KEARNEY, Neb. - The Nebraska-Kearney football team held Northwest Missouri St. scoreless in the second half to beat the Bearcats 21-14 on Saturday night.

The victory marked just the second time the Lopers (2-0) have defeated the Bearcats (0-2) in the last 12 meetings. It is UNK's first win over NWMSU since 2019 and the first time the Lopers have started 2-0 since 2021.

The win marks a dramatic turnaround from the previous time these teams met. NWMSU beat UNK 56-7 in the season finale last year. This year's game represented a 56-point turnaround.

"Our guys, they believed we could get it done," head coach Ryan Held said. "We talked about it all week."

The game started in the Bearcats' favor. UNK punted on its opening drive and NWMSU unleashed an 8-play, 72-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead.

UNK's offense responded later in the first quarter with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Reagan Jones scrambled and found Zane Schawang for a 26-yard strike to cap off the possession and tie the game.

The Bearcats promptly regained the lead on the ensuing possession. Quarterback Chris Ruhnke hit Zach Atkins on a 23-yard pass on the final play of the first quarter to make it 14-7.

UNK's defense provided the next big play. Linebacker David Lilly stripped the ball from Atkins and recovered it to set up the Lopers with the ball near midfield. Six plays later, Jones ran it in from two yards out to tie the game.

Both defenses excelled in the second half. UNK took advantage of three Bearcat penalties to score on a Jones scramble with 2:02 left in the third quarter.

With a 21-14 lead, Held opted three times to punt with the ball inside of the NWMSU 40 yard line. His defense rewarded him by repeatedly denying the Bearcats' offense. Jamere Jones intercepted Ruhnke in the end zone on a 4th down play with 30 seconds left to secure the win.

UNK is off next week before hosting Central Oklahoma on Sept. 21. You can watch that game on News Channel Nebraska TV.