For most of Saturday's title game it looked as though the Lakers' dreams of a title and an unbeaten year would be dashed by the Bearcats, who were bidding for their fourth straight postseason win away from home. Northwest Missouri State scored two first-half touchdowns to lead 14-7 at halftime against a Grand Valley team that struggled on offense and saw its renowned defense tested by quarterback Josh Lamberson, who completed 33 of 49 passes for 326 yards and a touchdown. Lamberson began quickly, throwing 30-yards to Mike Peterson for a first quarter score. After Finnerty answered with a five-yard scoring run, Xavier Omon scored from two yards out early in the second period to give Northwest Missouri State the lead.
In the third quarter, Grand Valley tied the game on Finnerty's three-yard scoring run, but the Bearcats reclaimed the lead on a 35-yard field goal by Tommy Frevert.
From that point on it was a battle of nerves. The Lakers didn't take their first lead of the game until Langston's touchdown reception with under five minutes remaining, but Northwest Missouri State fought back behind Lamberson. He guided his team down the field in the closing seconds and moved his team inside the twenty-yard line before being driven out of bounds with one second left in the game. With the national championship on the line, Lamberson completed a pass to Raphael Robinson, who was tackled by Grand Valley's Kirk Carruth and Joe Ballard at the five-yard line as time expired. The Lakers and their fans then stormed onto the turf at Braly Municipal Field to celebrate their third national title, which came in their fourth trip to the Division II championship game since 2001.
Finnerty completed 12 of 19 passes for 172 yards for the Lakers and added 59 yards on the ground on 14 carries. Astin Martin had 18 carries for 72 yards for Grand Valley, while tight end Mike Peterson had nine catches for 150 yards for the Bearcats. In addition to his first quarter touchdown, Peterson had a third-quarter reception that went for 61 yards, the only play of more than 35 yards surrendered by Grand Valley this season.
The victory capped a storybook second season for Chuck Martin, who replaced Brian Kelly after the 2003 title game. The Lakers are now 23-3 after two seasons under Martin, who took over after a successful stint as the Lakers' defensive coordinator.
