Football 11/6/2021 11:53:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central Downed By Kearney

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma football team found itself in a hole it couldn't dig out of Saturday afternoon and the Bronchos lost 37-22 to No. 25 Nebraska Kearney at Chad Richison Stadium.

Central Oklahoma is 4-6 this season following Saturday's loss. The Bronchos wrap up the 2021 regular season next Saturday with a road game at Central Missouri.

"I feel like we had a chance but we couldn't make something of our opportunity," UCO head football coach Nick Bobeck said. "That's kind of been the theme lately. Unfortunately we're close but we're not there yet. We need to figure out how to do the most with the opportunities we get and then we'll be in a better place."

UCO trailed 14-0 less than five minutes into the game Saturday. Nebraska Kearney scored a touchdown on its first three possessions. The Lopers led 7-0 after one drive, then forced a three & out by the Bronchos before scoring again. After an Alex Quevedo field goal, Kearney went down the field again to score and go ahead 21-3 with 14:54 to play in the second quarter.

Jayce Gardner scored on an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Quevedo, whose first field goal was 34 yards, hit a 44-yarder to keep the Bronchos close heading to halftime, 21-13.

Kearney scored early in the third quarter to go ahead 28-13 before Central made things interesting late.

Gardner scored again, this time from 26 yards out. A rare miss on the extra point by Quevedo left it 28-19 in the third quarter. Quevedo, who already owns the Central Oklahoma record for 56 consecutive PATs made, saw his streak of 46 consecutive makes come to an end. He had just one miss between the two streaks for a 102-for-103 stretch over the last two seasons.

Quevedo would strike again early in the fourth quarter, with a 38-yard field goal that made it 28-22 with 10:38 to play in the game.

The teams traded punts before Kearney scored its last touchdown to go ahead 37-22 and UCO turned the ball over on downs with a little over 90 seconds left to end the game.

Keats Calhoon led Central's offense Saturday, throwing for 301 yards. He was 25-for-45. He hit Josh Moore a game-high 10 times for 151 yards and he hit Daunte McGee four times for 60 yards.

Gardner led the rushing effort for the Bronchos. The freshman had nine carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

Dylan Buchheit and Elijah Wright both had 11 tackles to lead the UCO defense. Johnathan Mosley, who had seven tackles, and Dontez Fagan, both had interceptions in the game.

Quevedo moved up to No. 5 on Central Oklahoma's all-time scoring list Saturday. With 10 points, he now has 262 career points. He moved ahead of A.J. Haglund. Quevedo is the fifth-highest scoring player in school history and the second-highest scoring kicker ever to play for the Bronchos.

Central Oklahoma will visit Central Missouri Saturday, Nov. 13 in Warrensburg, Missouri to close out the 2021 season.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Dylan Buchheit: DB; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#18 Keats Calhoon: QB; 6' 1"; Junior

#29 Dontez Fagan: DB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

#20 Jayce Gardner: RB; 5' 11"; Freshman

#85 Daunte McGee: HB; 6' 5"; Junior

#0 Josh Moore: WR; 5' 10"; Senior

#2 Johnathan Mosley: DB; 6' 1"; Freshman

#34 Alex Quevedo: K; 5' 11"; Senior

#15 Elijah Wright: LB; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Dylan Buchheit
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: DB

#18 Keats Calhoon
: 6' 1"; Junior
: QB

#29 Dontez Fagan
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB

#20 Jayce Gardner
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: RB

#85 Daunte McGee
: 6' 5"; Junior
: HB

#0 Josh Moore
: 5' 10"; Senior
: WR

#2 Johnathan Mosley
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: DB

#34 Alex Quevedo
: 5' 11"; Senior
: K

#15 Elijah Wright
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: LB