Box Score Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney football team had another big day on the ground, and recorded six sacks, to defeat Southwest Baptist, 28-14, Saturday afternoon in Bolivar, Mo.
 
UNK (3-5, 3-4) has now won three of its last four games while the Bearcats (1-7, 1-6) have dropped four straight.
 
Leading from start to finish, the Lopers were up 14-0 and 28-7 before SBU tried to rally in the fourth quarter. However, the SBU mustered only 203 yards of total offense, including -1 on the ground.
 
Sophomore running back Romero Cotton (Hutchinson, Kans.) paced the Kearney offense with 31 carries for 148 yards and one TD while catching a 10-yard scoring pass in the first quarter.  
 
Next, freshman QB Luke McNitt (Kearney H.S.) ran 17 times for 102 yards, including scoring runs of two and 57 yards in the third quarter. In the first half, he went 6 of 11 in the air for 98 yards and that one score to Cotton.
 
UNK finished with 66 carries for 308 yards, the third time this fall the Lopers had at least 60 totes and the fourth time going over 265 rushing yards.
 
Forcing Southwest to punt seven times, the Loper defense saw senior end Elhadji Ndiaye (Brooklyn, N.Y.) record two sacks with senior co-captain Jason Wilcox (Norfolk) at 1.5 and safeties Jack Douglas (Weeping Water) and Dillon Loschen (Columbus) having one a piece.
 
Also on defense, redshirt freshman ILB Tyke Kozeal (Sargent) had a game-high 14 tackles with senior ILB Kellen Werner (Grand Island) making 11.

He needs just four more to become the UNK's all-time leader in the Division II era (1990-present), surpassing DJ Vokolek's three-year total of 283.
 
UNK began the day with a bang, scoring TD's on its first two drives. They covered 65 and 99 yards, respectively, with Cotton – the nation's No. 1 ranked wrestler at 197 lbs. -- capping both with scores.
 
The first drive was highlighted by a 45-yard pass from McNitt to sophomore WR Nate Burns (Lakewood, Colo.) with the 99 yard drive featuring five 3rd down conversions. The key third down plays included a pass interference penalty on SBU and a 10-yard scoring pass from McNitt to Cotton.
 
However, the 'Cats defense stiffened, forcing UNK to punt five straight times. During this stretch, offensively, Southwest missed a 42-yard field goal and junior end Matt Bowman (Kearney Catholic) picked off QB Joey Dominguez with five minutes left in the 2nd quarter.
 
SBU did get on the board right before halftime when Dominguez directed a three play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard scoring pass.
 
Kearney scored its final two touchdowns in a two-minute span in the third quarter. The first drive covered 60 yards with McNitt racing 57 yards five plays later on 2nd and 6.
 
A controversial fumble by the Lopers led to the final score of the game. After SBU recovered the "loose ball/incomplete pass", third string QB MJ Swortwood directed a four play drive that ended with a 14-yard pass to Zach Sohn.
 
Besides Cotton and McNitt, Lexington QB Tyler McKeone ran four times for 21 yards and was 3 of 4 in the air for 28 yards. Finally on offense, Burns had four catches for 80 yards.
 
For SBU, Dominguez was 14 of 24 for 127 yards, one INT, one TD and was sacked three times. Derwyn Lauderdale, averaging over 110 receiving yards per game, was held to seven receptions for 55 yards.
 
The 'Cats ran 24 times and gained 53 yards. However, the sacks and other TFL resulted in -1 net yards. Wilcox (three) and Ndiaye (two) combined for five TFL for a loss of 27 yards.
 
UNK hosts Central Missouri next weekend.