A missed extra point haunted the Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions in a 21-20 overtime loss to Central Oklahoma on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. ??With the game tied 14-14 to end regulation, the Lions opened the overtime period with possession at the 25-yard line and quarterback Trent Miller, who replaced starter Terry Mayo in the third quarter, found wide receiver Meldrick Grice on a 24-yard touchdown pass to take the six-point lead. But placekicker Chris Quiroga missed the extra point attempt.
Central Oklahoma scored on its overtime possession in six plays, as running back Ben Birmingham dashed 13 yards to tie the game at 20. Bronchos kicker Alex Weaver knocked in the PAT to lift the Bronchos to the victory.
Tied 7-7 after a slow offensive first half, the third quarter opened with two scores of more than 90 yards.??Central Oklahoma started the half with the ball on its own 8-yard line before Birmingham gave the Bronchos their first lead of the game on a 92-yard run up the gut to take the 14-7 advantage.??Birmingham raced to the top of the Memorial Stadium record books, as he now owns the record for the longest rush in stadium history. He finished the night running through the Lions defense for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.
On the ensuing kickoff return, Lion returner Nabil El-Amin raced 97 yards for the score and tied the game at 14 with 10:45 remaining in the third quarter.
El-Amin’s 97-yard return ties him with former Abilene Christian and current NFL player Danieal Manning for the longest kickoff return at Memorial Stadium.
Defenses for both teams were strong throughout the night.
The No. 2 defense in the LSC held the Lions to 292 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers.
Reigning LSC North Division Defensive Player of the Week Will Clewis led the Broncho defense with 15 tackles and two pass breakups.
The Lions defense held the Central Oklahoma offense to only 240 yards, but 180 of that came from the ground game.
“We had a missed assignment on that long run, but other than that things went well (defensively),” said A&M-Commerce coach Scotty Conley.
Senior linebacker Garnet Smith notched 15 tackles to spark the Lions defense.
Mayo drove the Lions down the field on the game’s opening possession, but was intercepted at the Bronchos 10-yard line by defensive back T.J. Shaw.
After forcing Central Oklahoma to punt, the Lions offense went 52 yards on 11 plays and El-Amin scored his first rushing touchdown on the year from three yards. Quiroga’s PAT gave the Lions the 7-0 advantage at the 2:30 mark of the first quarter.
Lions’ tight end Anthony Eustace made a key catch in traffic on a third down at the Bronchos three to set up the score.
El-Amin anchored the Lions ground attack with a season-high 80 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries.
“He has been a stronger, more aggressive runner these last couple of week,” said Conley. “He’s stepped up his performance.”??A&M-Commerce tried to extend the lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter, but Quiroga sliced a field goal attempt wide right from 40 yards.
Shaw intercepted his second pass of the game late in the second quarter to give the Bronchos offense possession at the Lions 35.
Four plays and 35 yards later, running back Maurice Little came up big for the Bronchos tying the game at 7-7 with a 3-yard sweep around the right side of the field. The score remained the same heading into the half.
Missed opportunities haunted the Lions throughout the night.
“When you have evenly matched teams, the team with the fewest mistakes wins,” said Conley.
A&M-Commerce falls to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in Lone Star Conference North Division play. The Bronchos improve to 2-3 and 1-0 in the LSC North Division.??The Lions will travel to Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday for a 2 p.m. start.