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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
J.T. Luper
20
Lindenwood LWU 3-7 , 3-7
37
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 5-5 , 5-5
Lindenwood LWU
3-7 , 3-7
20
Final
37
Central Oklahoma UCO
5-5 , 5-5
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
LWU Lindenwood 7 13 0 0 20
UCO Central Oklahoma 13 7 10 7 37

Game Recap: Football |

Bronchos Surge Past Lindenwood

EDMOND (Nov. 7) – Seth Hiddink broke a pair of school kicking records and T.J. Luper scored one long touchdown while setting up four other scores in sparking surging Central Oklahoma past Lindenwood 37-20 Saturday afternoon before 6,855 Homecoming fans at Wantland Stadium.
 
Hiddink kicked three field goals to establish single-season (16) and career (42) records and Luper caught a 56-yard touchdown pass in addition to ripping off punt returns of 19, 19, 28 and 45 yards, with those runbacks leading to two touchdowns and two field goals.
 
The Bronchos dominated the second half in winning for fifth time in six games, outscoring the Lions 17-0 and holding them to just 69 total yards.  UCO improved to 5-5 on the season and in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play with its third straight win.
 
"We got off to a good start and then got a little stagnant on both sides of the ball," head coach Nick Bobeck said.  "I thought we did a great job at the start of the third quarter and we played a solid second half of football.''
 
The Bronchos bolted to a quick 13-0 lead before LU rallied to pull even at 20-20 by halftime, but UCO seized control again early in the third quarter and was never threatened again.
 
Clay McKenzie had his sixth straight 100-yard rushing game with 130 yards and two TDs on 21 carries while also catching six passes for 56 yards.  T.J. Eckert completed 19-of-34 passes for 196 yards and a TD and added 58 rushing yards in 12 attempts.
 
Luper had three receptions for 65 yards and eight punt returns for 123 more.
 
The Lions managed just 264 yards, including only 32 rushing in 22 tries.  UCO gave up passes of 30, 38 and 65 yards in the first half, but held LU to 60 passing yards in the final two quarters.
 
Safety David Busby led a balanced defense with six tackles, while linebackers Ben Jones and Malcolm Howard, safety Cody Jones and end Collis Walker had five each.  The Bronchos had eight tackles for loss, including two by Jones.
 
UCO broke the halftime tie on its second possession of the third quarter when Eckert found a streaking Luper open behind the LU secondary and hit him in stride for a 56-yard TD that made it 27-20.
 
Luper's 45-yard punt return to the Lindenwood 30 set up the next score, a 20-yard Hiddink field goal that gave him the single-season score record and pushed the lead to 30-20 with 1:14 left in the third period.
 
Another Luper return, this one a 19-yarder to the LU 33, led to the final score.
 
McKenzie took care of that distance in two carries, going for one on first down before bursting through a big hole up the middle on the second and rambling 32 yards for the TD pushed the cushion to 37-20 with 13:54 left to play.
 
UCO scored on its first three possessions of the game to jump out to a quick 13-0 lead, but failed to threaten on its last four offensive tries of the first half as the Lions rallied to tie it at 20-all by intermission.
 
Luper's 28-yard punt return set up the first score, with the Bronchos only needing to go 37 yards to take a 7-0 lead on McKenzie's nine-yard burst up the middle.  McKenzie also had runs of 12 and five yards and Eckert hit Myles Tease for 11 yards.
 
The defense forced another quick punt, with a short kick and Luper's 19-yard return putting UCO at the Lion 17-yard-line, but the Bronchos gained just six yards before settling for Hiddink's 28-yard field goal that made it 10-0 with 10:21 still left in the first quarter.
 
LU went nowhere again on its next offensive possession and UCO drove from its own 32 to the Lion three before stalling.  Hiddink easily knocked through a 20-yard field goal for the career record and the Bronchos were up 13-0 with 2:43 left in the opening period.
 
The Lions hit two long passes in scoring a quick touchdown to make it 13-7, but UCO answered with an eight-play, 75-yard TD march.
 
Eckert had passes of 18 yard to Darrack Harger and 23 to McKenzie while Tease picked up 16 on a reverse before Chas Stallard came on at quarterback to cap the drive with a seven-yard keeper.
 
Hiddink's extra point made it 20-7 early in the second quarter, but the Bronchos did little offensively the rest of the way as LU scored 13 straight points to tie it.  An interception set up a short five-yard TD drive for the Lions, who scored on a fourth-and-one run to pull even with 1:42 left in the half.
 
UCO ends the season next Saturday, going to Pittsburg State for a 2 p.m. contest.
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