Bronchos Falter Against SOSU

9/10/2011 9:52:00 PM

Matt Jackson

Game Statistics

DURANT, Okla. (Sept. 10) – Penalties that wiped out two would-be touchdowns proved costly and Central Oklahoma's overworked defense couldn't contain Southeastern Oklahoma in the end as the Bronchos fell 30-23 here Saturday night.

UCO had to settle for an early field goal after a holding call negated a short touchdown run and a TD return on an interception was called back by an offside penalty that helped keep a second-quarter scoring drive alive for the Savage Storm.

The Bronchos led 23-20 late in the third quarter after a cross-country scoring jaunt by Joshua Birmingham, but SOSU scored 10 unanswered points to move in front and then ended UCO's last-ditch drive in the final minutes with an interception to seal its ninth win in the last 10 meetings between the two old rivals.

The Savage Storm ended up running 92 plays in the contest, racking up 492 yards while going on a pair of 94-yard TD drives and holding a staggering 43:34-16:26 advantage in time of possession. SOSU gauged the Bronchos for 257 rushing yards and added 235 through the air.

Safety Keno Meadows was all over the field to lead UCO's defense, making a career-high 15 tackles.

UCO was limited to 341 yards on just 54 plays and made only four second-half first downs. Birmingham managed 123 yards and a TD on just nine carries, while Ethan Sharp was 19-of-41 passing for 207 yards with one score.

The Bronchos (0-2) continue their brutal early-season road schedule next Saturday, traveling to San Angelo, Texas to take on Angelo State at 2 p.m.

UCO's last chance to possibly tie the game and force overtime came after Herbert Byrd blocked a 42-yard field goal with 3:05 left to play that would have clinched the win for SOSU.

Sharp had completions of 11 and 13 yards to pick up two first downs, but a personal foul penalty – one of 10 for 101 yards in the contest for the Bronchos – forced UCO into a second-and-25 situation for its own 34-yard-line and Sharp's pass was picked off at the 45 with 2:00 left.

UCO took a 3-0 lead on its first possession of the game, taking the opening kickoff and driving 70 yards from its own 25-yard-line to the Savage Storm five before stalling and sending Chris Robbs on for a 23-yard field goal.

Sharp hit 4-of-6 passes for 53 yards in that march, the big one a 33-yarder against a blitz to a diving Steve Caldwell. Birmingham scored on a first-and-goal run from the five, but that touchdown was negated by a holding penalty and Robbs ended up making the go-ahead field goal at the 10:32 mark.

The defense came up with two nice stops to maintain that lead, with Tyler Newton recovering a fumble at the UCO 23 and Meadows making back-to-back tackles on short yardage plays to force the Savage Storm to turn the ball over on downs at the Broncho 21.

SOSU took its first lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 12:50 left in the half, with the Bronchos cutting that to 7-6 on their next offensive try.

Birmingham had a 27-yard burst taking a direct snap from the wildcat formation on a fourth-and-one play from the UCO 37 to spark that drive, which ended when Robbs drilled a 36-yard field goal with 9:29 remaining in the quarter.

The Savage Storm answered that with a massive 19-play, 94-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes of the clock and featured three crucial penalties against UCO. The biggest was an offside call that called back an interception and 36-yard TD return by Brad Harmon, while two pass interference calls helped keep the long drive alive.

A 19-yard scoring pass on a third-and-14 play – the fifth third-down conversion of the drive – put SOSU on top 13-6 with 1:58 to play in the half, but the Bronchos got two points back when UCO blocked the extra point kick and Terry Battle returned it 85 yards down the sideline for a defensive two-point conversion.

The Savage Storm pushed their lead to 20-8 on their opening possession of third quarter with a short 40-yard TD drive after a long kickoff return, but UCO got back in the game minutes later after a Devoris Dozier interception – his third of the season – and six-yard return set the Bronchos up at the SOSU 39.

It took just one play, with Sharp finding a streaking Matt Jackson wide open in the end zone for the touchdown. Robbs' extra point cut the deficit to 20-15 with 9:56 left in the third period.

Another one-play scoring drive gave UCO back the lead, this one coming courtesy of another electrifying Birmingham run.

The sophomore star, who set a school career record for 50-plus touchdown runs last year with four, went over the left side after getting the hand-off before breaking back across the field and outracing two defenders the rest of the way for a breath-taking 73-yard score.

Sharp followed the TD with a two-point conversion pass to Bryce Davis to give the Bronchos a 23-20 lead with 3:37 left in the quarter, but SOSU quickly tied it with a 27-yard field goal on its next possession and the Savage Storm took the lead for good with another long drive following a three-and-out series by UCO.

SOSU went 94 yards for the winning score, getting help from a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty before scoring on a third-and-goal TD pass from five yards out. That made it 30-23 with 6:58 left to play and the Bronchos failed to produce anything on their final two drives.

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