October 11, 2003

Football Routs Mines, 42-21

Miller, Korth Have Big Days

            Kearney, NE – Junior RB Mike Miller ran for a season-high 222 yards and senior QB Pat Korth completed 22 of 27 passes to lead the Nebraska-Kearney football team to a 42-21 victory over Colorado School of Mines Saturday afternoon in Golden, Colo.  UNK (4-2) improves to 3-1 in RMAC play while the Orediggers (2-4, 0-3 RMAC) lost their fourth straight game.

            UNK rolled up 618 yards of total offense, including 335 on the ground, in beating Mines for the 12^th straight time. The Lopers haven’t lost to Mines in football since 1937, a span of 66 years.

            The 618 yards of offense is the seventh most in school history with the rushing total being the ninth best effort in Loper lore. Last year in a 58-14 victory over Mines, UNK rolled up 722 yards of total offense. That equals out to 1,340 yards the past two years.

            The Lopers scored TD’s on three of its first five possessions to lead 21-0 at the break. Meanwhile, the pass happy Orediggers mustered only 79 yards of total offense in the first half.

            Mines did score two TD’s in a four minute span in the third quarter to cut the Loper lead to 15 points, 28-13. UNK responded with a field goal late in the quarter and then had a nine play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a four yard scoring run by sophomore Steve Bremmer, early in the fourth to squelch any hopes of a Mines miracle comeback. 

            His fourth career game of at least 200 yards rushing, Miller averaged 6.0 yards a carry in toting the ball 37 times. Bremmer was also effective on the ground, rushing for 89 yards on 15 carries, a 5.9 yard per carry average. 

            In one of his better days as a Loper, Korth threw for 283 yards and had scoring passes of eight and 15 yards, in addition to a one-yard scoring run. Junior Darnell Wood led UNK with seven catches, for 63 yards and one score, while sophomore Richie Ross (six catches, 97 yards, one TD) was three yards shy of another 100-yard day.

            Defensively, UNK held Mines to just 206 passing yards and 371 overall yards. Junior OLB Ryan Krueger led the way with 10 tackles including two tackles for loss. Senior OLB Jesse Calabretto added eight tackles with safeties Sean Haines and Paul Jimenez each making five tackles.

            The Loper”D” also forced a fumble on its own one yard with two minutes to go to prevent Mines from cutting the lead to 14 points.

            After spending most of this year on the road, UNK hosts Chadron State and Fort Lewis the next two Saturday’s at Foster Field.