Box Score Kearney, Neb. – The 16th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney football team overcame seven turnovers to rack up 700 yards of total offense in a 41-20 win at Wayne State Thursday night.

In a series that dates back to 1924, UNK beats the Wildcats for the 59th time in 84 all-time meetings. A statewide audience was able to watch the game via NET (Nebraska Education Television).

With both the MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) and NSIC (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) going to 11-game conference schedules next season, this is likely the last time Kearney and Wayne will meet on the football field for a while.

Thanks to a 27-point 2nd quarter, UNK ends a three-game losing streak to the 'Cats and wins a season opener for the first time since 2002.

Things didn't start off well for Wayne as starting quarterback Cyle Schultz suffered a serious hip injury on the third play of the game. He was a part-time starter in 2010 and was relieved by junior Evan Johnson, who was Wayne's other starting QB last season.

After a break to attend to Schultz, junior Tommy Flanagan (Lakewood, Colo.) received a punt and raced 63 yards down the sideline. A transfer from the U. of South Dakota, he eventually was tackled at the Wayne seven.

However, the 'Cats not only forced a fumble on the Lopers first offensive play but the ball rolled out of the back of the end zone, resulting in change of possession.

Wayne promptly marched 80 yards in 10 plays, the big gainer being a 30-yard run by senior running back Bryce Hawthorne, a transfer from Nebraska-Omaha. Johnson capped the 4:26 drive with a 10-yard pass to junior receiver Kevin Paulsen.

Both teams followed with three and out possessions before Wayne picked off senior QB Jake Spitzlberger (Lakewood, Colo.) and returned the ball to its own 43-yard line.

A 34-yard pass play to senior tight end Sam Blake happened next but the UNK defense stiffened and forced a punt.

However, the third Loper turnover of the quarter was up next as sophomore safety Austin Pomajzl stepped in front of a Spitzlberger third down pass. That gave Wayne the ball at the UNK 24-yard line.

The defense came up again as junior OLB Trey Wilberger (Scottsbluff), a former UNO Maverick, caught a tipped ball near the Loper goal line and returned it 15 yards.

Spitzlberger followed with a 60-yard run that not only got the offense rolling but also started a record setting night for the fifth-year senior.

Five plays later, senior back Rustin Dring (Kearney) scored from five yards out to tie thing up. Wayne followed with a 43-yard scoring drive capped by a 41-yard field goal from junior Max Martin.

That's when UNK moved ahead for good, scoring two TD's in the next four minutes.  A 22-yard kick return from Flanagan, and a 63-yard scamper by senior back Riley Newcomer (Morrison, Colo.), set up a five-yard scoring run by Spitzlberger to make it 14-10.

Wayne moved down the field on its next possession but a sack by Wilberger forced them out of field goal range. After a touchback on the punt, the Lopers saw Dring make it 21-10 when he ran 59 yards for a touchdown.

The 'Cats last big highlight came when senior receiver Tommy Warren brought back the ensuing kick 82 yards for a score. UNK quickly answered by going 75 yards in seven plays.

Spitzlberger had a key six-yard run on 3rd and two from the Loper 47-yard line and then ran 36 yards for a score on 1st and 10.

In the second half, Wayne gained just 75 yards of offense, 54 coming on the last drive of the night.

They recovered a fumble at the UNK nine-yard line early in the third but had to settle for a 22-yard Martin field goal.  Later in the quarter, they recovered a fumble at the Kearney 32-yard line but failed to convert on 4th and 17.

To start the second half, UNK went on a 17 play, 78-yard UNK drive that ended when Newcomer scored on 3rd and 1 from the one.

The next time Kearney got the ball, Spitzlberger threw a 19-yard pass to junior receiver Adam Lehner (Hastings) on 3rd and 14 from the Loper five-yard line.

Two plays later, Spitzlberger zigged and zagged his way down the field for a 74-yard touchdown, making it 41-20 at the 3:02 mark of the third.

This marks only the third time UNK has reached 700 yards of offense in a game. The school record of 734 yards came in a 1966 win at Chadron State while the 2002 Lopers had 722 yards in a victory at Colorado School of Mines.

Including in this total was 518 rushing yards, the second most in Loper lore. In that 1966 game at Chadron, Kearney galloped for 599 yards.

Individually, Spitzlberger finished with a career-high 288 yards and three TD's on 18 carries (15.3 average). This total is the most by a Loper in nine years and the third highest in school history.

This effort also allows Spitzlberger to become UNK's career rushing leader for quarterbacks (now 1,707 yards). UNK Hall of Famer Rich Osentowski ran for 1,534 yards from 1965-68.

Also of note, Dring (104) and Newcomer (83) yard more than 75 yards rushing.

In the air, Spitzlberger was 18 of 28 for 182 yards, no TD's and those three INT's. Lehner had team-highs in catches (five) and receiving yards (59) with nine others having at least one reception.

Defensively, UNK held Wayne to 253 yards, including 36 net rushing yards on 33 carries. Johnson was 10 of 22 for 139 yards, one TD and one INT while being sacked four times.

Besides his pick, Wilberger had two sacks for a loss of 18 yards. Also registering sacks were senior ends Alex Paicurich (Westminster, Colo.) and Corey Morten (Loomis) with sophomore tackle Sandi Stanback (Boys Town) having 2.5 tackles for loss.

Finally, Flanagan had 94 return yards and averaged 39.5 yards on two punts.

UNK hosts future-MIAA foe Northeastern State (Okal.) next Saturday.

The RiverHawks beat NAIA Bacone (Okla.), 43-0, on August 27th and play at Texas-San Antonio this Saturday. That game will be played in the Alamo Dome as this is UTSA's first-ever college football game.