Jake Soy entered this season feeling like the Rodney Dangerfield of Northwest Missouri State’s receiving corps.

As an unproven sophomore, the Durant, Iowa, product just wanted to get a little respect.

After Saturday’s performance in a 49-35 victory against Missouri Western, he’ll get plenty.

“I love it,” the 6-foot-3 receiver gushed after establishing career highs with nine catches, three touchdown receptions and 142 yards against the Griffons. “I’ve been working so hard to gain (quarterback Blake Bolles’ confidence). I think I’m finally starting to get it. I’m happy.”

Bolles caught touchdown passes of 8, 50 and 23 yards from Bolles, who himself tied a Northwest record with five touchdown passes in the game.

But Soy has an opportunity to make an even bigger mark over the next five conference contests. He now has 10 touchdown receptions on the regular season, just three shy of the Northwest record held by former NFL performer Jamaica Rector, set in the 2004 season.

Coach Mel Tjeerdsma admitted being a little worried when he saw Bolles throw it up into a pack late in the game before Soy came down with the pass, much like he did on a Hail Mary play at the end of the first half against Nebraska-Omaha two weeks ago.

“Bolles scared me on that last pass he threw up to Soy,” Tjeerdsma said. “But he knows what he’s doing. He knows who can catch the football. Jake Soy just goes up and gets it.”

And Soy, a high jumper in high school, did just that.

“He out-sized us a couple of times,” Western coach Jerry Partridge said, lamenting his team’s inability to cover him. “Right now we’re not breaking balls up very good.”

And the Griffons could do little to stop the receptions, just like they struggled late in last week’s victory at Pittsburg State.

“All week we saw a lot of holes in their secondary,” Soy said. “We were really hoping to exploit them, and we did. We ran a lot of the same plays, and they really didn’t catch on to the scheme we were trying to do.”