September 20, 2003

Football Loses Shootout, 49-41

Miller Becomes UNK’s All-Time Leading Rusher

            Kearney, NE – Western State’s Jeremy Craighead ran back a kickoff 95 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter to give the Mountaineers (1-2, 1-0 RMAC) a 49-41 RMAC victory over Nebraska-Kearney (1-2, 0-1 RMAC) Saturday afternoon in Gunnison, Colo. The loss snaps the Lopers 11 game road win streak, dating back to November of 2001. The game also was the RMAC opener for both.

            Western, the only team to defeat the Lopers in the regular season last year, now leads the all-time series 6-3. They are the only RMAC school to have a series edge over UNK.

            Western scored on two of its first three offensive possessions and then returned and interception 18 yards for a TD early in the second quarter to grab a 20-0 lead. However, UNK came all the way to take a 34-33 lead with 12:33 left in the game when senior QB Pat Korth hooked up with sophomore WR Richie Ross from 51 yards out. The play was setup on the previous snap when DE Ross Gardner forced a fumble. 

            Western then mistakenly downed the ensuing kickoff deep in its own territory but a long pass play setup a 29 yard field goal by Travis Synder that gave WSC a 36-33 lead with nine minutes to go.

            UNK marched right down the field, going 65 yards in nine plays to take a 41-36 lead. Korth scored his seventh rushing TD of his career to cap the drive.          

            But, Craighead brought back the ensuing kickoff all the way to give Western a one-point lead. On its next possession, UNK faced a fourth and four from around its 30-yard line but could only come up with three yards.

            Western junior RB Chaumont Bouknight finished the game’s scoring with a two-yard run with 1:22 left. He ended the game with a school record 43 carries for 293 yards and that one TD. 

            UNK could’ve forced overtime with a TD and a two-point conversion but two sacks of Korth and no timeouts hurt the Lopers chances to move down the field. A “Hail” Mary” on the last play of the game fell short and gave Western its first victory of the season.

            Junior RB Mike Miller did become UNK’s all-time leading rusher in the second quarter, surpassing Larry Jacobsen’s record of 2,982 on a four-yard scoring run. He finished the game with 64 yards on 20 carries, ending his streak of 100 yard games at seven. Miller has run for 3,020 yards on 629 career carries.

            Like Ross in week one and Garth Mins in week two, junior WR Darnell Wood had a career effort today. He caught six balls for 121 yards and one TD. Korth finished the game 21 for 36 yards for 312 yards and two scores

            It didn’t seem possible that the Lopers would have a chance to win the game early on as Western got out to nearly a three TD lead. However, UNK tallied 17 points in 1:05 to get back into the game.

            After a Jessup Pfeifer 22-yard field goal made it 20-3, Western QB Nate Baca fumbled on a first down play, giving UNK the ball in great field position. That led to Miller’s TD and it was just a 10-point Western lead. Western then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Bloomfield sophomore DB Tim Baack scooped it up and ran it in 15 yards for a score.

            UNK plays at New Mexico Highlands next Saturday.