Lopers battle through pouring rain |
| Posted by Administrator on Sep 10 2008 at 1:35 PM |
Photo By Callie Erickson
The UNK defensive line awaits UNO's snap. The Loper defense had their work cut out for them Saturday night as they took on the UNO Mavericks. The Mavs pushed to a 49-21 victory over the Lopers.
By Callie Erickson
Antelope Staff
Pouring rain did not stop the UNK football team from competing in a tough battle against in-state rival the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks Saturday night at Al Caniglia Field in Omaha. The Lopers put up a fight, but came up short as the Mavs pushed to a 49-21 victory. The Mavs have won 13 of the last 14 meetings.
Back in the action of his beloved sport, junior safety Jake Mandelko, a sports administration major from Lexington, returned to the field after taking a medical redshirt during the 2007 season due to a lower back injury. Mandelko broke his L5 vertebrae in the lower part of his back during an off-season workout in the summer. After four months of rehab and rest, Mandelko was on his way to full recovery.
By mid-February he was ready to go and was back in time for spring ball in March.
"Jake brings experience to this team," UNK head coach Darrell Morris said. "He has great leadership on defense, which adds some depth for us. We're glad he's back and healthy, and we look forward to seeing some good results from him."
The layoff was tough for Mandelko.
"The worst part about it was not being on the field playing the sport I came to college to play," Mandelko said. "To say the least, it was tough knowing that was the first year I was supposed to start, and instead I was a spectator on the sidelines knowing I was never going in."
Now, with no injury related pain, Mandelko is glad to be back, ready to contribute to the success of his team.
Both Nebraska teams battled it out during the first half as UNO took a 7-0 lead into halftime. Throughout the first half, a light mist trickled down, but soon after the Lopers took the field for the second half, the clouds broke loose and down came the rain.
"It was a little difficult playing in the rain," Mandelko said. "I haven't played in that kind of pouring rain since high school so it took some getting used to at first."
Though the Lopers continued flying to the ball and competing hard throughout this contest, a few costly mistakes changed the pace of the game from the first half to the second.
"We had more unforced errors that UNO capitalized on in the second half," Mandelko said. "They exploited our bonehead mistakes in the second half, whereas in the first half if we made an error they never really utilized it."
UNO took control of the game early in the second half.
"After the first half, UNO seemed to be over their first game jitters," Morris said. "Coming out after half time they made one big play right away giving them some momentum that carried them throughout the second half."
With UNO up 35-0, true freshman Rustin Dring, of Kearney, put the Lopers on the scoreboard getting in the end zone from one yard out and then again from 10 yards out.
The final score for the Lopers came from redshirt freshman Jake Spitzlberger, of Lakewood, Colo. After a 34-yard drive, he found himself in the end zone. Mandelko had four kick returns for 118 yards, including a 60-yard return. He also contributed on the defensive side, making seven tackles for UNK.
Morris said the team will use the experience of this loss to the team's benefit.
"We use this game as a barometer to see what kind of football team we have. We found that we have a team that continues to play hard even though the score may say they've already been defeated," Morris said. "It's encouraging as a coach to know we have a group of determined kids who are going to compete until the end."
This game is always a favorite matchup for both sides. Mandelko said, "I don't necessarily get more excited over one game versus any other, but there is something special about playing another in-state school. You know many of the players on the other side, ones that may have been teammates in years past."
UNK has five players on the team who call Omaha home. As for UNO, a lone one, Zac Keller, left his hometown of Kearney to play for the Mavs.
The focus this week for the Lopers is working on eliminating turnovers.
"Turnovers really put our defense in a difficult situation," Morris said. "They just get off the field, and then have to turn around and get right back on because we turned the ball over."
Mandelko said the key to success for UNK is to play hard all the time.
"For our upcoming games, we need to continue flying to the ball, hustling and just battling out there," Mandelko said. "We never gave up Saturday night against UNO; we kept fighting. Capitalizing on plays and being in the right position ready to execute our assignments are what will win us football games.
Watch Mandelko and the rest of the UNK Lopers in action this Saturday as they play their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game of the season against Western State. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. in Gunnison, Colo.
