by Nick Growall
Staff writer
With a balanced offensive attack, Southeastern was able to top the University of Central Oklahoma 30-23 in their season-opener Saturday, Sept. 10, in what is likely to be the last meeting between the two schools.
Senior running back Jamaal Evans turned in 182 yards rushing on 28 carries, with junior Don Brown adding 41 yards and a 20-yard touchdown run. The air attack was no slouch either, with junior quarterback Logan Turner going 23-36-235, including three touchdown passes.
On the other end of nine of Turner’s passes was junior Quentin Morris, who posted a career-high 103 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Turner also hooked up in the end zone with freshman Anthony Foster.
Some credit also goes to the defense, which held the Bronchoes to 341 yards of overall offense, while the Storm outgained them with 492 yards of total offense. And it was junior Emmanual Jackson who came up with the victory-sealing interception with just two minutes left in the game.
“I think our defense can do better than 23 points,” said head coach Ray Richards after the game. “We gave up some big plays for scores, and I think if we can eliminate some mistakes, I think we can be really good on defense.”
The rivalry with UCO, having been played 72 times, will likely come to an end with Southeastern joining the Great American Conference this year. The Bronchoes lead the overall series 48-21-2, but Southeastern has been dominant in the last decade, winning nine of the last 10 meetings.
“We just never gave up,” said Turner after the game. “They’re a good team, my hat goes off to them, it was a real back and forth game. But in the end, it just came down to our team fighting through and getting the win.”
Turner pointed down to a blue wristband he and other teammates were wearing, which read Fight. Finish. Faith. “That’s been our motto this year, and we went and played like it tonight,” said Turner.
The Storm will go on the road for the next two weeks, starting with a Saturday, Sept. 17 matchup against Southern Arkansas, followed by a trip up to East Central University on Saturday, Sept. 24 to play the rival Tigers.
