Coming off their first loss of the season, The Missouri Southern Lions (3-1, 1-1) look to bounce back against a Northwest Missouri State University (4-0, 2-0) team ranked second in the nation in Division II football in a 6 p.m. contest tomorrow night at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.

For head coach Bart Tatum, facing off against his mentor, Bearcats head coach Mel Tjeersdma, is something he’s prepared for.

“There is an advantage because of my time at Northwest,” he said. “However, they have the same advantage because they know the type of guy I am.”

Tjeerdsma said his former offensive coordinator remain close.

“Bart is doing a great job. He is definitely off to a great start,” he said. “It’s part of the game. I recruited him out of high school to play for me at Austin College, and he’s part of our family. We’ll still call and talk to each other.”

Another matchup in tomorrow’s game is the top red zone defense in the league (Northwest) versus the top red zone offense in the league (Southern).

Northwest has the No. 2 run defense in the nation, which should provide a test for Tatum’s ground and pound offense. They have allowed an average of 80 yards per game.

“We have to keep their defense off balance,” Tatum said. “I’m not going to abandon the running game.

“They have two of the best defensive ends in the country in Ryan Waters and Dallas Flynn. They play the game violently.”

The Bearcat offense has averaged 309 yards per game and 4.9 yards per play in their quest to return to the Division II championship game. They are the defending national runners up.

Southern’s offense has averaged 347.5 yards per game, gaining an average of 5.9 yards per play. Quarterback Adam Hinspeter has played solid the past two games. Against Southwest Baptist University he was 23-28 for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Last week he threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburg State. Hinspeter leads the MIAA in completion percentage, completing 73 percent of his passes.

Last week’s 48-24 loss to PSU in the U.S. Cellular One Miners Bowl IX was not a total disappointment.

Although the Lions were outscored 35-0 in the first half, they roared back to outscore the Gorillas 24-13 the second half.

“We didn’t give up last week,” said senior offensive lineman Justin Reynolds. “This week we have to be ready to play from the start.”

“Last week left a bad taste in our mouth,” said senior defensive end Devin Rutledge. “The Pitt State game helped measure the speed of the game for the Northwest game. The speed is something we can’t assimilate in practice.”

Whether or not the Lions can be considered a second-half team, the common goal of the team is to win.

“If everyone is firing on all cylinders, good things can happen,” Rutledge said.