The 2019 UNK football team comes into the season with possibly some of their biggest expectations since their last playoff team in 2011. After going 5-6 with a handful of close loses a season ago, a senior-laden Loper squad has one goal and that’s to win.
“I want to see us carry over what we did last year and continue to move forward this season,” said UNK head coach Josh Lynn. “One of our goals this season is to have a winning record, which would be a great accomplishment if you look at the overall situation of our conference. I think we have the ability to be one of the top-end teams in our league.”
Coming into 2019, the Lopers return Darrius Webb, Sal Silvio, Montrez Jackson, Dallas Vaugn, Kendall Raschein, Hinwa Allieu, and Jordan Ingraham who all made the MIAA conference team in 2018. The team looks to be anchored by a deep running back core and defensive line.
“Our defensive line is doing a good job and we also have a lot of running backs who are good players. All of the backs we have can run the ball out of the backfield and block as well which helps,” Lynn said.
One thing UNK will have to improve upon for sure in 2019 is consistency. Multiple times throughout the season the Lopers had halftime leads but couldn’t sustain their level of play in the second half and ended up losing.
An example of this was against Emporia State a season ago. After taking a 17-0 halftime lead, the Hornets scored 20 straight points to pull off a 20-17 win. A similar scenario occurred against Fort Hays State and then again against Missouri Western.
With experience on both the offense and defensive sides of the ball, UNK looks to eliminate those letdowns as the pressure to win rises for the Lopers.
“We have gotten better as a football team and so the expectation for us has changed. The seniors and the players on this football team don’t want to be a 5-6 team. Any time you raise the standard so does the incentive and the pressure to win,” Lynn said.
Two players who look to fill a hole for UNK this season are Cooper Reece from Valentine, Ne on the offensive line and Armani Webster from Chicago at defensive back.
“On the offensive line we are really happy with what Cooper Reece has done and also a defensive back, Armani Webster has had a good spring and fall for us,” Lynn said.
UNK opens the season on the road in Joplin, Missouri against Missouri Southern State on September 5 at 6 p.m. You can tune in to the game on the radio at 93.1 KRVN FM.
