MARYVILLE, Mo. | Northwest Missouri broke the hearts of Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Stadium in another classic installment by the two championship programs.</p><p>The heart-stopping 38-35 victory by Northwest Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs earned the Bearcats their fifth straight appearance in the quarterfinals.</p><p>The playoff magic still lives in Maryville.</p><p>&#8220;Right now we are on such an emotional high by what just happened that we are in shock,&#8221; said Northwest Missouri senior quarterback Joel Osborn, who threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 55 seconds left in the game.</p><p>&#8220;We will have to get back down to reality and figure out what we need to do next week.&#8221;</p><p>Northwest Missouri, 11-1, will play at Abilene Christian, 11-0, next Saturday.</p><p>Abilene Christian, which beat Northwest Missouri 44-27 in Maryville in the season opener, defeated West Texas A&amp;M 93-68 in its second-round game.</p><p>&#8220;Did they cut down the nets?&#8221; asked Northwest Missouri coach Mel Tjeerdsma when he heard the Abilene Christian score.</p><p>The Bearcats are just happy to move on. They needed some fourth-quarter dramatics to make the rematch happen.</p><p>Northwest Missouri blew a 31-13 lead and saw the Gorillas go up 35-31 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Brandon Clark with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game. It was Clark&#8217;s fourth touchdown of the game.</p><p>Pittsburg State senior quarterback Mark Smith overcame two fumbles and an interception, leading the Gorillas to three second-half scoring drives.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s not the biggest player,&#8221; said Northwest Missouri junior linebacker Myles Burnsides, &#8220;but he has a big heart. He can play.&#8221;</p><p>And so can Osborn.</p><p>With the Bearcats&#8217; season in jeopardy, Osborn trotted to the sidelines during a timeout when Northwest Missouri faced fourth and 10 at the Pittsburg State 42, with 1:20 left.</p><p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t imagine how bad I would have felt if we lost that game,&#8221; Osborn said. &#8220;That&#8217;s kind of what goes through your head when you are out there. This could be the last play of my career.</p><p>&#8220;You just got to go and make something happen because not everything goes as planned. That&#8217;s just like life. Things don&#8217;t go as planned, you&#8217;ve just got to adjust.&#8221;</p><p>Osborn proved that by dodging a sack, staying calm and stepping up in the pocket and hitting Nick Rhodes for a 27-yard pass on fourth down. On the next play, Osborn tossed a game-winning 15-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone to Kendall Wright.</p><p>And that play ended Pittsburg State&#8217;s season. The Gorillas finished 11-2. Both losses came against their rival.</p><p>&#8220;It is always more fun to win than lose, of course,&#8221; Pittsburg State coach Chuck Broyles said. &#8220;We found ways to give them opportunities to win the football game, even at the end. If we get a sack or defend a pass, we are going to win the game.</p><p>&#8220;We were down in the game, but we played hard and that&#8217;s a tribute to our football team.&#8221;