July 10, 2003
2003 Season Preview
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Entering its 97th season, the Nebraska-Kearney football program is as strong as it’s ever been. The last four years have been some of the most successful in school history and compare favorably to the “golden years” of UNK football. The Lopers have put together four consecutive years, the past three under head coach Darrell Morris, of at least seven wins. That has happened only three other times in school history (1955-59; 1963-67; 1976-80).
UNK has also gone unbeaten at home (2000) and gone two straight years (2001-02) without a loss on the road. Last year represented a culmination of sorts as UNK won nine games for the first time since 1980, earned its first RMAC title and made the NCAA Division II playoffs, also for the first time.
While Morris, who has the second highest winning percentage in school history (77.4), and his staff must replace 14 seniors and eight starters from last year’s 9-2 (7-1RMAC) squad, the Lopers return 32 letterwinners and are now about reloading, not rebuilding.
With all the skilled players returning on offense, including All-American running back Mike Miller and senior quarterback Pat Korth, and five starters back from a defense that was among the best in school history, the 2003 Lopers are set to continue the program’s winning ways.
Defensive coordinators around the RMAC will cringe when they see the Loper offense on film. Eight starters return from a group that averaged 31.7 points per game and set a school record with 4,703 yards of total offense. While three starters must be replaced from one of the best offensive lines in school history, there is plenty of talent in the stable to give Korth and Co. time to put points on the board.
UNK has become “Quarterback U.” of late, having an all-league signal caller each of the past six years. The latest gunslinger that strikes fear into the RMAC is Pat Korth (6-5, 245 lbs). The fifth year senior had a solid first year as a starter in 2002, completed 54 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,689 yards, the third highest total in school history, and 17 TD’s. His size helped him rush for six TD’s and pickup some key first downs in short yardage situations
“We’re solid at quarterback. Pat is a proven leader and understands our offense,” Morris said. “What I’m looking for from Pat is another consistent, steady year. He doesn’t have to win games by himself.”
Sophomores Macus Goldenstein (6-2, 205 lbs.) and Casey Samuelson (6-4, 220 lbs.) were behind Korth last year. Goldenstein was 4 of 9 through the air and played briefly in the playoffs.
Of all the colleges that
sponsor football in America, few had a back as productive as Mike Miller
was last fall. Miller (5-10, 190 lbs.) set school records for carries
(333) and yards (1,600) in a year. Leading the RMAC in rushing for the
second straight year, his per game average of 145.5 was the fourth highest
in Division II. In back-to-back games against Ft. Lewis and Ft. Hays
State, Miller carried the ball 91 times for 576 yards and six TD¹s.
"If Mike can just maintain the level he’s been at the past year or so,
he’ll continue to be a good back,” Morris said. “He’s very productive and
durable and seems to get stronger as the game goes along.”
Sophomores Steve Bremmer and Todd Mader, who each lettered last year, are the other backs on the roster with experience. Bremmer (6-0, 195 lbs.) is the biggest back of the bunch while Mader (5-11, 200 lbs.) serves as the team’s fullback.
“Steve is different kind of runner than Mike. He is more of a power back and has shown some good things in practice,” Morris said. “Todd had a rushing TD last year and has played well in games.”
Newcomer Kevin Partch (5-10, 170 lbs.) participated in spring ball and showed good speed and quickness. He is one of five freshmen backs on the roster.
The Lopers starting trio of juniors Garth Mins and Darnell Wood and sophomore Richie Ross will put a lot of fear into opposing backfields. Each averages over 18 yards per catch, each can break away from defensive backs with speed and strength and each has hands that make highlight catches on a weekly basis.
“All of these guys can run through people since they’re so big and strong,” Morris said. “They each catch the ball well and have good fundamentals; they look the ball in, they tuck it away and put five points of pressure on it. They also are a threat to run away from someone once they catch it.”
Ross (6-4, 205 lbs.) is the biggest target of the trio and is coming off a freshman season in which he set a new school record for yards in a season (1,142). He also had two games of 200 yards receiving.
One of the top sprinters in school history, Mins (5-11, 170 lbs.) first year as a starter saw him rank second on the team in catches with 27. Quickly turning into one of the league’s top return men, Mins has also been known to throw a few mean blocks. Also a top blocker, Wood (5-11, 180 lbs.) entered the lineup midway through the year and led the team in yards per catch at 20.5.
UNK has good depth as junior Dustin Schmeits (6-0, 195 lbs.) and sophomore Shawn Donohue (5-11, 175 lbs.) lettered last year. Former QB Kyle Rupp (6-5, 205 lbs.) and Sam Calabretto (5-11, 190 lbs.) are two of the talented underclassmen to watch.
