November 10, 2018-Emporia State scored 14 fourth quarter points to defeat Central Oklahoma 35-28 on Saturday in Edmond, Okla. and in the process earned a trip to the Corsicana Bowl. It will be the fifth trip to the postseason in the last seven years for the Hornets.
After forcing a UCO fumble on the Emporia State one yard line, the Hornets went 99 yards for a touchdown for the second week in a row. Braxton Marstall hit Denzel Strong for a 23 yard touchdown with 4:40 left in the quarter to give ESU a 7-0 lead.
The Bronchos went up 14-7 midway through the second quarter after a pair of Clay McKenzie touchdowns. The first came on a seven yard pass from Will Collins with 14:17 left in the quarter to tie the game. UCO went ahead by a touchdown with 6:47 left when McKenzie ran it in from six yards out. Marstall hit Jordan Reed for an 11 yard score with 4:40 left to send the teams to the locker room tied at 14.
Emporia State received the second half kick-off and took just three plays to score. Landon Nault opened the drive with a 21 yard rush, then Marstall found Reed for another 11 yards. Marstall ended the 51 second drive with a 43 yard touchdown pass to Tyler Harris to give the Hornets a 21-14 lead. After the teams traded three and outs, UCO went 56 yards on nine plays and tied the game on a two yard touchdown run by McKenzie as the teams went to the fourth quarter tied at 21.
Neither team would score over the first ten minutes of the fourth quarter but they combined to score 21 in the last five minutes. Emporia State started the scoring as Nault personally went 51 yards on five plays and gave the Hornets a 28-21 lead on a seven yard run with 4:39 left. The Bronchos got into Hornet territory on the next drive before Parker Bass sacked Collins for an eight yard loss back to the UCO 47. Two plays later Lawson Holbert intercepted Collins and returned it 33 yards down to the UCO 46. On the next play Marstall went 46 yards for a touchdown to give the Hornets a 35-21 lead with 1:18 left.
The Bronchos took nine plays and 1:11 off the clock to go 75 yards and scored on a Collins one yard pass to Ronnie Turner with seven seconds left. Cody Savage recovered the onside kick for ESU and the Hornets were able to go into victory formation for the final snap.
Marstall finished the game 20 of 34 for 306 yards with three touchdowns through the air and added 44 yards and a score on the ground. Harris was the top receiver in terms of yardage with 135 yards on three catches and a touchdown. Justin Brown added seven receptions for 68 yards while Reed had six catches for 59 yards and a touchdown. Nault finished the game with 99 yards on 15 carries and a score. Defensively Gary Woods II and Jace McDown each had 12 tackles while Kyle Rinck had a career high ten stops.Â
The Hornets will extend their season to December 1 when they play in the Corsicana Bowl against an opponent from the Great American Conference.
NOTES
Braxton Marstall is now third in career total offense in the MIAA with 10,820 yards, as he passed Drew Newhart of Missouri Western who had 10,594 yards from 2007-10.
Braxton Marstall is now fifth in career passing in the MIAA with 9,603 yards, as he passed Anthony Abenoja of Pittsburg State who had 9,419 yards from 2011-14.
Barxton Marstall moved into seventh in single season passing at Emporia State with 2,734 yards as he passed Sean Ponder (2,487 in 1995) and Tyler Eckenrode (2,580 in 2011). He now has the third, sixth and seventh best passing seasons in ESU history.
Justin Brown is now second in career receiving yards at Emporia State with 2,865 yards, as he passed Shjuan Richardson who had 2,842 yards from 2009-12.
Â
