UNK Beats Northeastern State, Could Receive Bowl Bid
Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney football team ran for 357 yards, got a pick six from a defensive end and forced seven punts to blank Northeastern State, 42-0, Saturday afternoon in Tahlequah, Okla. This was the regular season finale for both. UNK (8-3) could be selected for one of two bowl games on Saturday, Dec 3rd, but the 28-team Division II playoff field has to be determined first. That field will be announced on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at www.ncaa.com. The two bowl games the Lopers could be invited to are the Farmers Bank & Trust Live United Bowl in Texarkana, Ark., and the Heritage Bowl in Corsicana, Texas. UNK played in the Mineral Water Bowl (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) in 2019 but that game is no longer played. NSU (1-10) led both Missouri Western and Washburn going into the fourth quarter and the improved RiverHawks hung around until the third quarter today. UNK led just 7-0 at the half as three of their first five drives ended with a punt and another with a missed field goal (31 yards). The ‘Hawks had drives of 50 and 49 yards, respectively, in the first half but both ended with missed field goals (43 and 49 yards). “I thought we were asleep (early on) and I was worried about that all week. We were coming off an emotional win last week but give them credit. They (NSU) came out ready to play,” said UNK head coach Josh Lynn on the KRVN Radio post-game show. The Lopers got on the board when redshirt sophomore back Damien Cearns (Denver) ran over an NSU defender at the 15-yard line and ran the rest of the way untouched for 17-yard score. A bit shorthanded in the backfield today, Cearns finished with career-highs in carries (21) and yards (170). His powerful run capped a 10-play, 69-yard march that took 5:13 off the clock. UNK received the second half kickoff and promptly made it a two-score game as quarterback TJ Davis (Colorado Springs) hit senior tight end Thomas Tews (Omaha Concordia) from 15-yards out. That marked Davis’ 100th career TD (53 rushing, 46 rushing and one receiving). He joins fellow QB’s Jake Spitzlberger (118) and Justin Coleman (106) as the only Lopers to do that. “Our defense kept us going in the first half and did all day long. Extremely proud of the way we responded in the second half. We woke up and got going,” said Lynn. “Every once in a while, you have to go into the locker room and challenge your team and sure enough they answered.” While NSU picked Davis off in Loper territory a few minutes later, the defense held and gave the ball back to the offense. Four plays later on 3rd and 3 from the 27-yard line, Davis raced 73 yards for six points. It marked his second longest run of his career (79-yards vs. Chadron State, 2020). The Blue & Gold then tacked on 21 points in the fourth quarter as Davis found Tews again (13-yards), backup QB Sean Johnson Jr. (Orlando) found true freshman tight end Luke Blatchford (Lincoln SW) for a 15-yard score with super senior end Baylor Hellmuth (Hershey) dropping into coverage, picking off a tipped pass at the NSU 26-yard line and rumbling untouched down the right sidelines for an unlikely score. On the play, senior ILB Jacey Nutter (Thedford) hit ‘Hawk QB Jacob Frazier as he threw the ball, causing it to go up in the air like a pop up. Besides Cearns big day, Davis ran eight times for 103 yards while going 7 of 17 in the air for 71 yards and those two scoring tosses to Tews. Johnson Jr. was 2 for 2 for 53 yards and was one of eight Lopers to have a positive rushing total on the day. “Damien is a strong runner. The looks that we were getting weren’t real clean so we knew we’d have to break some tackles so he go the brunt of the load,” said Lynn. “In the last six years, I’m guessing our cruisers have had no more than 10 catches but they come out here today and have three touchdowns. It’s good to see.” Holding NSU to 48 rushing and 179 passing yards, the Loper defense also was stingy on third down (2 for 14) and had a fourth down stop as well. In addition to Hellmuth’s big pick, redshirt freshman safety CJ Kuehl (Indianola, Ia.) had a pick in his first collegiate start. Finally, Nutter had a team-best eight tackles with senior OLB Sione Taufalele (Santa Clara, Calif.) at four including three solo. On special teams, super senior kicker Junior Gonzalez (Corning, Calif.) now has 156 made PAT’s, tying the school-record set by German Volker Olbrich between 1996-99. NSU was led by receiver Malik Antwine (10 recep., 119 yards) and linebacker Isaac Little (eight tackles). "I’m so proud of our team. An 8-3 record in the MIAA is nothing to shake a stick at and maybe we can slide into a bowl game,” said Lynn. “We counted up and had five first or second team All-MIAA players from a year ago not be able to play today. That’s a credit to our program in regards to having young players be able to step up and perform well. The future of Loper is very exciting heading into next year."
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