Box Score

DURANGO, Colo. — No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney (9-1 overall, 7-1in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) defeated Fort Lewis (2-8, 1-7) 54-7 today in wintry conditions at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.

“They're a great team,” said second-year head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval. “They've done a great job and are well coached. You can't make mistakes against them like dropped balls and missed tackles. They did a great job of playing the elements and we didn't.”

The first winter storm of the season hit Southwest Colorado overnight, with snow accumulating throughout the morning, winds gusting from the south, and temperatures hovering in the mid-30s. Fort Lewis games management crews worked furiously to clear shovel the sidelines, end zones, goal lines and 10-yard increments throughout the first half.

The Lopers had a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game thanks to a 79-yard punt return by Matt Berry and a 73-yard Jake Spitzlberger-to-Berry bomb.

Fort Lewis trimmed the lead in half when Cougar Beaubien, starting in place of the injured Tim Jenkins (concussion), hit Doyle Bode with an 11-yard pass with 9:24 left in the first quarter. The Skyhawks would muster just 48 yards in total offense on the day, played in driving snow, gusty wind from the south, and temperatures in the mid 30s.

Stephan Rush extended the lead to 21-7 with 7:50 remaining in the first quarter on a three-yard run — the first of two touchdowns he'd score on the day.

The Lopers added three more touchdowns in the second quarter on a 15-yard pass from Spitzlberger to Adam Lehner, a 63-yard bomb from Spitzlberger to Berry, and a one-yard Rush plunge to take a 41-7 lead into intermission.

Fort Lewis had a chance to score early in the third quarter after Jordan VanVleet blocked a Kalvin Zoucha punt to give FLC first-and-goal at the UNK two-yard line just 2:01 into the second half. But the Skyhawks managed to lose 12 yards on the next three plays on a pair of fumbles, the second of which was recovered by UNK's Jared Reinke after FLC quarterback Beaubien was sacked by Sandi Stanback.

The Lopers added 13 points in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard run by Ricky Trinidad and a 67-yard burst by Shad Bride.

Nebraska-Kearney amassed 583 yards on 81 plays. Spitzlberger played just one half, but completed seven of nine passes for 191 yards and three TDs while rushing for another 74 yards on 15 carries.

Bride gained 120 yards on 16 carries, while Berry caught five passes for 167 yards and two scores and added a 79-yard punt return.

The Skyhawk offense had 48 yards in 49 plays of total offense, just 10 of which came through the air. Beaubien completed eight of 24 passes for just 10 yards, but was intercepted twice.

“I thought we did a great job of playing better football in the second half,” said Rivas-Sandoval. “Cougar came in and played admirably in his first collegiate start as a true freshman, but it's a very tough task to line up against a ranked team in your first time as a starter in a foot of snow and play perfectly. That's a tough ask. He'll get better and we'll get better because of this experience.”

As expected on the sloppy field, fumbles were numerous. The Skyhawks had five fumbles, three of which they lost. The Lopers put the ball on the turf three times, with FLC recovering all three.

Phil Odell led the FLC defense with 11 tackles (six solo), one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Eric Hills had 10 tackles (four solo), including one for a loss of two yards. Cary Purchase added nine tackles (five solo), including one sack for -7 yards and a quarterback hurry.

Justin Swedburg led UNK's defense with six tackles (three solo), one tackle-for-a-loss, and a fumble recovery.

The game marked the final home appearance for seven FLC seniors: Frank Atherton, David Ferris, Justin Garman, Hills, David Matos, Justin Peters, and Harrison Scheider.

“Our seniors have given everything they've got to help put us on the right track to where we want to be in the future,” said Rivas-Sandoval. “My heart goes out to them because we want to give them more wins before their careers are over. They can know that they've done everything they could have done. They still are part of the future of this program, whether they're playing on the field or not. They'll always be part of the Skyhawk football family.”

Fort Lewis wraps up its 2011 campaign at New Mexico Highlands (4-6, 2-6) at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Perkins Field in Las Vegas, N.M.