MARYVILLE, Mo. - A dominant defense trumped four turnovers on Saturday, giving Northwest Missouri State the winning hand in its second-round NCAA playoff game against Abilene Christian.

The Bearcats turned the ball over on three interceptions and one fumble, all by Blake Bolles, but the defense rose to the occasion nearly every time in a 35-10 victory at Bearcat Stadium that avenged a season-opening loss against the Wildcats.

"They did a tremendous job in all three phases of the game," Abilene (9-4) coach Chris Thomsen said. "They were a lot more efficient on offense than in game one. They established the run well, and I thought they threw it down the field more in this game than they did in game one."

Northwest (11-1) advances to the quarterfinals and will play next Saturday at Central Washington, which beat Tarleton State.

Bolles threw for 229 yards and one touchdown on 15-for-20 accuracy, finding Jake Soy seven times for 141 yards, including a 49-yarder.

"Jake was a dominant player today," Thomsen said. "He did a great job of pulling down catches, and Blake made some great throws."

Thomsen said the downfield pass loosened up the defense for the run. In fact, behind Harlon Hill finalist LaRon Council's 87 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground - not to mention a 23-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown reception in the fourth quarter - the Bearcats' 168 rushing yards were more than anyone managed all season against the stingy Abilene defense.

"We were just real physical up front," said Council, giving credit to the offensive line that has matured significantly since the season opener.

But the defense starred in this game. After giving up a 29-yard field goal by Morgan Lineberry with 6 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Northwest maintained a bend-but-not-break pattern. The Bearcats caught a break when Abilene quarterback Mitchell Gale tried to stretch the ball over the goal line on a 1-yard sneak, but Willie Horn knocked the ball loose and Josh Lorenson recovered the fumble and preserve a 7-3 lead.

Five players later, Michael Stadler uncorked his longest punt of the season - a 56-yarder - to help the Bearcats gain what up to that point had been an elusive advantage in field position.

The defense held Abilene to a three-and-out, then four plays later Bolles fooled nearly everyone in Bearcat Stadium with a play-action fake, pulling the ball out of Council's midriff and rambling untouched for a 71-yard touchdown - the longest run of his career and the longest of Northwest's season.

"That's a 14-point swing, really," Northwest coach Mel Tjeerdsma said of the momentum changer. "Even if we hadn't have scored, just to stop them there gave our defense so much momentum, and it really took a lot away from them."

Three times the defense rose to the occasion after the offense gave the ball back to the Wildcats. And twice the Northwest defense had just gotten possession via an Abilene turnover.

"Those are tough mentally, because you're excited because you just forced a turnover and then you've got to turn right around and go back out on the field again," Tjeerdsma said. "That's a sign of a real mature defense, and that's what we got."

Thomsen, for one, was impressed, as the pass rush began to get to Gale with regularity in the second half. Northwest tallied five sacks in the game.

The Abilene coach cited Aldwin Foster-Rettig's recovery of Reggie Brown's fumble as a a crucial play that set up the Northwest defense for success.

"That puts you more, offensively, into a catch-up mode, having to throw the ball a bit too much ... again not a situation you want to get in against Northwest Missouri," Thomsen said. "(Defensive end Sean Paddock) and big No. 91 (defensive end Tyler Roach) are not very nice people. They did a good job."

Council twice scored from a yard out, and he opened the scoring with an 8-yard burst around left end.

Abilene's only touchdown came with 2:01 remaining on a 1-yard run by Daryl Richardson. That six-play, 53-yard drive came against primarily third-string players.