Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney and Chadron State football teams renew their rivalry this Saturday night at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.

The Lopers (1-0) and Eagles (0-1) meet for the 74th time with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Foster Field. Fans can listen to The River 93.1/106. FM, watch via the MIAA Network (behind a paywall) and News Channel Nebraska (check local listings) or follow along via live stats.

A tight defensive battle could be in the works as UNK (22.0 points per game) and Chadron (19.3 ppg) both ranked high in many categories last fall. To start the 2025 season, the Lopers gave up 21 points and just 56 rushing yards at Wayne State while the Eagles held FCS-member Northern Colorado to 17 points and 9 of 16 passing.

Last fall at Chadron UNK scored on its first drive and hung on for an 18-6 win. The Eagles lost current starting quarterback DJ Ralph (San Diego State) and star receiver Tommy Thomas (two-time All-RMAC) to injury early in that contest; CSC battled the injury bug on offense for most of 2024. In Greeley, Ralph threw for 228 yards with Thomas catching seven balls for 100 yards.

The Eagles offense also includes junior back Jake Marschall, redshirt freshman back Quincey Ryker and two senior guards. Four All-RMAC selections are back on defense led by safety Dax Yeradi and linebacker Logan O'Brien (Kearney Catholic) with the special teams having three all-league returners. That includes Yeradi at punt return.

In Wayne, redshirt senior back Isaiah Harris (Millard South) reached 100 yards for the sixth time as a Loper. He tallied a career-high 165 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries and is just shy of 1,000 yards (990 yards) in his short UNK tenure. Handing him the ball this week will be redshirt sophomore Abram Scholting (Pierce), in for a banged-up Daron Bryden (Enfield, Conn.). Scholting started and finished last year's 35-0 win at Southwest Minnesota and rushed for two fourth scores at Wayne. He also was 3 for 4 in the air for 51 yards with redshirt junior Jaden Jude (Athens, Ala.) hauling in a key 32-yard pass from Scholting. Jude, a transfer from FCS-member Tennessee-Chattanooga, had seven grabs for 98 yards and one score in his Loper debut.

After picking off 17 passes last season, the defense was at it again as it intercepted WSC QB Bennett Dannenbring three times. Newcomers Ife Current (Kennendale, Texas) and Qualyn McQueen Sr. (Miami) had the first two with redshirt sophomore Saieed Hasan (Peoria, Ariz.) the third. The first two picks led to TD drives with the final one coming in the red zone and sealing a 28-21 win.

UNK visits rival Fort Hays State (1-1) next Saturday night with the Eagles hosting league foe Black Hills State (0-1). The FHSU Tigers upset No. 5 CSU-Pueblo Thursday night, 36-35, while the BHSU Yellowjackets are at No. 4 Grand Valley State (Mich.) Saturday afternoon.