Mules Get Bucked by Bronchos

The University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos beat the University of Central Missouri Mules 33-26 in their homecoming game on Saturday at Wantland Stadium.

This is the Bronchos third win of the season, bringing them to 3-3 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play.

BRONCHOS WIN! No. 16 Central Oklahoma takes down No. 17 Central Missouri 2-0 to improve to 12-0 on the season!!!! #RollChos

— UCO Bronchos (@ucoathletics) October 7, 2018

“This was a challenging week for our football team,” said head coach Nick Bobeck. “I just want consistency with our kids…and if we’re talented enough, if we’re consistent, we’re gonna win.”

The Bronchos came out ahead in the first quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run from starting quarterback Will Collins who made his first career start. He finished with 268 yards and four touchdowns.

“Our coaches prepared a phenomenal game plan that our entire team went out and executed well,” Collins said. “[We] still have a lot of mistakes to fix, but the effort from everyone was there.”

After the defense forced the ball back to the Bronchos, Collins threw a 59-yard pass to Ronald Monroe to score the second touchdown of the game. UCO punted on their next possession, but the defense held Central Missouri back.

The Bronchos had to punt again on the fifth possession, but the Mules’ returner fumbled the ball on their 12-yard line where Josh Autaubo recovered the ball. Clay McKenzie ran the ball in from the 2-yard line for the third touchdown. UCO forced a safety on the next play to end the quarter 23-0.

UCM ran in three touchdowns in the second quarter, missing one extra point cutting the Broncho lead to 23-20.

UCO worked their way up the field in the third quarter and were one yard short of a touchdown before UCM had a 66-yard touchdown run. The Bronchos managed to block the Mules’ extra point field goal.

UCO had the ball with less than 50 seconds left in the quarter, but failed to come out with a touchdown, leaving them behind at the end of the third quarter 23-26.

The Bronchos started the fourth quarter with a long drive and a 51-yard pass from Collins to redshirt freshman Mekail Hall. Collins threw his second touchdown of the game to Justin Curry and brought the score to 30-26 with around 12:00 left in the game, regaining the lead. UCO could not score a touchdown on the next drive and had to kick a field goal that brought the score to 33-26.

UCM had the ball on the 17-yard line with 1:18 left in the game to attempt to score. UCO’s Eli Hook had back-to-back sacks to regain Broncho possession. The Bronchos took a knee and won the game with a final score of 33-26.

UCO plays at Missouri Western State University for their next game on Oct. 13.