While UNK has record setters at the skilled positions, it’s the starting tight end that has earned first-team All-RMAC honors each of the past two seasons. Senior co-captain Joel Jacobs (6-5, 245 lbs.) gives UNK one more weapon in its arsenal. The Mullen native has 39 career catches for 395 yards and six TD’s.
“Joel is as good as tight end as we’ve had here,” Morris said. “People have to pay attention to him.”
Redshirt freshmen Derek Lucero (6-2, 240 lbs.) and Daniel Ohri (6-3, 215 lbs.) are the other tight ends on the roster.
Senior right tackle Ryan Bachman (6-6, 285 lbs.) and junior left guard Kurt Nielsen (6-2, 270 lbs.) have been the young guys along the offensive line the past two years. With each entering their third seasons as starter, the duo will now lead a unit that will have some new faces. Steve Vecchio, Chris Blair and Justin Van Horn, each All-RMAC performers in 2002, have graduated.
“Ryan has really blossomed at tackle ever since we moved him over from defense,” Morris said. “It will be a bit different for Kurt. He’s had the benefit of an older center and older tackle around him. Now, he’s the old guy and will need to help out the young guys around him.”
Taking over for Vecchio at center will be sophomores Asa Poole (6-2, 260 lbs.) and Nick Trampe (6-1, 260 lbs.). UNK has two experienced guards in juniors Justin Weller (6-2, 275 lbs.) and Byran Kula (6-3, 315 lbs.). Weller is a two-year letterwinner with Kula also having two letters to his credit as well. One came at Arizona in 1998 and the other came as a Loper last fall.
Plainview sophomore James Poynter (6-2, 270 lbs.) could take over for Van Horn at right tackle. Redshirt freshmen Paul Dutmer (6-4, 265 lbs.) and Ryan Martin (6-6, 290 lbs.) are some of the talented second year players on the roster.
“We lost three veteran guys that each started multiple years. We have kids that run well, are big and strong and play hard but they haven’t had a lot of game experience, either as individuals or a group,” Morris said. “You can bring them along in practice but they won’t get game experience until they get in there."
Led by 10 seniors, the 2002 Loper defense was one of the best in school history. UNK allowed just 18.7 points per game and held five opponents to less than 25 yards rushing. While the Lopers must replace the seniors, six who started, there are 17 lettermen back on this side of the ball.
“We’ll be younger on defense but we’ve won games with a lot of these guys. It won’t be there first time in a game but it maybe there first time starting,” Morris said.
Like the offensive line, three seniors must be replaced here. Sophomore nose guard Brad Bohn (6-0, 250 lbs.), who started the second half of the year, is the only Loper with extensive experience on the interior line. He made 23 tackles last fall as a redshirt freshman.
Gretna sophomore Danny Ostransky (6-1, 255 lbs.) moves over to tackle after playing defensive end as a freshman. He missed all of last year with a leg injury.
Sophomore Mike Strong (6-2, 245 lbs.) lettered last year as a true freshman but mainly saw time as the team’s deep snapper. Redshirt freshmen Trent Georgiana (6-1, 230 lbs.), Clayton Gaunt (6-2, 240 lbs.) and Nick Pacifico (6-2, 230 lbs.) should round out the rotation.
“Again, it’s the young guys turn. They’ve prepared themselves for their turn and we’ll just have to wait see how they do,” Morris said.
UNK had one of the best defensive ends, Bryan Eakin, in the West Region the past two years. While the team will miss Eakin, the Lopers return plenty of experience at both end positions.
At “kall” end, juniors Todd Guenther (6-5, 260 lbs.) and Curtis Harris (6-4, 265 lbs.) both had strong first seasons as defensive players. Each lettered as a tight end in 2001. The duo combined to make 48 tackles last year, including 12 behind the line of scrimmage.
Junior Ross Gardner (6-2, 240 lbs.) backed up Eakin at “rush” end the past two years and is a two year letterwinner. Sophomore Shane Killion (6-3, 200 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Scott Marotz (6-4, 230 lbs.) should also see time.
Two-year co-captain Mike Cordes has departed but there’s plenty of experience here. Junior Akil Davis (6-1, 225 lbs.) will be a co-captain for the second time in his career and is coming off a season in which he led the team in tackles (74).
“When I watch film on our team, the thing that I notice about Akil is that he is always going 100 miles an hour,” Morris said. “Whatever drill we’re doing, he’s running his butt off to get to the ball.”
