September 13, 2008

Lopers Roll Past Mountaineers, 44-15

Kaiser Has 204 Yard Day; Carnahan Shines Again

     Kearney, Neb. –  Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Spitzlberger and sophomore receiver Kyle Kaiser had big days as the Nebraska-Kearney football team rolled past Western State, 44-15, Saturday afternoon in Gunnison, Colo.

     The RMAC opener for both, UNK snaps a two-game losing streak while Western State falls to 0-2 on the young season. The Lopers also stop a 10-game losing streak, dating back to a 2002 win over Nebraska-Omaha, on television/national video webcasts.

     Today’s game was the first “RMAC Game of the Week” and aired nationally on the Altitude-2 Network.

     UNK could’ve scored eight more points but a 52-yard TD catch by Kaiser, and a seven-yard scoring run by freshman running back Rustin Dring (Kearney), were called back due to penalties. Both of those drives ended with Geoff Carnahan (Kearney Catholic) field goals.

     It was another busy day for Carnahan. Besides scoring 14 kicking points, he threw a 29-yard pass on a fake punt and also rushed for a first down on a fake field goal. Both drives resulted in UNK scores.

     With the 14 points, Carnahan becomes the fourth straight UNK kicker to reach 200 career points; the former Kearney Catholic star is now at 203 points, tied for 10th most in school history with fellow kicker Mark Pilkington ('83). 

     And by making a 50-yard field goal in the second half, he is now 5 of 5 in his career from 50 yards or more.

     UNK took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field to take a 7-0 lead. The drive was highlighted by a 25-yard Kaiser catch on 3rd and 24 and a five-yard scoring run from Brendan Liess (McCook). Later in the quarter, a 21-yard TD catch from Kaiser made it 14-0 Lopers.

     Western scored nine of the game’s next 16 points, tallying six on a TD catch right before halftime. On the ensuing kickoff, junior corner Mike Neal (Brentwood, Calif.) had a 60-yard return to setup a 28-yard Carnahan field goal to give UNK a 24-9 half time advantage.

     Kearney's other score in the first half was a 70-yard bomb from Spitzlberger (Lakewood, Colo.) to Kaiser (Broomfield, Colo.).

     Second half scores including a 38-yard run from sophomore running back Travis Wegener (Humphrey-St. Francis) and a 18-yard pass from Bobby Adamson (Byers, Colo.) to Eli Hammond (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Both of those players are redshirt freshmen.

     Spitlzberger finished the day 19 of 24 for 292 yards, two TD's and no interceptions. On the ground, Liess, Dring and Wegenger combined for 35 carries, 179 yards and one score.

     After a 144-yard performance at Nebraska-Omaha, Kaiser had six catches for 204 yards and two TD's. The yardage total is the sixth most in UNK history and marks just the ninth time a Loper receiver went over 200 yards in a single game.

      UNK hosts Adams State next Saturday on “Family Day” at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium. Pictured below are Kaiser-Carnahan-Splitzlberger.