The 25th/27th-ranked Central Oklahoma Bronchos turned an interception into a safety and scored the final 18 points to down Nebraska Kearney, 32-17, Saturday afternoon at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.
Due to expected thunderstorms, kick off was moved up seven hours to noon. UCO (3-0, 2-0) now leads the all-time series with UNK (2-1, 1-1) by an 8-5 margin.
“It was disappointing. We had a lead in the third quarter and had some opportunities. We didn’t turn the ball over and got some turnovers (three) but had only 57 plays on offense. That’s not good enough,” said UNK head coach Ryan Held. “We have to score more than 17 points; I liked our practices and I felt good about what we were doing but we have to execute better.”
Facing a team that ran 97 plays and racked up 731 yards last week, the Lopers had the game tied at 14 midway through the third quarter. The defense bowed in the first as it picked off UCO quarterback Jett Huff at the UNK 19-yard line and then had a goal line stand soon after, stuffing Huff on 4th & goal from the two.
With things tied at 14, the Loper offense faced a 3rd & 8 from the Bronchos 22-yard line. A dropped pass around the two-yard line forced redshirt freshman kicker Trey Prichard (Monument, Colo.) to come on and kick a 39-yard line field goal. UCO then converted three third downs on its next drive before getting a pass interference call on 4th & 14 from the Loper 30-yard line. The Blue & Gold was called for 11 penalties, resulting in 104 yards.
“Obviously way too many penalties. We had the two 15-yarders right before the half that kept them going,” said Held. “Those are things we just can’t do.”
On 2nd and seven, Huff was picked off by senior corner Kendall Brewer (Kansas City, Mo.) for the second time. However, his momentum took him into the end zone where he was tackled by ‘Chos tied end Dominique Dunn. That was the 14th play of the drive and UCO turned around and saw Huff complete passes of 29 yards to Dunn and 33 yards to receiver Jacob Delso to move ahead for good at 22-14. The 29-yarder came on 3rd & 10; the ‘Chos finished 5 of 12 on third down.
“Those are hard to come by; you get the interception and it’s your ball. Instead, they got two points and the ball back. That’s a hard deal to overcome and a deflator,” said Held. “Then we’re kicking into the wind, so they get good field position. It was good play by Kendall and he’s done a great job for us this year. One of those where we lost where we’re at; it was hard because you’re at the one and he’s trying to make a play. Can’t fault him for that.”
UNK, which ran 29 fewer plays than UCO, went three-and-out on its next drive. The wind didn’t allow for a productive punt with the ‘Chos thus getting the ball at midfield. Seven plays later, back Dev Matthews ran for a one-yard score with senior Nicky Quevedo then booting a 30-yard field goal to finish the 18-0 run.
The Lopers did have it 1st & 10 from the UCO 11-yard line with around three minutes left. However, they failed to get a first down and the ‘Chos ran out the clock behind reserve back William Mason. He totaled 133 yards on 27 carries with most of his production — 84 yards – coming over the final 15 minutes.
“Our defense has played really well. We’ve got to be able to get more points on offense. Not good enough,” said Held. “And not have these situational breakdowns that hurt us. When you play against a good team, you just can’t give those guys those type of plays.”
Graduate QB Reagan Jones (Wichita) totaled 71 rushing yards (24-yard score) on nine carries while going 13 of 26 in the air for 144 yards. He threw a 13-yard scoring strike to redshirt junior receiver Stephen Lewis (Gardendale, Ala.) in the second to make it 14 all. Lewis finished with five grabs for 55 yards.
Next, back Isaiah Harris (Millard South) had a 29-yard reception and 55 rushing yards. Defensively, UNK held UCO to 2.9 yards per carry with Huff, a Houston transfer, completing 27 of 35 passes for 291 yards, two INT’s and one TD. Tulsa transfer Ashton Schumann had 12 catches for 89 yards with the ‘Chos punting just twice.
Senior end Quillan Felton (Lithonia, Ga.) and junior backer Jovan Marsh (Robbins, Ill.) had 10 tackles apiece with Felton recording two sacks. Sophomore backer Parker Wise (Kearney) had the other sack with another Loper sack in the first down, on third down, called off due to a facemask. Finally, senior safety Jamere Jones (Clayton, N.C.) had nine tackles with redshirt freshman reserve lineman Kade Seip (Lincoln North Star) at four stops.
UNK heads to 11th-ranked Central Missouri next Saturday. The Mules scored in the final minute to win at Davenport (Mich.) today, 32-31. They lost at UCO last weekend, 57-40.
