EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State fell by a score of 31-10 at Central Oklahoma on Saturday night (Oct. 10). The Tigers were marching deep into Central Oklahoma territory down just seven with under five minutes to play, but a pair of untimely turnovers turned a very close game into 21-point margin late. FHSU moved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA, while UCO also went to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA.
The teams traded field goals in the first quarter, Bradley Thao from 22 yards for UCO and
Zane Colson from 41 yards for FHSU. The Tigers struggled to get an offensive rhythm in the first half and had just 118 total yards at halftime.
Turnovers were the story of this game for the Tigers. Early in the second quarter,
Major Cantrell was intercepted deep in FHSU territory at the 11. Immediately following, Jett Huff tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass for UCO to C.J. Williams. UCO put together a late drive in the second quarter to score another touchdown, a 5-yard run by Dev Matthews to put the Bronchos up 17-3. The Tigers got the ball down to the UCO 23 with seven seconds remaining, but an interception ended a Tiger threat of points just before halftime.
The Tigers did a great job controlling the clock throughout the third quarter and a drive chewing up 7:09 was capped by an
AG Floyd 1-yard touchdown plunge. The Tigers trailed by just seven going to the fourth quarter.
The Tigers continued to control the clock in the fourth quarter and marched the ball to the UCO 15 inside of five minutes. But, looking to convert on third down, the Bronchos stripped Cantrell of the ball on a scramble in the backfield and Reese Roller scooped the ball and took it all the way for a UCO touchdown. In their haste to move quickly following the turn of events, the Tigers coughed up the ball one more time. UCO put the game away with a 36-yard touchdown run by Matthews.
The Tigers actually outgained the Bronchos in total offense, 295-277, but UCO holding a 4-0 advantage in turnovers was the difference in the game, especially scoring the 21 points off the turnovers that made the final margin. The Tigers held the Bronchos to just 60 yards of total offense after halftime. FHSU entered the game with the fourth-best turnover margin in the nation. FHSU also had the ball for 40 minutes, but saw the strong clock management unravel late.
LaAngelo Bell led the Tigers in rushing with 63 yards, followed by 55 from Floyd. Cantrell threw for 157 yards and
Kolton Coleman had 84 receiving yards.
Eli Moulton,
Darell Jones, and
Gavin Meyers all had five tackles on defense, while
Michael Polley had three pass breakups and
Taderian Partee had the only Tiger sack.
Huff threw for 193 yards for UCO and Matthews ran for 90. Roller led UCO in tackles with 12 and had the fumble return for a touchdown.
Fort Hays State will host nationally ranked Northwest Missouri State next Saturday (Oct. 17) at home. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays.
