The re-emergence of Northwest Missouri State as a power in the MIAA has gone hand-in-hand with the league's most potent offensive attack.
The Bearcats are averaging a conference-best 37 points per game and posting over 470 yards of total offense each week.
Zechariah Owens role continues to grow, too.
The redshirt freshman quarterback has accounted for 15 touchdowns, including an MIAA-high nine rushing scores despite only one start this season.
"He's just getting better each week with his knowledge," Northwest head coach John McMenamin said at Tuesday's weekly Coaches Show on KXCV-KRNW.
Owens has shown the ability to beat teams with his arm when the opportunity presents itself. He's thrown six touchdown passes to just one interception, while completing 66.2% of his passes this fall. But it's the ground attack that has set the offense apart.
Northwest is tops in the MIAA rushing for 262.6 yards per game. They also have a jaw-dropping seven rushing scores of 40 yards or more, including three from Owens.
The Glendale, AZ native totaled six touchdowns, four rushing and two passing, in a breakout performance against Central Missouri that garnered MIAA Offensive Player of the Week recognition.
"We know who we want to attack," Owens said. "Up front with our big guys, they all have an understanding and they all communicate each play of where we're going. They make it as easy as it could be. I see an opening and I just take off."
Owens took the field to guide the Bearcats' opening drive against Fort Hays and set the tone. For the game, he rushed for a career-high 164 yards on eight carries, while also completing six of eight passes for 80 yards.
"A couple of those are RPOs where he's reading safeties and making reads and letting the defense decide what he does," McMenamin said. "He recognized those and called them and put himself in a good position, then he was able to execute."
The last two weeks alone, Owens has rushed for 288 yards and six touchdowns.
"It's a complex offense, against complex defenses, and he's just done such a tremendous job. It's fun to see him grow."
The next challenge for Owens and the Bearcats will come in the Homecoming game Saturday against Nebraska Kearney.
