And the Winner is...Nobody

by Eric Horowitz, ShakedownSports

Last night Division II Northwest Missouri hosted Arkansas Tech in their season opener. The home team jumped out to an early 21-0 lead before the referees decided to call the game because of whether. Only one problem remained---It was unclear if the game counted.

Multiple thunderstorms halted the game with Northwest Missouri leading 21-0 over Arkansas Tech on Thursday night. The game was called with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

And the ending definitely was strange. [Northwest Missouri Coach Mel] Tjeerdsma believed his team came away with the win. Arkansas Tech coach Steve Mullins believed he agreed the game was called with no result.

The MAIAA eventually stepped in and ruled that the game would not count, pending an investigation by the two schools. If the game somehow does up getting counted as a loss it would have to be one of the most embarrassing losses in the history of football. It's as if it was decided that Arkansas Tech was so bad they could be declared the loser after less than a quarter of the game. That's worse than the slaughter rule in little league. At least there the winners have to play half the game. Northwest Missouri played less than a quarter.