Game Statistics
EDMOND (Sept. 13) – A lost fumble in the end zone helped ignite a 24-point scoring blitz that turned a tie game into a runaway as Texas A&M-Kingsville rolled past Central Oklahoma 41-6 Saturday afternoon at Wantland Stadium.
It was the third straight home loss to open the season for the Bronchos, who fell to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Javelinas – who were scheduled to host the game before it was switched to Edmond because of the threat of Hurricane Ike – improved to 2-1 and 1-0.
TAMUK broke a 3-3 tie late in the first quarter and then recovered a fumbled snap in the end zone for a touchdown midway through the second quarter en route to scoring 24 unanswered points in taking a 27-3 lead.
The Javelinas then followed another UCO field goal with two more touchdowns to win going away. TAMUK outgained the Bronchos 564-243, with quarterback Billy Garza hitting 24-of-38 passes for 350 yards to lead the Javelinas.
“We made too many mistakes and didn't play like we're capable of, either offensively or defensively,” UCO coach Tracy Holland said. “It's a tough way to open the season, but we just have to keep our head up and keep working hard at getting better.”
The Javelinas took a 3-0 lead on their first possession of the game, but UCO came back to tie it on a 20-yard Chad Susman field goal after a promising drive stalled at the TAMUK three-yard-line.
A big 39-yard pass from Brandon Noohi to Kendall Hendricks sparked a 77-yard drive that carried from the UCO 20 to a first-and-goal at the TAMUK one before the Bronchos lost three yards in three plays, forcing Susman to come on and tie it with his short kick.
TAMUK broke the deadlock with a 41-yard Christian Brom field goal late in the first quarter and the Bronchos thwarted another threat with Matt Gates' end zone interception in staying close.
The Javelinas started to pull away midway through the second period after a punt pinned UCO back at its own six, with TAMUK recovering a fumbled snap in the end zone on the next play for a touchdown that made it 13-3.
The Bronchos threatened on their next possession, using a 26-yard pass from Noohi to Daniel Morrell to move to the TAMUK 17 before fumbling the ball away. TAMUK responded with an 80-yard scoring drive that made it 20-3 at halftime.
Garza took the Javelinas on a 70-yard TD drive to open the second half to make it 27-3 before Susman nailed a 40-yard field goal at the 6:33 mark to cut the deficit to 27-6.
But the Bronchos could get no closer and TAMUK tacked on two more touchdowns to pull away.
Noohi finished 16-of-34 passing for 166 yards, with Morrell pulling in seven aerials for 97 yards and Hendricks five for 56 yards. UCO managed just 20 yards rushing in the contest in 20 attempts.
Linebacker Terrence Hill paced the defense with 11 tackles, while safety #T.J. Shaw# had 10 stops.
UCO makes its first road trip of the season next week, going to Stephenville, Texas to take on No. 19-ranked Tarleton State in another LSC crossover game.
