UNK Football Falls At Central Oklahoma, 31-6
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos used a 21-point second quarter and eight sacks to defeat Nebraska Kearney, 31-6, Saturday afternoon in Edmond.
The Bronchos, playing just their third home game, move to 4-5 (3-4) while the Lopers drop to 1-8 (1-6).
On an overcast and rainy Halloween day, the 'Chos stormed out to a 31-3 lead behind reserve quarterback Owen Jones (16 of 30, 222 yards, three touchdowns) and reserve back Ja'Daniel Nettles (18 carries for 90 yards and one TD). UCO scored on five of its first six possessions, driving 77, 43, 95, 69 and 60 yards. UNK, behind reserve QB Ziggy Harper (Belle Glade, Fla.), mustered an eight-play, 65-yard field goal drive in the first quarter but had five punts among its first seven drives.
"We were terrible in the first half; there's no way to describe it. Everybody was poor and we didn't represent anything that we stand for. We came out in the second half and fought, but it was not good at all in the first half," said UNK head coach Ryan Held. "People were running wide open, we couldn't protect the quarterback, we weren't making the right decisions."
UCO did nothing offensively after the break, punting five times and losing two fumbles. However, the Lopers couldn't take advantage, making one field goal, missing wide left on another and having a failed fourth down attempt at the UCO 10-yard line.
"That's our problem; we've been such a Heckel and Jeckel outfit. In this conference, you have to play four quarters," said Held.
In his second collegiate appearance, Jones had TD tosses of 5, 59 and 22 yards with Nettles scoring from two yards out. Freshman Bradley Taho started the scoring with a 22-yard field goal with UNK sophomore Kaden Kiernan (Kansas City) converting from 46 and 30 yards out. He's now at 10 made field goals this fall.
Besides Jones and Nettles, true freshman receiver Tahkari Bethel had five catches for 112 yards and two scores with senior backer and MIAA tackle leader Reese Roller at nine stops. UCO's eight sacks resulted in a loss of 46 yards with all-league end Cameron Done having 3.5 for 27 yards.
"I tip my hat off to them. They have an interim head coach and I'm sure they (the players) want him to be the guy and boy, in the first half, they showed they wanted him to be the guy for sure," said Held.
For the Lopers, Harper ran the option well and finished with 85 yards on 21 carries. He had a long run of 28 yards and posted a net gain of 131 yards. In the air, he was 11 of 25 for 76 yards and completed passes to eight teammates. That included tight end Darien Bell (Cordova, Tenn.) and receiver Hayden Kramer (North Platte). Next, senior back Isaiah Harris (Omaha) had 43 rushing yards with true freshman back Derek Jones (Papillion) having six touches for 44 yards. Finally, junior punter Marty Mormino (Omaha) averaged 42.4 yards in eight attempts with a long boot of 55 yards.
"These guys come to work every day so it's not like we have bad practices. We're trying to get better, stay positive, and do what we can with what we have," said Held.
Also, for UNK, safety Kyler Lauridsen (Bennington) had a 37-yard punt return in addition to four tackles, safety Gunnar Lym (Bennington) was at a team-best 10 tackles and a forced fumble with senior backer Parker Wise (Kearney) recovering and forcing a fumble.
UNK hosts Fort Hays State next Saturday at Foster Field. The Tigers (3-6, 2-5) fell today at Central Missouri, 31-13.