Bearcats focus on physicality going into Kearney
JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
Northwest captain Jake Winslow lines up against Minnesota State last Thursday in Bearcat Stadium.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State and Nebraska-Kearney go into their MIAA openers after very different non-conference games.
The Bearcats (0-1) dropped a home game against a Minnesota State team that is now ranked No. 8 in the D2Football.com poll. The Lopers (1-0) went on the road and picked up a rivalry win over Chadron State.
Now the Lopers and Bearcats face a prove-it MIAA Week 1. Northwest is out to show that the first game says more about the Mavericks than the Bearcats. Nebraska-Kearney needs to prove that they can have success beyond beating a team picked seventh in the RMAC.
“They are playing hard,” Northwest coach Rich Wright said. “Any time that we go out there, we seem to get in a tussle. It is a tough place to play. So we’ve just got to take care of the Bearcats this week. We’ve got to make sure that our preparation is fantastic. We’ve got to do little things right. And we’ve got to play hard.”
In order to make that prove-it statement, Wright has had the Bearcats focused on physicality in practice. Northwest struggled to run the ball last week, and the Mavericks were able to run for over 200 yards.
“We just got to get off the football,” Wright said. “We were playing too tentatively. We need to establish the line of scrimmage. We’ve been able to do that at Northwest Missouri State and there is a point of emphasis for doing that this week. Get back to doing what we do, don’t try to do too much. Be really simple in our approach, but be extremely physical. That was the most disappointing part to me, watching the film after the game, was how tentatively we played on both lines of scrimmage, because that is not indicative of who we are.”
The offense was shutout in the first half. They were able to score three touchdowns in the second half with Chris Ruhnke throwing for three touchdowns to three different receivers with Andrew Bradley, Luke Mathews and Tank Young catching them.
“Chris played a really good game,” Northwest guard and captain Jake Winslow said. “He was calm in the pocket. The receivers played well. I think that can be a big key for us this year.”
The run game never got established with negative-17 yards. Ruhnke was sacked four times as the Mavericks controlled the line of scrimmage.
“I think we all had a bad taste in our mouth after that,” Winslow said. “I know that a lot of guys were ready to get going (Monday). It was kinda a relief to get back.
“There was a lot to learn. Obviously, we didn’t get the job done. Communication is the big thing that we are focused on this week, as well as Coach Wright emphasizing just playing hard and playing together as a unit.”
On the other side, the Bearcats were unable to sack Hayden Ekern. Running back Sam Backer averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
Out in western Nebraska, Missouri Western transfer quarterback Reagan Jones was sharp in his Loper debut. Jones went 12-for-21 with 180 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“They are not as much option based, although they can do it,” Wright said. “Reagan is a good athlete. Two years ago, he was the starting quarterback against us when Western came to Maryville and he just did a great job of being efficient. We are going to have to play well in order to keep him contained.”
Isaiah Harris had 23 carries for 121 yards. The junior from Millard South (Nebraska) spent four seasons at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln — not playing in any games.
The primary returner for the Loper offense is Reggie Anderson and the receiver had instant chemistry with Jones. Anderson led the Lopers in receiving against Chadron State with three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.
The Loper defense was dominant against Chadron State with safety Jamere Jones and linebacker Parker Wise each making an interception. They held Chadron State to just 213 total yards (99 rushing, 114 passing).
The Bearcats and Lopers kickoff on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Kearney.
“It is a business trip for us,” Winslow said. “We are trying to get that bad taste out of our mouth.”
