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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

UNK Football
Todd Gottula
13
Neb.-Kearney UNK 7-2 , 7-2
66
Winner Northwest Mo. St. NWM 7-1 , 7-1
Neb.-Kearney UNK
7-2 , 7-2
13
Final
66
Northwest Mo. St. NWM
7-1 , 7-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UNK Neb.-Kearney 7 0 6 0 13
NWM Northwest Mo. St. 18 30 6 12 66

Game Recap: Football |

# 8/6 Northwest Downs #17/17 UNK to Grab MIAA Lead

Kearney, Neb. – The No. 8/6 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats had 606 yards of offense, got four touchdowns from Harlon Hill candidate Al McKeller and scored 30 points in the second quarter to blitz No. 17/17 Nebraska-Kearney, 66-13, Saturday afternoon in Maryville, Mo.

A sold-out "Homecoming" crowd of nearly 9,000 watched the Bearcats move to 7-1 and to 13-4 all-time against the Lopers (7-2). This was the de facto MIAA Championship game; Northwest is at Missouri Southern (3-6) and hosts Emporia State (5-4) to close out the fall. Meanwhile UNK is at Central Oklahoma (4-5) next Saturday and then hosts Northeastern State (2-7).

"It was a nightmare. Gives Northwest credit … they beat us in every phase of the game. They out coached us and they out played us offense, defense and special teams," said UNK head coach Josh Lynn. "We ran into a buzz saw and didn't respond very well. We didn't play physical football."

UNK actually held a 7-6 lead as it marched 75 yards on its first offensive possession. However, the Lopers got a couple of lucky bounces on the nine-play drive. Quarterback TJ Davis (Colorado Springs) fumbled the ball on third down but it came right back to him and he raced nine yards for a first down. He then saw a pass hit off the hands of a teammate before redshirt freshman receiver JerQon Conners (St. Louis) caught the tipped ball for a 46-yard gain. Davis next flipped a pass to redshirt freshman back Damien Cearns (Denver) for a seven-yard score.

But that was the highlight of the day as Northwest used a series of big plays to grab a 48-7 halftime lead. They brought back the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score, thanks to a reverse, got a 56-yard scoring run from QB Mike Hohensee, saw McKellar have TD runs of one, 13 and 31 yards and stuffed the Lopers on 4th & 1 from its own 36-yard line. That came with the score 12-6; it was 18-6 soon after.

The only thing that didn't go the 'Cats way was kicking PAT's (0 for 4); they did connect on three two-point tries. UNK also saw a PAT bang off the uprights in the second half.

"They had a lot riding on this game. Playoff situation for them, it was homecoming. We ran into a tornado today," said Lynn. "I thought we had a good week of practice. That's a great football team and you can't get complacent for one minute. If so, they will get after you."

McKeller now has had four 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his career. The transfer from the University of Indianapolis and a two-time Harlon Hill candidate came in as the nation's fifth leading rusher and ended with 91 yards and four TD's on 17 carries. Northwest out rushed UNK, the nation's seventh best rushing team, by a 244-61 margin.

Hohensee, who began the year as the back up but took over for an injured Braden Wright back in September, went 14 of 18 for 270 yards and three TD's (55, 15 and 9). Five-nine senior receiver Alec Tatum was his favorite target (six recep., 102 yds.) with Wright (Elkhorn South) playing some in the second half and going 3 for 3 for 91 yards.

Facing a defense that came in allowing just nine points and 232 yards per week, plus a unit that had allowed just five offensive scores all season, UNK tallied a season-low 242 yards. Going 4 of 12 on third down, UNK saw Davis finish 10 of 17 for 181 yards, two TD's and one INT. He hit junior receiver Michael Koch (Columbus) for a 17-yard score to begin the second half.  

The Northwest front seven harassed Davis to the tune of three sacks and -17 rushing yards on 15 carries. UNK averaged 1.5 yards a carry with Florida senior back Montrez Jackson having 34 of the Lopers 61 rushing yards. Finally, Conners had two catches for 68 yards with Albion junior receiver Cody Nelson at two for 40 yards.

The 'Cats were led on defense by free safety Drew Dostal (nine tackles & three PBU's) and ILB Jackson Barnes (eight tackles) with end/tackle Zach Howard at 2.5 TFL's.

"Coming in I knew we were going to have problems with those two interior tackles (Howard and Sam Roberts). They are good players and as good as any in Division II football," said Lynn.

Continuing a march toward an All-MIAA season, junior safety Darius Swanson (Aurora, Colo.) had 12 solo tackles to pace the Lopers. Next, Thedford senior ILB Jacey Nutter recorded six solo tackles with Miami senior corner Terrell Williams at five tackles and a PBU. Finally, Elkhorn senior NG Shane Henderson had one of UNK's two TFL's in the game.

The Loper/Bronchos game kickoffs at 2 p.m. next Saturday in Edmond.

"We've got to regroup and get going again. We still have some things on the line," said Lynn. "TJ said it best in the locker room … we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've put ourselves in position to do something great here and we've got to go watch this film and learn from it."


 
Gallery: (10-30-2021) UNK Football 2021 ** NW Missouri A

 
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