17 yards from history

MARYVILLE, Mo. - Seventeen yards, fifty-one feet or 612 inches.

No matter how it's measured it's all that stands between Northwest Missouri State University senior running back Xavier Omon and history.

Omon needs 17 yards to become the first-ever NCAA Division II player to rush for 1,500 yards in four straight seasons.

The Beatrice graduate will have the opportunity to achieve the honor this Saturday as Northwest's Bearcats wrap up their regular season, hosting Missouri Southern in a 1 p.m. contest in Maryville.

Omon is already only the seventh Division II player ever to rush for 1,000 yards in four season.

Seventeen more yards, however, and he'll “own” a record all his own.

Starting out his collegiate career, Omon said setting records wasn't his main concern.

“Records and stuff really didn't mean anything to me,” Omon said. “Winning games is what mattered to me.”

Omon said he's been lucky to have a lot of individual success while helping his Bearcat teammates win.

When it comes to records, Omon had put his name on many single-game, season, career and playoff marks at Northwest, as well as making a name for himself nationally.

Now, Omon admits, achieving records has been “great,” but only in the right context.

“Winning games is still the most important thing,” Omon said. “The records are great to have, because I know I've worked hard for them, but the main successes I've had is in winning games.”

And Omon doesn't mind being the Bearcats “workhorse” or having his team lean on him if it means success in the end.

After all, that comes with being the team's featured running back.

“Running the ball and putting the team on your back when it's needed, it's part of the position,” Omon said.

Omon said Northwest coaches have “believed” in his ability to run the football since his “coming-out game” at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg when he was a redshirt freshman.

The game against Central was the third contest of that year when he rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

Winning his coaches' approval, especially that of head coach Mel Tjeerdsma, has been important to Omon since first setting foot on the Northwest campus.

“When I first got here, I asked Coach T (Tjeerdsma) who the Top Five football players he's ever coached were,” Omon said. “He named them off and I told him I wanted to be one of the best ones he's ever coached.

“He hasn't named me yet, but hopefully, I'm up there and I've gotten into the Top Five at least.”

Omon has not only earned the respect of his coaches at Northwest, but also of his teammates.

Omon is one of four team captains for the Bearcats this season. Captains are selected by a vote of their peers.

The senior running back headed into last Saturday's Bearcat road game at Emporia (Kan.) State University needing 247 yards to reach the 1,500 mark this season.

Against Emporia State, Omon rushed for 230 yards and scored two touchdowns, leading the Bearcats to a 24-7 victory.

The 230 yards was Omon's second-highest total this season and ranks as the eighth-best performance in school history. It was the sixth time in his four-year career he has surpassed the 200-yard mark in a single game.

Omon has rushed for 100-plus yards in 14 straight games, dating back to the 2006 season, and has at least one rushing touchdown in each of his last 13 contests.

Also in the Emporia State game, Omon became the 11th player in Division II history to rush for 6,000-plus yards in a career and the fifth player to score 500 or more points. He currently has 6,219 career rushing yards and has scored 506 points.

Omon currently leads the nation in scoring for Division II this season.

Earlier this season, in a game played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Omon had a career-best rushing effort of 274 against Pittsburgh (Kan.) State University. It was also the third-best single-game rushing performance in Northwest history.

Northwest is currently 8-1 overall and 8-0 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standings, having already won its second-straight conference championship.

Northwest is currently ranked second in the Southwest Region, behind Chadron State College.

So far in his career at Northwest, Omon has played in postseason action three-straight years and has been in the Division II national championship game the last two seasons.

Playing in the championship games have been the highlight of his college career, Omon said.

Heading into his senior season, Omon was tabbed as a preseason All-American by Don Hansen's Football Gazette, Street & Smith, Lindy's and D2Football.com.

Last year as a junior at Northwest, Omon was a Harlon Hill Southwest Region finalist. The Hill award is presented to the top player in Division II.

