KEARNEY, Neb. – Northeastern State did not have many answers to slow down the Lopers running game and fell 45-10 on Saturday afternoon at Cope Stadium.
 
The RiverHawks were limited to 235 yards of offense while the Lopers had 666 with 593 of those coming on the ground.
 
UNK hit the RiverHawks early needing only three plays to go up 14-0 in the first quarter.  The Lopers rushed the ball 22 times in the first half for 399 yards.
 
The lone highlight for the RiverHawks in the first half was Robert Wilkerson forcing a fumble on a UNK punt return to get the ball back on the UNK 30-yard line.  The turnover resulted in a 39-yard made field goal from Brady Ellsworth, NSU's only points of the half to trail 38-3.
 
NSU slowed the Lopers down in the second half and their defense limited UNK to one score in the third quarter.    Near the end of the contest, Jake Pruitt found Kaden Kerr with 2:17 left on a 17-yard pass for the RiverHawks' lone touchdown of the game.
 
Jacob Medrano went 13-for-26 from under center for 112 yards but was sacked three times.  Pruitt was 7-for-11 with 78 passing yards and a touchdown.
 
Ashton Antwine led the NSU defense with 12 tackles and his second interception of the season.  Elijah Wallace had ten takedowns and Shaakr Smith added nine with two of those resulting in lost yardage.
 
The Lopers (3-2, 3-2 MIAA) had three backs with over 100 yards on the ground with David Goodwin having two touchdowns and 157 net yards.
 
Northeastern State falls to 0-5 (0-5 MIAA) this season with the loss.  
 
Head Coach J.J. Eckert on the slow offensive starts this season
You have to find a way to break the jinx.  We have got to find a way to flip that thing to make the second quarter more meaningful, which would make the first half more meaningful because the score isn't 21-0 or where you are down 20 in the first quarter. Then obviously getting to the point where that third-quarter matters and the fourth quarter matters. I'm concerned about the overall mindset. It's almost like we have gotten to a point where no matter how much we talked about it, and how much we practiced it. We still haven't seen the results. It's not like we haven't addressed the issue, so hopefully somehow, someway we find a way to fix the issue and make something that we can be proud of.
 
Notes:
-       Tim Davis kicked a 73-yard punt in the third quarter which was tied for third-longest in NSU football history.
-       The Lopers 593 yards on the ground were an NCAA Division II season high.
 
Coming Up: The RiverHawks return home to Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium to host Washburn this upcoming Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff.  NSU will honor its 1994 NAIA National Championship football team at the half.