Bronchos Fall Short

9/24/2011 9:52:00 PM

Christian Hood

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WEATHERFORD, Okla. (Sept. 24) -- A gallant second-half comeback fueled by Brandon Williams and his Central Oklahoma defensive mates fell short here Saturday night with a tough 27-20 loss to long-time rival Southwestern Oklahoma.

Williams had two end zone interceptions in the final two quarters, returning one a school record-tying 100 yards for UCO's first touchdown as the Bronchos overcame a 20-6 halftime deficit to tie it 20-all with 6:36 left to play.

The Bulldogs broke that deadlock on a short TD run with just 56 seconds left to play and UCO fell short when time ran out before it could get a play off from the SWOSU 16-yard line.

A desperation 49-yard fourth-and-24 pass from Ethan Sharp to Christian Hood got the Bronchos to the 16 with one second remaining, but officials ruled that time expired when Sharp spiked the ball to stop the clock.

It was the 10^th straight loss dating back to last year for UCO, which fell to 0-4 in its fourth consecutive road game to open the season. The Bronchos make their home debut next Saturday, hosting East Central at 2 p.m.

The Bulldogs looked to be in control at halftime after turning interceptions on UCO's first two possessions of the game into field goals and then returning a third interception 85 yards for a second-period touchdown in taking a 20-6 lead.

But the Bronchos rallied, getting a huge spark from Williams.

The junior cornerback stepped in front of a Dustin Stenta pass from the UCO eight at the goal line and raced untouched down the sideline for a 100-yard touchdown return, tying a school record held by Randy Preston (1982) and Fred Shaw (2004).

That got the Bronchos within 20-13 and UCO's defense came up big time after time to keep it close, with Williams getting his second end zone interception early in the fourth quarter after the Bulldogs had taken over at the 24 following a fumbled punt.

UCO tied it minutes later with a 50-yard drive, the big play a 46-yard pass from Sharp to Hood that carried to the Bulldog four. Joshua Birmingham scored on the second play from there, barging over the right side for the touchdown that tied it 20-20 with 6:36 left to play.

The Bulldogs then pulled out their second straight win over UCO with its last-minute TD drive.

Sharp overcame four interceptions to complete 39-of-57 passes for 404 yards, the fourth-best game in school history. Hood hauled down eight passes for 139 yards, but the Bronchos had minus-13 yards rushing as Sharp was sacked three times.

Williams added seven tackles and a broken up pass to his two-interception game to lead the defense. End Sam Moses made a team-high nine tackles with 1.5 for loss, while linebacker Tucker Cason and safety Devoris Dozier had seven stops apiece.

Sharp had a 44-yard completion to Artrell Woods on the second play of the game to help UCO get to the SWOSU 40, but he was picked off two plays later at the 23 and the Bulldogs hit a 41-yard pass of their own in quickly moving to the Bronchos 21.

UCO's defense held from there and forced the Bulldogs to settle for a 29-yard field goal, but SWOSU was back in business minutes later with another interception.

The Bulldogs took over at the UCO 46 this time and moved to a first down at the 16 before the Bronchos again stiffened, getting a big third-down stop from Dozier to force SWOSU into a 34-yard field goal that made it 6-0 with 6:26 left in the opening quarter.

Defense gave UCO a chance to take the lead midway through the second period when Moses caused and recovered a fumble at the SWOSU 18.

A facemask penalty helpd the Bronchos to a first-and-goal at the eight and Sharp found Tucker Holland for four yards down to the three before UCO lost two yards on the next two plays, bringing Chris Robbs on for a 22-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 6-3.

The Bronchos threatened again on their next possession, getting a 27-yard pass from Sharp to Woods in moving from their own 20 to a first down at the SWOSU 35 before Clarence Laster intercepted Sharp at the 15 and raced 85 yards the other way for a touchdown and 13-3 lead with 5:34 left in the half.

UCO came back with another field goal on its next offensive try, with Sharp completing passes of 10 and 16 yards to Holland before Robbs' kick from 43 yards split the uprights to make it 13-6 at the 3:22 mark.

A long kickoff return helped set up a last-minute score for the Bulldogs, with Dustin Stenta's one-yard TD plunge ending a 59-yard drive that gave SWOSU a 20-6 cushion with 1:45 remaining.

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