Junior Jered Butts (6-1, 205 lbs.), a two year letterwinner, made 21 tackles last fall and filled in for Cordes in the starting lineup when he was injured. Also, junior Brett Kjar (5-11, 195 lbs.) and sophomore Ty Dworak (6-1, 215 lbs.) each lettered last year.
Two-year starter Brian Wachtel is gone but, like inside linebacker, there’s plenty of depth and experience. Four letterwinners return, led by senior Jesse Calabretto (5-11, 180 lbs.).
The Gretna native missed all of 2001 with a knee injury but was more than productive in his first year as starter at strong safety. He ranked third on the team in tackles (67) and was second in TFL (12).
“Jesse is a vocal player. You always hear him when he comes onto the practice field and I like that,” Morris said. “He understands where I coming from as a head coach. I measure the amount of enthusiasm by the amount of chatter and Jesse helps get everyone involved and going,” Morris said.
Behind Calabretto, junior Jared Goodwin (6-2, 200 lbs.) lettered last year after playing some running back in 2001. Junior Ryan Krueger (5-9, 195 lbs.) and sophomore Brad Pesicka (6-0, 200 lbs.) figure to replace Wachtel at the “quick” position. The two combined to make 17 tackles last year.
The three players who saw the majority of playing time last year at cornerback – John English, Justin Comstock and Theron Kitt – have departed. Among the players vying for playing time will be three letterwinners.
“We’re confident in the guys we have here but most of them don’t have a ton of game experience,” Morris said. “People will go after them because they’re young and they may give up a few TD’s but that’s the nature of the position.”
Junior Deano Korecky (5-11, 165 lbs.) lettered in 2001 but battled nagging injuries last year. The Colorado native has the fastest 40 yard dash time (4.34) in school history. Sophomore Nate Hotovy (5-8, 175 lbs.) played some in 2001 but took a medical redshirt last year after sustaining a knee injury.
Aurora junior Clay Mankin (5-11, 170 lbs.) lettered for the first time last year as he backed up the senior trio. Sophomore Tim Baack (6-0, 190 lbs.) moves over from safety after lettering last fall. Sophomore Byrone Bell (5-11, 180 lbs.) and junior transfer Burton Bosain (5-10, 175 lbs.) will also factor in.
Maybe the deepest position on the team is safety where senior Sean Haines (6-2, 185 lbs.) and sophomore Yly Rock (5-10, 165 lbs.) return after strong 2002 seasons. Also, redshirt freshman Paul Jimenez (5-11, 185 lbs.) has impressed the coaches.
Bouncing back from a knee injury that forced him to miss most of 2001, Haines ranked second on the team in tackles (70). Rock, who also is the Lopers top nickel back, led non-starters with 38 tackles.
“This is a pretty deep position and allowed us to move Tim over to corner,” Morris said. “Both Sean and Paul will come up and really hit you. People are going to wonder who, or what, just hit them. Yly is more a of a finesse guy who already is a good player for us.”
The last two place kickers, Volker Olbrich and Henrik Juul-Nielsen, both hailed from Europe, both rewrote the school record books and both earned All-American honors in their careers.
Trying to continue UNK’s tradition at kicker will be sophomore Zach Miller, who attempted one kick last year, and true freshman Jessup Pfeifer. He prepped at Northglenn High in Colorado.
“Zach’s been around here a couple of years and we feel good about what Jessup did in high school,” Morris said. “The biggest thing for him is to learn to kick off the ground. That’s a big adjustment to make.”
It appears senior Kelly Ninas and freshman Dustin Bohl will compete for the punting job. Ninas had one punt last year while Bohl, a UNL transfer, participated in spring ball.
At kick return, Mins is coming off a season in which he averaged 29.4 yards a return. He brought back two kicks for scores, including one of over 100 yards in the playoff game. The other return position is open but the older Calabretto averaged 25.7 yards in three returns last year.
“Garth is solid. He does what I like. He catches the ball and brings it right up the pipe,” Morris said.
Donohue wasn’t flashy in returning punts, averaging 6.0 yards a return, but also didn’t hurt UNK.
“Shawn has good hands and is steady back there,” Morris said. “I want a guy who is solid in fielding the ball and keeps his wits about him. I don’t want someone picking up the ball on the five yard line.”
The final two positions, holder and deep snapper, are often forgotten by fans. However, UNK has won several games the past two years thanks to poor snaps by the opposition.
Goldenstein was flawless in handling kicks last year but, with a new kicker, someone else may emerge. Ostransky and Strong give the Lopers two experienced deep snappers. Ostransky started in 2001 and Strong took over last year when he was injured.
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Contact:
Peter Yazvac
yazvacpa@unk.edu |