Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Fifth-year senior quarterback Brady Bolles threw for 211 yards and accounted for two touchdowns to lead the fifth-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats over Nebraska-Kearney, 31-0, Thursday night at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field.

A crowd of 7,853, the fifth largest in school history, watched the debut of Josh Lamberson as Loper head coach.

And things got off to a rousing start as senior quarterback Bronson Marsh (Millard South H.S.) hooked up with senior receiver Cougar Williams (Hanford, Calif.) for a 68 yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.

However, the Bearcats defense responded with three negative yardage plays and a Loper field goal just missed from 32 yards out.

On the night, Northwest limited UNK to 244 yards, including 83 on the ground. The Bearcats managed 12 tackles for loss, including seven sacks, forced two fumbles and broke up four passes.

"Offensively, we just couldn't finish drives. And the same thing on defense; we couldn't get then off the field on third down," said Lamberson. "They made some plays when the opportunity presented itself and we didn't. We also had some silly penalties, were undisciplined at times, got a kicked blocked and those things will you lose ball games."

After the missed field goal, Northwest took 7:05 off the clock with a 16 play, 80-yard drive that featured a 3rd and 14 conversion and a 4th and 1 conversion. Bolles capped things with a two-yard scoring plunge on 3rd and goal.

On the next series, junior defensive end Collin Blevins recorded a strip sack of Marsh, recovering the ball at the Loper 33-yard line. Northwest scored eight plays later on a two-yard rush by junior running back Phil Jackson II.

The drive featured two more 3rd down conversions; Northwest's third score came on 3rd and 8 and was a 34-yard pass from Bolles to junior George Sehl in the third quarter. For the game, the 'Cats were 8 of 16 on 3rd down.

"Third down has been the Achilles heal of our defense the last couple of years. We just have to figure out a way to get off the field, get some push up front and understand teams are going to play the sticks," said UNK co-captain Tyke Kozeal.

In the fourth quarter, junior kicker Simon Mathiesen booted a 21-yard field goal with junior backup QB Kyle Zimmerman scoring from 15 yards out with 4:31 left.

Besides the first drive, UNK had a 43-yard drive late in the first quarter that ended on downs and a 44-yard drive that was stopped in Bearcat territory due to a fumble. Finally, the game ended after the Lopers had marched 51 yards in 12 plays.

"It's always frustrating not to finish drives. The ultimate goal for an offense is to score and we didn't get it done tonight. We had some good plays but we've got to fix some things and execute better next week," said Marsh.

Seven different 'Cats carried the ball as they finished with 145 yards on 37 carries (3.9 average). Jackson had a team-best 54 with Bolles, who was sacked twice, having 15 on 12 totes. Next, 11 different Northwest receivers caught a pass, led by Shawn Bane's six for 78 yards. Defensively, junior linemen Cass Weitl had a team-high eight stops (2.5 TFL) with sophomore linemen Nicholas Turner at 1.5 sacks.

"A lot of credit goes to Northwest Missouri. They came in very well prepared and stuck it to us. We're going to learn from this and move on. This one can't beat us next week," said Lamberson.

For UNK, Williams tallied 116 yards on just three receptions. That included a one-handed grab in the first quarter that went for 26 yards. He is the first Loper receiver to have 100 yards in a game since Adam Lehner had 132 in a 2012 October loss at Lincoln.

Behind a new look offensive line, the Lopers got 45 yards from junior back Romero Cotton (Hutchinson, Kan.) with Marsh gaining 70 yards on 17 carries with a long run of 13 yards. The sacks brought his total down to a net of 18.

The Loper defense was led by Kozeal (Sargent), who managed 16 stops (five solo), including two sacks. He also broke up a pass in the end zone.

Finally, senior safety Dillon Loschen (Columbus) had eight tackles with a trio of Lopers --- junior linemen Peyton Lange (Elkhorn) and sophomores George Brown (University City, Mo.) and Devontay LeFlore (Omaha Central) --- at seven apiece.

"The energy and enthusiasm when we came into the stadium right off the bat was just exhilarating. The players and the coaching staff really appreciated it and it was truly home field advantage," said Lamberson. "Our kids effort is the thing that really sticks out to me. They played hard until the very last second."

UNK is at Washburn next Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. The Ichabods fell at Lindenwood tonight, 20-14.