November 6, 2004

Football Whips Mesa, Wins Finale

Miller Falls Short of 1,000 Yards; Ross, Mins Set Records

            Kearney, Neb. – Junior Kevin Arbuckle threw five TD passes and the Nebraska-Kearney defense came up with four interceptions as the Lopers beat Mesa State, 52-28, Saturday afternoon in Grand Junction, Colo.

            The season finale for both, UNK finishes 5-6 (4-4 RMAC) while the Mavericks end winless (0-11, 0-8 RMAC) for the second time in their history. They came into the year defending RMAC champions.

            Leading from start to finish, UNK rolled up 431yards of offense, including 312 through the air. Arbuckle (Moorpark, Calif.) had one of the best days by a QB in school history, going 18 of 21 for 292 yards and those five TD’s.

            He joins Justin Coleman and Mike Muma as the only UNK QB’s to toss at least five TD’s in a game. Coleman twice threw six while Muma threw five in a win over Adams State in 2001. 

            Also, Arbuckle’s completion percentage of 85.7 is the second best in school history (minimum 15 attempts). In a 1998 game vs. Colorado Mines, Coleman was 18 of 20 (90.0).  

            Senior running back Mike Miller (Littleton, Colo.) came up just a bit short in his quest for a fourth straight 1,000 yard season. He did crack the century mark for the 22^nd time in his career, going for 118 yards on 37 carries.

            He ends the year with 980 yards and 4,818 in his career, 23rd most in Division II history.

            Along with fellow seniors Darnell Wood (Denver) and Garth Mins (Lexington), Miller did find the end zone, scoring on 12-yard pass play in the third quarter. He caught four passes on the day, as did Wood and redshirt freshman Tyler McNitt (Kearney).

            Getting into the record books today was junior Richie Ross (Lincoln), who caught two of Arbuckle TD passes, making him UNK’s career leader in the category.

            Ross came into the game tied with Trevor Weston with 29 scoring receptions. 

            Having three catches for 41 yards, Ross needs four to pass Mike Smtih (195) and become the Lopers all-time leader in receptions. 

            Also getting into the record book was Mins. He returned two punts for 27 yards today, giving him 407 yards on the season. That total breaks the season record of 384, set by Smith in 1995.

            Mesa tied the game at 14 all in the first quarter after Joe Krile returned a kickoff 96-yards for a score. UNK led 42-21 early in the fourth but a Jeff Mowry 35-yard TD pass to John Dannen brought the Mavs within 14 points with 13 minutes to play. 

            However, junior corner Byrone Bell (Denver) returned an on-side kick attempt 47-yards for a score and that pretty much sealed the win.

            Bell becomes the fifth different player in the Darrell Morris era to return a kick for a score.

            The optioned-based Mavs ran for only 177 yards on the day while Mowry was just 8 of 24 through the air for 161 yards, two TD’s and four picks.

            Elkhorn junior safety James Rosenbaum had three of the picks, giving him a team-high five for the season.