James Williams
The Paw Print
A dismal season continued for the Adams State College Grizzlies on Saturday, as the No. 17 ranked University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers handed the Grizzlies their fourth consecutive loss of the season by the final score of 27-17 on Saturday afternoon in Kearney, Neb.
The Grizzlies quickly forced a punt by the Lopers after winning the coin toss, and put together an efficient 16-play, 73-yard opening drive that saw freshman quarterback Trevor Eggleston successfully complete passes to four different receivers and saw the Grizzlies achieve four first downs. It was the beginning of a successful game for Eggleston, who connected on 20-of-43 for 222 yards and a touchdown.
However, the drive quickly stalled inside the 10-yard line, and the Grizzlies were forced to settle for a 23-yard field goal from sophomore kicker David Van Voris.
The remainder of the first quarter and most of the second quarter stayed scoreless, as stout defensive play and conservative play calling from both teams enabled the Grizzlies to start thinking about delivering an upset special on the road in front of the Lopers’ homecoming crowd of 4,010 people.
Thoughts of an upset soon became short lived, as junior punter Dustin Bolt botched a punt deep in Grizzlies territory with a little over three minutes remaining in the half that set the Lopers up with a short field and ample opportunity to put some points on the board.
The Lopers took full advantage of the miscue and methodically took the ball 38 yards on only five plays before senior running back Brendan Liess took a handoff 19 yards for a touchdown with 1:34 to go before the half.
Halftime saw the Grizzlies trail by only four points, and the score remained the same following three quarters of play, largely because the stellar defense being played by both teams continued.
At the end of the third quarter, the Lopers were midway through an impressive drive led by Liess, and they continued that drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter, racking up three more first downs and 15 yards from a personal foul against the Grizzlies before junior QB Jake Spitzlberger scrambled 17 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-3.
The Grizzlies took their ensuing drive, lost one yard on three plays, and had the Bolt punt blocked by junior defensive Corey Morten and returned for a touchdown by junior wide receiver Eli Hammond to extend the Lopers’ lead to 20-3 following a blocked extra point attempt.
The Grizzlies showed some life on their next drive, marching 84 yards on 10 plays, taking only five minutes off the clock, to knock the lead down to 10 points. Junior running back Terjean Saffold, who ran for a career-high 142 yards on 23 carries, was the key player of the drive, as he ripped off a 29-yard run on 3rd and 27 and followed by rushing in from 46 yards out for the touchdown.
The Grizzlies made things interesting by recovering an onside kick and picking up a first down a couple of plays later, but the Lopers’ defense held up and sacked Eggleston on a 4th and 7 from the UNK 45-yard line. It was one of seven sacks for the Lopers on the afternoon. The Lopers took possession of the ball, and opened up their playbook as sophomore wide receiver took a pitch from Liess and connected with senior wide receiver Kyle Kaiser on a 42-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead back to 17 points and effectively end all of the hopes the Grizzlies had for a comeback.
Eggleston and Saffold had a little more fight left, converting on a 4th and 10 and connecting on a 25-yard screen pass later on the drive to bring the score to 27-17, but the Grizzlies were unable to get any closer before the end of the game.
The Grizzlies (1-4, 0-3 in the RMAC) will aim to win for the first time since the opening game of the season this Saturday at Rex Stadium against the New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys for Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
What’s Been Said…