September 6, 2003
Football Holds off Wayne
“Lexington Lightening” Strikes ‘Cats
Kearney, NE – Senior quarterback Pat Korth passed for 374 yards and three TD’s and junior wide receiver Garth Mins had a historical day as the Nebraska-Kearney football team beat in-state rival Wayne State, 32-21, Saturday night at Wayne’s Memorial Stadium. UNK evens its record at 1-1 while Wayne falls to 0-2.
The win also marked UNK’s 11th straight win away from Foster Field, dating back to November of 2001. The school record for consecutive road wins is 13, set between 1961-65.
In beating Wayne for the 29th time in the last 31 meetings, and the sixth straight time, UNK got out to a 22-0 lead before the ‘Cats made a move. Wayne scored on passing plays of 54, 75, and 95 yards to make the score 29-21 Lopers early in the 4th quarter.
After a Jessup Pfeifer 32-yard field goal midway through the fourth put UNK ahead by 11, the Loper defense held Wayne and then the offense went on a six minute drive to end the contest.
Korth’s 27 completions, in 39 attempts, tie a career-high with his passing total just 16 yards shy of his personal best, set last year vs. Colorado Mines. The Hastings native also vaulted up three spots to fifth on the UNK career passing list (3,380).
Mins, a 5-11, 175 lbs. Lexington native, was Korth’s favorite target throughout the night, catching 12 balls for 226 yards and two TD’s. Mins previous career high in catches was five with his yardage high being 150, set last year at Mesa State. The monstrous effort put Mins over 1,00 receiving yards in his career (1,172).
The 226 yards is the second most in school history, coming only behind Ted Murray’s 246-yard effort set in November 1986. Mins joins Murray, Trevor Weston, Mike Smith and Richie Ross as Lopers to have had 200 receiving yards in a game. Also, the 12 receptions rank fifth best in Loper lore and are just three shy of the school mark.
Mins also found time to return two kicks for 30 yards and block a field goal.
The Loper running game was also effective as junior Mike Miller toted the ball 36 times for 133 yards and a score. It marked the seventh straight game the Colorado native topped the century mark. Miller is just 23 yards shy of breaking Larry Jacobsen’s career rushing mark of 2,982 yards. Also, with the 36 carries, Miller (609) joins David Burke (660) as the only Lopers to have carried the ball 600 times.
UNK racked up 529 yards of total offense while allowing Wayne 446 yards. However, the ‘Cats three scoring plays accounted for 222 yards of their total out put.
QB Brett Edwards led the black and gold by going 11 of 19 for 350 yards and three TD’s. He also was the team’s leading rusher with 37 yards on 13 carries.
The Lopers took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in eight plays to take a 6-0 lead. Mins opened the drive with a 49-yard catch and then finished things with a three yard scoring reception.
Later in the first, UNK recovered a fumble in Wayne territory and that setup a 41-yard pass from Korth to Mins.
UNK’s next two scoring drives covered 60 and 70 yards, respectively, with sophomore back Steve Bremmer being featured on the second drive. He had four carries for 12 yards and then caught a 35-yard scoring pass from Korth to make it 22-0 Lopers.
The Loper got a big break early in the 4th after Wayne’s final score. At the 50-yard line, Miller fumbled but the ball bounced right into the hands of Ross. The drive continued and resulted in the Pfeifer field goal.
UNK gets next week off before beginning RMAC play with a road contest at Western State.
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Contact:
Peter Yazvac
yazvacpa@unk.edu |