The Bronchos’ Long Haul to Nebraska Ends in a Loss

In a game that swung on momentum and a pair of costly miscues, Central Oklahoma lost on the road to Nebraska-Kearney Saturday evening, 35-24. 

UCO raced to a fast start, building a 17-0 cushion in the early portion of the second quarter, but saw UNK rally to hand the Bronchos their fifth loss of the season as both teams logged similar records in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).

The Bronchos are now 4-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Running back Dev Mathews opened the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run, giving Central a 7-0 lead with 3:07 minutes left in the opening frame. Quarterback Jett Huff connected with Dominique Dunn for a 39-yard touchdown pass to push the advantage to a 14-0 lead with 13:37 minutes to play before halftime. Joseph Kim added a 21-yard field goal a couple of minutes later, but Kearney scored its first touchdown with a little over two minutes remaining in the half, leaving the score 17-7 at the break. 

On the opening kickoff of the third quarter, a misplayed ball stayed in bounds, and UNK recovered, setting up a quick scoring drive that cut the lead to 17-14. A few minutes later, Huff’s pass slipped from his hands and was intercepted, UNK cashed in with a 3-play, 7-yard drive to seize a 21-17 lead with 7:00 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Lopers would keep control from there, mounting a 71-yard march on seven plays to push the margin to a 28-17 lead. UCO then pulled within a four-point 28-24 trail with 10:00 left to play on a 13-yard touchdown from Jaylen Cottrell. UNK closed the door with a late four-minute scoring drive and a turnover on downs sequence that stifled UCO’s comeback.

The Bronchos’ defense did not stop fighting, recording 3 turnovers and holding the Lopers to under 100 passing yards. Even when the defense had bad field position, they did not stop fighting, regardless of where the ball was placed.

Jack Puckett, the All-American linebacker for the Bronchos, said, “Mistakes happen in games and we just happened to make a lot of them today, but I have seen the team we can be and those mistakes are things that do not define us but help us get better. You don’t learn from your wins, you learn from your losses.’’ 

Central Oklahoma returns home for its final time of the season to host Missouri Southern on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 1 pm.