Omon was also named to the 2006 Don Hansen Football Gazette first-team All-American team and to the D2Football.com second-team All-American team. He was a second-team All-Southwest Region and first-team All-MIAA selection and was named Northwest's Most Valuable Offensive Player.

The Bearcat back finished his junior season as the ninth-leading rusher in all of Division II with 1,518 total yards. He ranked sixth nationally in scoring with 11.1 points per game, 13th in yards per game at 116.8 and 25th in all-purpose yards at 130.0.

During his junior year, he became the Northwest career all-games rushing leader, ending the season with 4,736 yards.

After redshirting his first year at Northwest, Omon earned honorable mention all-American honors as a freshman and sophomore.

Nationally, Omon ranked 19th in rushing yards per contest as a freshman with 121.2 and 22nd in scoring with 9.2 points per game. As a sophomore, he finished 26th in rushing yards per game at 117.4, 41st in all-purpose yards at 134.9 and 70th in scoring at 6.9 points per contest.

Redshirting and sitting out his first season at Northwest was one of the hardest things Omon has experienced as a collegiate player.

“My redshirt year was a struggle, because I wasn't used to not playing football, not playing in games,” Omon said.

Now, though, he realizes that was an important growing year for him as a football player both physically and mentally.

“I told the coaches this year, it helped me out so much that I got to redshirt,” Omon said. “I learned not to just run the ball, but to see schemes and know what I'm suppose to be doing other than just running the ball.”

Omon said he also got bigger and stronger during his redshirt year.

“I came in at 190 (pounds) and I put on 15 or 20 pounds the first year,” Omon said, who currently plays at 220 pounds.

Omon graduated from Beatrice in 2003 where he was an all-state performer in both football and basketball and lettered in track and field. He signed a national letter of intent to play at Northwest that spring.

The person behind Omon's drive to succeed all along has been his mother Deloris Omon-Brown.

Not wanting to be a burden on his mother financially was one of the reasons Omon ended up at Northwest in the first place.

Omon had a number of offers from Division I schools to walk-on or for partial scholarships. He was ready to accept an offer to walk-on at Nebraska when he made a last-minute decision to accept Northwest's offer of a full-ride scholarship.

At the time, Omon said he'd always promised his mother she wouldn't have to pay for his education.

Looking back on the decision to play at Northwest, Omon said he has no regrets.

“It's been a great run,” Omon said. “I haven't regretted anything. It's turned out a lot better than if I would have went to Nebraska or somewhere else.”

Omon said he's gotten the “exposure” at Northwest he wanted.

“It's been a great experience,” Omon said. “You don't get to play for two national championships just anywhere.”

While he still has work to do on the football field, Omon is also looking forward to an “off-field” event - his graduation from college.

“I can't wait,” Omon said. “I just got my cap and gown the other day.”

A broadcasting major with a minor in coaching, Omon is set to receive his degree from Northwest in December.

Academically, Omon said it hasn't always been easy, but it's definitely been worthwhile.

“I'm not a straight-A student, but I'll graduate in December, so a lot of hard work has paid off,” Omon said.

Beyond college, Omon has other dreams.

After playing football on Saturdays for the past four seasons, Omon would like to continue his athletic career on Sundays, playing in the National Football League.

“Playing in the NFL has been my main goal since I was a little kid,” Omon said.

Omon said a professional football career has been his dream since he put on his first set of football pads as a third grader.

“I've always told myself if I work hard enough I can play on Sundays,” Omon said. “I knew if I kept working there was no reason I shouldn't be able to do that.”

With that goal in mind, Omon will be continuing to work hard after this collegiate season ends.

“After this football season, it's going to be about me and about me making it to the NFL,” Omon said, “ and continuing my dream.”

Omon hopes to have the chance to play in some collegiate all-star games and get more exposure. He's already had scouts from all but one NFL team watching him during practices at Northwest this season. He'll also hope to be invited to the NFL combine.

When it comes to football specifically and athletics in general, Omon said it all comes down to one thing.

“It's all about not giving up,” Omon said.