The Bronchos forged a 24-all tie early in the fourth quarter and appeared to have tied it again at 31-all in the final minutes, but a touchdown pass was negated by a penalty and UCO ended up turning the ball over on downs in dropping their fifth straight game.
It was the fifth loss by seven points of less this season for the Bronchos, who fell to 2-8 on the year and 1-5 in North Division play. UCO ends the season next week with a league crossover game at Angelo State.
Ethan Sharp completed 23-of-38 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown in his return to the starting lineup after missing last week to injury and freshman sensation Josh Birmingham rushed for 102 yards and two scores for the Bronchos, who racked up 403 yards total offense.
But SWOSU averaged 6.9 yards a rushing play and gashed the UCO defense for 297 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in ending a three-game losing streak to the Bronchos.
The Bulldogs drew first blood, driving in for a 29-yard field goal on their first possession of the game after taking over the UCO 46-yard-line following a short punt into the wind and the first quarter ended that way.
The Bronchos took the lead with an 11-play, 75-yard TD drive that was capped by Birmingham’s seven-yard scoring burst. Sharp completed all three pass attempts for 29 yards and Birmingham gained the last 25 yards on four consecutive carries to put UCO on top 7-3 early in the second period.
SWOSU responded with a 73-yard scoring march of its own to regain a 10-7 lead, with the Bulldogs using a goal-line stand to force the Bronchos to settle for a field goal on their next offensive try.
Birmingham had a 14-yard run and Carter Whitson hauled in passes of 16 and 24 yards in getting UCO a first-and-goal at the SWOSU one, but two runs and a pass lost three yards and the Bronchos were forced to settle for Derek Martinez’s 23-yard field goal that tied it 10-10 with 1:35 left in the half.
The Bulldogs scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter to break that deadlock and take a big 24-10 lead, but UCO responded with 14 unanswered points of its own to tie it again.
Artrell Woods set up the first score with a 54-yard kickoff return and Sharp completed passes of 12 and 21 yards to Whitson before Birmingham broke loose for a 13-yard scoring sprint to bring the Bronchos within 24-17 late in the third quarter.
The Bronchos drew even early in the final stanza after taking over at their own 41 following a SWOSU punt.
Sharp had a 24-yard pass to Dolphin Davis on a third-and-10 to get that drive started and the sophomore quarterback finished it three plays later when he hit Tucker Holland with a 35-yard scoring strike. Martinez’s extra point tied it at 24-all with 10:44 left to play.
But SWOSU came right back, rushing for 67 yards in a quick-hit 71-yard drive to regain the lead at 31-24 with 7:55 remaining.
UCO appeared to respond with a TD drive of its own when Sharp hit Daniel Morrell with a 17-yard scoring pass on a third-and-5 play, but the Bronchos were called for holding and Sharp’s fourth-and-15 pass fell incomplete.
The Bulldogs then ran out the clock the seal the victory.
EDMOND (Nov. 6) – A trio of seniors ended their home careers in style Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House in leading Central Oklahoma to a tough three-set sweep of East Central.
Zuela Adom, Kristen Wilson and Courtney Whitlow combined for 34 of the team’s 48 kills and eight of 12 assisted blocks as the Bronchos prevailed 25-20, 25-23, 28-26 to cap off a regular season-ending two-match home sweep.
UCO improved to 20-10 in reaching the 20-win mark for the ninth time in 11 years and ended up 8-6 in the Lone Star Conference. The Bronchos finished in a three-way tie for fifth and advance to next week’s LSC Tournament, which starts Thursday in Amarillo, Texas.
“Our seniors gave us a big lift today when we needed it,” UCO coach Jeff Boyland said. “It was a tough match, but we found a way to win and it will be good to go into the conference tournament with some momentum.”
Adom hit .300 with a match-high 15 kills while adding four assisted blocks, with Wilson collecting 13 kills, 18 digs and an assisted block and Whitlow six kills and three assisted blocks. The Bronchos also got eight kills from Alex Richardson and 39 assists, two kills and two assisted blocks from Fleming Smurthwaite.
UCO fell behind 4-1 early in the opening set and was still down 8-3 before going on a 9-4 run to pull even at 12-all on a Wilson kill. The Bronchos finally went ahead for good at 19-18 on an ECU error and went on to take the win.
There were 10 ties and six lead changes in the second set, the final deadlock coming at 23-23. UCO then scored the next two points to claim the victory behind kills by Adom and Richardson.
It was another nail-biter in the third set with 14 ties and 10 lead changes as neither team led by more than two points. The Tigers had a 26-25 lead and were serving for the set, but Smurthwaite and Whitlow teamed up for a block to tie it.
Adom and Richardson followed with a combined block to give UCO a 27-26 lead and Richardson then ended the match with a kill at the net.
ABILENE, Texas (Nov. 6) – Alina Istrate finished eighth in the individual standings to lead Central Oklahoma to a fifth-place showing in the Lone Star Conference Women’s Cross Country Championships here Saturday morning.
An error on the course during the running of the event resulted in it being a 4.5-kilometer race instead of the six-kilometer one, which ended with Midwestern State winning its third straight team title.
The Mustangs had three top-10 finishers and ended with 46 points, 33 ahead of second-place Angelo State. Abilene Christian was third in the 13-team meet with 119 points, followed by Eastern New Mexico (132) and the Bronchos (145).
"We didn't run quite as well as we hoped, but it wasn't a bad effort," UCO coach J.D. Martin said. "Obviously the race being shortened may have affected the outcome a little, but there's nothing that can be done about that. We'll keep training and get ready for the regional."
Istrate toured the course in 16:51.30 for her eighth-place effort as she was the only Broncho to finish in the top 20.
Julia Crocker came in 24th in 17:35.24, with Katie Kerns one spot behind with a 17:40.54 timing. UCO's other runners were Tess Lackey (42nd, 18:10.40), Angelica Martinez (47th, 18:19.14), Angel Vick (64th, 18:49.12), Chelsea Elam (77th, 19:30.22) and Cara Cox (80th, 19:39.33).
The Bronchos have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional that will be held in Warresnburg, Mo.
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