m out there, I lose track of catches,&#8221; Wright said. &#8220;I was just out there trying to do my job and get us some first downs so we could score and win this game.&#8221;</p><p>Every time the Bearcats were in third and long, quarterback Joel Osborn found a wide-open Wright over the middle for huge gains.</p><p>&#8220;All in all, that&#8217;s the nature of the game &#8212; when you play somebody good, you&#8217;ve got to play good,&#8221; Pittsburg State coach Chuck Broyles said. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t play good, you get beat.&#8221;</p><p>The only thing Pittsburg State&#8217;s defense did right against Wright was keep him out of the end zone.</p><p>But that was OK for the Bearcats. Running back LaRon Council found the end zone four times and finished with 144 yards in 24 carries. Two of his touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, dashing the Gorillas&#8217; fading hopes.</p><p>Northwest Missouri&#8217;s defense was every bit as good as the offense. Pittsburg State had only 156 total yards after three quarters. In fact, when Wright caught his last pass early in the fourth quarter, he had 1 more yard than the entire Pittsburg State team.</p><p>&#8220;Our defense just played outstanding,&#8221; Northwest Missouri coach Mel Tjeerdsma said. &#8220;You take about two or three plays out of there and our defense was unbelievable. We got three turnovers. I was just really pleased with our effort.</p><p>&#8220;We talk so much about being a physical football team. I felt like we were a very physical team today. Our defense just swarmed to the football.&#8221;</p><p>Almost from the start, Northwest Missouri took control of the game and never let go. The Bearcats went into halftime with a 21-7 lead.</p><p>&#8220;We just didn&#8217;t come out in the first half and execute,&#8221; said Pittsburg State senior quarterback Mark Smith. &#8220;We got behind and were playing catch-up the rest of the way.&#8221;</p><p>Pittsburg State finally scored on a 6-yard pass from Smith to Harrison Kush with 1:45 left in the second quarter. By that time, the Bearcats had put up 21 points.</p><p>After getting stopped on three plays in their first drive, the Bearcats used the short passing game to methodically go down the field on their next three possessions.</p><p>The most impressive drive came in their second possession. The Bearcats started at their 29 and went 71 yards in 12 plays, using just over 5 minutes to score on a 6-yard run by Council.