Box Score Kearney, Neb. - The 10th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney football scored 20 points in the first quarter and then relied on its defense to hold off Western New Mexico, 27-14, Saturday afternoon at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.

In game the featured nine turnovers and 106 passes, the Lopers (8-1, 7-1 RMAC) beat the Mustangs (4-5, 3-4 RMAC) for a sixth straight time.

UNK scored the first three times it touched the ball to lead 20-0 by the 5:08 mark of the first quarter. The drives covered 68, 65 and 38 yards with the first touchdown coming on 4th and three from the Mustang 16-yard line.

Playing his first game since late September, senior RB Rustin Dring (Kearney) not only got a first down but reached the end zone as well. Going for 31 yards on the game's first play, he finished the day with 11 carries for 86 yards and two catches for 23 yards.

UNK's third score came after Western fumbled at its own 38-yard line. Turnovers was an issue for both teams all day as the Lopers had four fumbles and threw two interceptions with the Mustangs having five fumbles, losing two of them, and tossing one INT.  

Western made it a 13 point contest late in the first half when they went 87 yards in 11 plays. The Loper offense responded with a 77 yard march that featured a 35-yard pass to senior WR Eli Hammond (Colo. Springs, Colo.).
Senior QB Jake Sptizlberger (Lakewood, Colo.) capped things off with an 18-yard scoring run.

That marked his 35th career rushing TD, breaking the school record of 34 set by Mike Miller ('04). Spitzlberger also started his 42nd straight game today, besting the previous mark for a Loper QB (41/Justin Coleman '00).

In the second half, UNK's first three drives ended due to fumbles. After being forced to punt after three plays, the Lopers fifth drive came to a halt when Spitzlberger was picked off by Nicholas Cook.

Western, which came into the league with the second best passing attack, had plenty of chances to come back as they ran 108 plays. Senior QB Dave Ingram went 37 of 72 for 364 yards and two TD's but was sacked seven times for a loss of 47 yards.

The Mustangs finished with just 26 rushing yards on 34 attempts. They also were only 2 of 6 in the red zone and 8 of 26 on third down.

Early in the third quarter, Western had it 1st and goal at the Loper one but junior ILB Justin Swedburg (Axtell) forced a fumble and redshirt freshmen linemen Jason Wilcox (Norfolk) pounced on the loose ball.
UNK, however, coughed it up two plays later. The defense again stopped Western, this time having a goal line stand as the Mustangs failed on four plays from the two yard line.

On fourth down, Ingram threw an incomplete pass. Early in the fourth, he was tackled for a loss by junior safety Pete Kropp (Grand Island) on 4th and two from the Loper 35-yard line.  Western ended the game 5 of 12 on fourth down.

The Mustangs finally cracked the “Blue Wall”, converting two fourth downs on a 16 play, 51-yard drive that ended when Ingram found Markis Sumpter from four yards out with 9:45 remaining.  

However, Western's next drive ended when they failed on 4th and 10 from UNK 19-yard line. Fittingly, the game's last play was a Mustang incomplete pass on 4th and 17 from the Kearney 22-yard line.

Individually, senior end Alex Paicurich (Westminster, Colo.) had 10 tackles, including two sacks for a loss of 11 yards. Next, Kropp had eight solo tackles and a sack with corners Kenny Hill and Arthur Hobbs, both from San Diego, combining for 15 tackles and eight pass breakups.
Also, safeties Jack Douglas (Weeping Water) and Sam Kuck (Central City) had eight stops.

Offensively, Spitzlberger had 72 rushing yards on 14 carries and went 19 of 32 for 189 yards in the air. His favorite target was sophomore WR Matt Berry (McCook), who had career-highs in catches (nine) and receiving yards (107). He also had four carries for 26 yards and two punt returns for 10 yards.

UNK is at Fort Lewis next Saturday