Kearney, Neb. – If past history is an indicator, plenty of points will be scored when the Nebraska-Kearney and Emporia State football teams meet on Thursday, September 9th, at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field.

This is UNK's 2016 home opener and the first of six games that'll be played at Cope this season. The contest can be heard live locally (KRNY 102.3 FM) and over the internet at www.krny.com. To watch the action, log on to UNK's Stretch Internet page; cost is $9.95 or $69.95 for a football season pass. Finally, live stats will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/unk/football/

A free shuttle service will run from 5:00 p.m. until half an hour after the game ends. The bus will pick fans up from the Buckle Screen Printing Warehouse lot on West Highway 30 and drop them off South of Men's Hall on the UNK campus.

Also this year for Loper football, the "Pride of the Plains Marching" band and the "Loper Loonies" will be seated in the North end zone bleachers. That previously was general admission seating; fans that have sat here before can find G.A. seats on the West side of the stadium.

Since joining the MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in 2012, UNK and Emporia State have met four times. The Hornets have go 3-1 in those games with the average score being 46-33.

Last year on "Senior Day" in Kansas, Emporia won 52-34 as Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Brent Wilson was 18 of 30 for 353 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Loper senior QB Bronson Marsh was almost his equal, accounting for five TD's and 433 yards of total offense.

UNK and ESU also closed out the 2014 season. On that blustery November day, the teams battled themselves as well as snow, ice, rain and howling winds that seemingly changed direction every few minutes.

The Lopers got out to a 35-14 halftime lead but ESU roared back before falling 42-40. The Hornets tallied 19 points over the final 6:38 to almost force overtime. 

In 2015, Emporia went 11-3 and finished the year ranked eighth nationally. They beat Minnesota State and Henderson (Ark.) state in the playoffs before losing to eventual national champ NW Missouri State. The Hornets also lost to the Bearcats during the 2015 regular season and last weekend at home, 41-14.

While Wilson and his 40 TD's and 303 passing yards per game must be replaced, Emporia still has plenty of talent. First, backs Antonio Brown (674 yards, five TD's), Landon Nault (727 yards, four TD's) and Denzel Strong (406 yards) all return. In 2014, Kai Callins ran for 346 yards and three TD's in nine games.
 
They run behind a line features senior left tackle DeAndre Herron (6-5, 335 lbs.) and senior left guard Jarrett Stastny (6-4, 285 lbs.).
 
Next, senior Mitchell Foote caught 79 balls for 877 yards and 12 TD's in 2015 and is the leading returning receiver. Foote is also among the most dangerous punt returners in the nation, bringing back two for TD's in 2015. His long return went for 88 yards and he finished with a 22.6 yard average.
 
Finally, Braxton Marstall is a redshirt sophomore who backed up Wilson and Ty Reasnor last fall. He started three games in 2014, going a combined 35 of 65 for 348 yards, three TD's and three INT's. 

His backup is Tulsa transfer and junior Jaylen Lowe (6-0, 195 lbs.). After Marstall was 8 of 16 for 63 yards and one TD against Northwest, Lowe came in and went 4 of 5 for 35 yards and ran for a TD.
 
Defensively, Emporia recovered 15 fumbles and picked off 17 passes last season. They also registered 38 sacks and held teams to 38% on third down.
 
Senior strong safety JP Lohrentz had five of those picks and also forced two fumbles. He finished with 82 tackles (52 solo), fourth most on the team. Senior linebacker Kole Schankie amassed a team-best 105 tackles last fall, including 13.5 TFL's. That total included four sacks. Next to him is senior Josh Monteagudo, who had 102 tackles (10.0 TFL) as a junior.
 

Up front, senior nose guard Eddie Vinson (6-2, 289 lbs.) is an Omaha Central graduate. He had four sacks and two forced fumbles as a junior defensive end. Finally, on special teams, junior Austin Morton back at kicker. He made 22 of 25 field goals last season and was 56 of 59 on PAT's.
 
Loper fans will certainly want to buy a game day program to learn all new faces on the 110th squad in school history.
 
The majority of the 60 players that travelled to Missouri Western State last Thursday night had never played in a Division II game. And a big portion were redshirt or true freshman that had never played in college.
 
Showing its youth, all the Lopers involved in scoring plays in the 44-21 loss scored for the first time in Kearney uniform. They were junior college transfer and receiver Malcolm Moore (Excelsior Springs, Minn.), sophomore receiver Jack Lydiatt (Colo. Springs, Colo.), redshirt freshman back Thomas Russell (Millard West H.S.), redshirt freshman QB's Justin Roberts (Arvada, Colo.) and Stephen Worthing (Elkhorn South H.S.).
 
Defensively, many new faces had big efforts, including sophomore linebacker and UNL transfer Garrett Poppen (Giltner) and redshirt freshman Sal Silvio (Kansas City), Zach Sullivan (Millard West H.S.) and Dallas Vaughn (St. Louis).
 
Of course, one thing remained the same for UNK and that was Sargent native Tyke Kozeal making tackle after tackle after tackle. He logged 17 (10 solo) at Mo West, pushing his career total to 447.
 
Another veteran who had a big day in St. Joe was senior receiver Preston Foley (Houston). A sprinter on the Loper track team, Foley caught a team-high six balls for 79 yards. He made a spectacular 43-yard catch in the first half with a Griffon draped all over him.
 
Foley came into 2016 as the only UNK wide receiver with a reception in a Division II game.
 
Next Saturday, UNK has the daunting task of travelling to No. 1 NWMSU to take on the Bearcats. Northwest hosts Washburn this Thursday and are riding a 16-game winning streak.