Nebraska-Kearney had every chance to win their MIAA opener at Washburn, but the Lopers were held scoreless three different times in the red zone - two of them in the first quarter - and the N. 25 Ichabods came out with a 24-14 victory Thursday night in Topeka.

Washburn quarterback Mitch Buhler threw two touchdowns, seeing most of the action ahead of Joel Piper, who completed just 3 of 8 passes in the second quarter.ter sa

Kearney outgained the 'Bods 349-291, but a blocked field goal and two turnovers on downs ended the first two drives of the game and the final Loper drive.

The teams were scoreless in the first quarter, but both scored through the air early in the second for a 7-7 tie. A 25-yard field goal by Jeremy Linn gave WU a 10-7 halftime lead.

Like the second quarter, the third quarter saw touchdowns on both teams' first drives, and the final frame started with Washburn ahead 17-14 and knocking on the door after UNK's fourth big blunder of the game, a botched snap on a punt that gave Ichy the ball at Kearney's 14.

Buhler's second TD pass gave Washburn the final score of the football game.

For UNK, running back Tommy Flanagan was the star of the game. He was the Lopers' leading rusher, added five catches and was the team's punter. But while we saw him line up in the slot a few times and grab some WR screens, he didn't see any carries in the second half and was ignored in UNK's early stalls.

Loper quarterback Aric Kaiser, a redshirt freshman, had a respectable game, completing 23 of 34 passes for 203 yards, 2 touchdowns and an INT.

WR Adam Lehner caught both of Kaiser's scoring passes and added a big third down completion on the Lopers' final drive that eventually ended in a turnover on downs.

Washburn's very young and inexperienced rushing game was a big question mark coming into the game, but junior transfer Hayden Groves was effective, rusing for 51 yards and the final touchdown of the game and adding 57 yards on 2 caches.

Linebacker Jahmil Taylor led the way for the Washburn defense, with 14 tackles .

In my blog I posted earlier today, I talked about how the game might be a precursor to how the season goes, and while the Lopers proved they can at least hang with a big boy like Washburn, they'll need to work on their clutch play conversions if they want to have success.i

ELSEWHERE IN THE MIAA

Defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Pitt State topped MIAA newcomer Northeastern State 41-20 in Tahlequah. Quarterback Anthony Abenoja and linebacker Nate Dreilling took home player of the game honors.

No. 3 Northwest Missouri defeated East Central 33-3 in the only non-con game of Week 1.

No. 7 Missouri Western handled No. 22 Central Missouri 38-26. That might be the last time we see UCM in any ranking all season long.

Truman State knocked off Southwest Baptist 24-14 in Bolivar.

Missouri Southern outlasted Central Oklahoma 25-20 in Edmond.

And Emporia State beat Fort Hays 41-18 at home on the heels of 414 yards from QB Tyler Eckenrode.

What games were you watching/following tonight? What'd you think of your team's performance? Let's talk about it in the comments below, on Twitter @miAARONd2, on Facebook.com/apheintz or at my inbox at [email protected]