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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
J.T. Luper
52
Emporia State ESU 2-3 , 2-3
53
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 2-3 , 2-3
Emporia State ESU
2-3 , 2-3
52
Final
53
Central Oklahoma UCO
2-3 , 2-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ESU Emporia State 7 14 17 14 52
UCO Central Oklahoma 7 22 0 24 53

Game Recap: Football | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos beat Emporia State in thrilling comeback

EDMOND – Chas Stallard pitched the ball to Josh Crockett, who showed pass but then darted between a herd of defenders to convert a two-point conversion with 20 seconds left in the game, and the University of Central Oklahoma beat Emporia State 53-52 at Wantland Stadium in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association action Saturday.
 
The Bronchos (2-3, 2-3) trailed by 15 points with five minutes left to play before a series of frantic and thrilling events led Central Oklahoma to victory.
 
With the Bronchos trailing 52-37, J.T. Luper caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Stallard with 3:29 to go. Then Stallard found Caleb Moss for a two-point conversion to make it a one score game.
 
UCO didn't line up in a typical onside kick formation, but Emporia State was lined up to receive such, then UCO head coach Nick Bobeck called a timeout. The Bronchos came back on the field, lined up the same, Emporia State was lined up the same, and freshman kicker Alex Quevedo kicked off right into the turf.
 
UCO defensive back Malik Walker put a big hit on an Emporia return man, and Chris Pogi snagged the ball out of the air to give the Bronchos one more chance with just over three minutes to go.
 
Stallard then executed a 9-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Luper.
 
But that made it 52-51 Emporia with 20 seconds left. That's when Bobeck went for it all, going for two and the win.
 
Emporia State fumbled on both plays to finish the game. Landon Nault fumbled, and it appeared the Bronchos recovered. Carson Smith came out of the pile with the ball, but the referees ruled it Emporia ball with six seconds left. Then quarterback Braxton Marstall was sacked by Justin Stewart and he fumbled as the clock expired.
 
The Broncho win came with numerous records. Stallard finished 32 of 49 with 442 yards, and tied the school with six touchdown passes in one game. He broke the school record for most touchdown passes in a career (40). And the senior quarterback also threw for a career-high 442 yards, third-most in one game in school history. One more, Stallard had 478 yards of total offense, when adding his 36 rushing yards, which is most ever in one game in school history.
 
Luper finished with 12 receptions, tied for the second most in one game, 230 yards, fourth most in one game, and four touchdowns, which tied the school record for most in one game. Luper's 881 yards receiving in five games is also already the eighth-most in a single season.
 
Crockett finished with seven catches for 71 yards. L'liott Curry, who had a huge fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter, had three catches for 53 yards.
 
Saturday's MIAA game came packed with action from the get-go. Emporia State marched right down the field for a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the game. UCO was then forced to punt on its opening drive, and Emporia was heading back down the field. But that's when UCO forced a field goal attempt by the Hornets, which the Bronchos blocked.
 
That spurred a string of four-straight touchdown scoring drives for Central.
 
The first, a 5-play, 51-yard drive that ended when Stallard found Moss for his first TD catch of the year to tie the game 7-7.
 
UCO then took the lead after forcing Emporia to punt, and going down field on a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive. Stallard found Romel Price this time on an 11-yard score to make it 14-7 Bronchos with 13:13 left in the second quarter.
 
How'd Emporia respond?
 
A 75-yard passing touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
 
Tie game. 14-14.
 
Not to be outdone, Stallard kept the big drives going. This time, an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive that ended with backup quarterback Chandler Garrett running into the end zone from 1-yard out to make it 21-14 with 8:06 left in the first half.
 
The Bronchos then looked to take control of the game.
 
Emporia State started the next drive 1st & 10 on its own 17-yard line. Colton Lindsey and Jonathan Harris made a stop in the backfield on first down, and on 2nd & 12, Emporia center Jake Warehime snapped the ball over the quarterback's head and into the Emporia end zone. Marstall jumped on the ball for the safety and the Bronchos led 23-14.
 
Stallard then went down the field quick, hitting Crockett for a 7-yard gain, and Curry for a 30-yard gain. After a 2-yard run by Quan Hogan, and a pair of incomplete passes by Stallard, the Bronchos looked at a 4th & 8 from the Emporia 33.
 
Stallard dropped back to pass, stood in the pocket for a couple of seconds, and then heaved the ball down field to Luper, who was hit immediately. But Luper didn't go down. He spun in a circle, and then broke another tackle before diving into the end zone, his outstretched hand just getting the ball over the goal line for the score. UCO missed the PAT, but led 29-14.
 
Emporia State did strike again in the second quarter, but the Bronchos took a 29-21 lead into halftime.
 
The third however – and most of the fourth – was all Emporia. The Hornets scored a touchdown on the first drive, kicked a field goal on the second, and scored another touchdown on the next two drives to go up 45-29 with 12:05 to play in the fourth quarter.
 
Luper caught his second touchdown pass of the day on a 15-yard strike from Stallard with 8:38 to play, and added the first of three 2-point conversions on the day, to make it 45-37, but Emporia answered with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive to go up 52-37 with just over five minutes to play.
 
That's when the Bronchos turned it up a notch, scoring two more touchdowns and converting two more 2-point conversions and recovering an onside kick, all in the final five minutes.
 
Central Oklahoma hits the road in Week 6, traveling to Maryville, Mo. to take on Northwest Missouri, who is No. 1 in the country and riding a 35-game winning streak.
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