KEARNEY, Neb. – Even in defeat, Northeastern State earned a measure of respect against Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday night.
Nebraska-Kearney, which beat NSU by 42 points in shutout fashion to close the 2022 football season, found itself locked in a one-score game against the RiverHawks in the fourth quarter. But led by star quarterback T.J. Davis, the Lopers put together a 14-play, 60-yard scoring drive that took more than 8½ minutes and held on for a 31-17 win at Cope Stadium.
Davis, a two-time conference offensive player of the year, rolled up 311 yards of offense (195 passing, 116 rushing on 20 carries) and accounted for four touchdowns for Nebraska-Kearney (1-1, 1-1 MIAA). His last score, a 1-yard run with 2:40 left, provided the Lopers some cushion after NSU (0-2, 0-2) pulled within 24-17 on a 39-yard field goal by
Tyler Crawford with 11:24 left.
Ben Ward started at quarterback for the RiverHawks and completed 15 of 25 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown, a 16-yard pass on which
Drew Elerick made a nifty catch in the back right corner of the end zone, tying the game at 7-7 with 6:18 left in the first quarter. Elerick had four catches for 49 yards.
Davis scored on the Lopers' second offensive snap on a 19-yard run. After Elerick's touchdown, the RiverHawks stopped Nebraska-Kearney on downs at the NSU 16, but backed up offensively, forcing Crawford to punt from his end zone. The Lopers partially blocked the punt and took over at the NSU 21, leading to a 27-yard field goal from Gabe Heins.
With 4:12 left in the second quarter, Davis threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Severyn Foster, extending the Lopers' lead to 17-7.
A low snap foiled a 49-yard field-goal attempt by Crawford with 8:21 left in the third quarter and Davis subsequently scored on an 8-yard run at the 5:54 mark, making it 24-7.
But the RiverHawks quickly answered with an 80-play scoring drive. On a trick play, wide receiver
Will Bergner threw a 40-yard pass to
Devin Blayney, setting the RiverHawks up at the Nebraska-Kearney 8-yard line and true freshman
Tagg Campbell scored from there on the next play.
After a punt by the Lopers,
Grant Elerick relieved Ward at quarterback and led the RiverHawks on another scoring drive, capped by Crawford's field goal. But NSU didn't regain possession until there were under three minutes remaining and they trailed by 14 points.
Bergner also had four catches for 49 yards, in addition to his long pass.
Blake May led the RiverHawks in rushing with 54 yards on 12 carries. Cornerback
Amarion Partee led the NSU defense with eight tackles and two pass breakups.
Davis, a sixth-year senior, completed 10 of 22 passes and became only the fourth Nebraska-Kearney quarterback to surpass 5,000 passing yards. He also moved into second place on the Lopers' all-time rushing list. Nebraska-Kearny has won six straight games over NSU in their series and is 6-1 against the RiverHawks at Cope Stadium.
Saturday marked the first time in program history that Northeastern State has played their road opener in Kearney. It also was the earliest point in the season that the two teams have met in series history.
NSU will host Empora State at Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah, Okla., next Saturday at 6 p.m.
