Box Score
Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The largest crowd at Fast Lane Field this season was on hand to see the Southwestern Oklahoma State University take on East Central on Saturday night for Homecoming, but three second half fumbles were extremely costly as SWOSU suffered a 24-21 defeat.
SWOSU got on the board first, capping off a 14-play, 85-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass from
Dustin Stenta to
Hunter Dinkines. The play, which was the first career reception for Dinkines, put SWOSU on top 7-0 with 5:45 to play in the opening quarter.
East Central would tie the game on an 18-yard pass from Spencer Bond to JoJo Snell late in the first quarter. That score was set up by an interception from Stenta that bounced off the hands of
Teverick Boyd and into the arms of Reuben Tiller. It took ECU just two plays to cash in and tie the game 7-7.
That score would hold up until halftime after East Central missed a 26-yard field goal and the Bulldogs final possession ended with a second interception.
ECU opened up the second half with a 10-play drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal from Trevor Hunt. That gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 10:56 to play in the third. SWOSU countered with seven-play drive that
Ryan Corbin capped off with a one-yard touchdown run, but a missed extra point held the SWOSU lead to 13-10 with 8:57 to play in the third quarter.
The next three SWOSU drives were marred by turnovers as the Bulldogs lost fumbles on three consecutive drives.
D.C. Walker fumbled following a 12-yard run and set ECU up with the ball at their 49-yard line and four plays later the Tigers regained the lead on a five-yard touchdown pass.
SWOSU then drove the ball to the ECU three yardline before
Ryan Corbin was stripped as he was looking for his second rushing touchdown of the night. East Central cashed in that turnover with a 79-yard touchdown pass, the longest against the Bulldog defense this season. That score gave ECU a 24-13 lead with 11:09 to play in the game.
The Bulldogs had two more drives halted in the fourth quarter before they got back into the end zone on a two-yard touchdown rush by Stenta with 1:20 to play. Stenta then found Boyd on the two-point conversion to get the Bulldogs within three at 24-21. An onside kick attempt by
Kevin Cantrell was up for grabs but no SWOSU player was able to come down with it and East Central was able to run out the clock for the victory.
SWOSU's record is now even at 4-4 (4-4 GAC) while the Tigers improve to 4-3 (4-3 GAC) on the year. The Bulldogs held an advantage of 459 total yards to 382 for ECU while both teams averaged 5.2 yards per play, but it was the turnovers that did SWOSU in. The Bulldogs gave up the ball five times with two interceptions and three fumbles while taking it away from East Central just once.
Stenta finished 27-of-45 for 318 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions while Walker and
Karl Hodge each carried the ball for 78 yards.
Teverick Boyd caught 10 passes for 105 yards while
Brian Robinson also eclipsed the 100-yard mark with three catches for 111 yards.
Defensively,
Ryan Feller and
Jim O'Brien each made nine stops to lead SWOSU while adding 2.5 and 1.5 tackles for loss, respectively. SWOSU made seven tackles for loss for the game while tying a season-high with six pass breakups.
SWOSU will now turn their focus to Southern Nazarene as the Bulldogs host the Crimson Storm next Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Fast Lane Field. That game will kick off at 2 pm.
