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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Clay McKenzie
30
Winner Fort Hays State FHSU 1-0 , 1-0
29
Central Oklahoma UCO 0-1 , 0-1
Winner
Fort Hays State FHSU
1-0 , 1-0
30
Final
29
Central Oklahoma UCO
0-1 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
FHSU Fort Hays State 0 14 13 3 30
UCO Central Oklahoma 13 7 3 6 29

Game Recap: Football |

Tigers Stun UCO With Late Field Goal

EDMOND (Sept. 3) – Turnovers prevented Central Oklahoma from taking a commanding first-half lead and Fort Hays State made the Bronchos pay in the end Thursday night at Wantland Stadium.
 
A big first-half lead that could have easily been 14 points higher turned into a bitter 30-29 loss for UCO when the Tigers made a 19-yard field goal on the final play of the game to disappoint a vocal crowd of 7,189.
 
The Bronchos lost just five fumbles all last year en route to an 8-4 finish, but UCO committed four miscues on the night.  Two of those fumbles came in the first half at the FHSU one- and three-yard-lines, keeping a 20-0 lead from swelling.
 
"You can't expect to beat good football teams when you put the ball on the ground like we did," head coach Nick Bobeck said.  "We just didn't do a good job of protecting the football and it cost us.  It's a tough loss and a hard lesson, but we've got to move on."
 
UCO led 20-0 with 5:53 left in the opening half, but the Tigers took advantage of the fumbles to roar back and take a 27-23 lead late in the third quarter.
 
The Bronchos answered back with a 71-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead 29-27 on Chas Stallard's 19-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Connor Pulley, but Seth Hiddink's extra point bounced off the left upright to leave the lead at two, 29-27, with 9:30 left.
 
UCO forced a quick punt, but managed only one first down before giving the ball back to the Tigers and FHSU ran the final five minutes off the clock in moving 85 yards down the field to set up Drew O'Brien for the short game-winning field goal.
 
Stallard directed a quick-hitting offense that ran off 89 plays in racking up 510 yards.  The sophomore quarterback completed 29-of-39 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns while also running 18 times for 75 yards.
 
Running back Clay McKenzie added 85 yards and a TD on 15 attempts, while J.T. Luper had 71 yards on nine receptions and Caden Locke 73 yards and a score on five catches.
 
FHSU ran for 291 of its 454 total yards, with Shaquill Cooper rolling up 163 yards in 21 carries.
 
The Bronchos lost their first fumble at the Tiger three on their opening possession of the game, but came back minutes later to take a 7-0 lead on a 58-yard drive.
 
McKenzie had a 12-yard run and 13-yard reception to highlight the drive that ended when Stallard found Josh Crockett open in the left side of the end zone.  Hiddink booted through his school-record 50th straight extra point to make it 7-0.
 
Deontay Wilson forced a fumble that La'teze Clayton recovered at the FHSU 26 a few moments later and it took just three McKenzie runs for UCO to add to its lead.  Hiddink's PAT was blocked, but it was 13-0 with 3:28 left in the first quarter.
 
The Bronchos lost another fumble on their next possession, this one at the one when Stallard dropped the ball while trying to score on a scramble up the middle to ruin a 79-yard drive.
 
UCO forced a quick fumble and went 58 yards in seven plays to make it 20-0 with 5:53 left in the half  Locke got the first TD of his college career with a 21-yard catch-and-run, diving into the end zone to complete the play that seemingly put the Bronchos in control despite the mistakes.
 
FHSU rebounded with two touchdowns in the final 3:34 of the half to get within 20-14.
 
Hiddink's 18-yard field goal capped a 17-play, 79-yard drive to open the third period that upped UCO's lead to 23-14, but the Tigers scored 13 points in a 2:27 span to move in front.
 
Cooper ripped off a 79-yard TD run seconds after Hiddink's field goal and the Bronchos lost another fumble soon after that, with FHSU needing to go just 36 yards to take a 27-23 lead with 5:00 left in the third period.
 
UCO regained the lead on Stallard's TD pass to Pulley, though it wasn't enough to hold off the Tigers.
 
The Bronchos go on the road next week, traveling to St. Joseph, Mo. Sept. 12 to take on Missouri Western.
 
 
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