EDMOND, Okla. – The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State University football team dropped its first game of the season Saturday at the University of Central Oklahoma, 23-14.
 
The Bronchos (2-2 overall) forced five turnovers and did not trail in the game. Northwest (3-1 overall) limited UCO to eight first downs and held the Bronchos to 0-for-12 in third-down conversions.
 
Central Oklahoma ran 49 plays for 292 yards and Northwest ran 70 plays for 291 yards.
 
The Bronchos bounced out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter after the Bearcats turned the ball over on their own side of the field. A bad snap from center Mitch Goff to Mike Hohensee was recovered by UCO at the 11-yard line. UCO used one play to rush it in from 11 yards out to take a 7-0 lead with 8:50 left in the first quarter.
 
Following a Hohensee interception, UCO took over on the 17-yard line. The Bearcat defense stiffened and held the Bronchos to a 31-yard field goal. But the three-pointer gave UCO a 10-0 advantage with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Northwest put up its first points of the game following an 11-play, 49-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard touchdown pass from Hohensee to Trevon Alexander. The score to Alexander cut the UCO lead to 10-7 with 8:24 left in the second quarter.
 
UCO extended the lead to 13-7 with a 35-yard field goal. The Bronchos field goal came with 17 seconds left in the half and was set up by a 52-yard pass play on the first drive of the series.
 
The Bronchos hit on their longest play of the game on their first offensive play in the third quarter. Running back Jaylen Cottrell scored on an 83-yard touchdown run with 12:04 left in the third quarter. Cottrell's run put UCO on top, 20-7.
 
Quarterback Braden Wright hooked up with Alexander on a 36-yard passing play to give Northwest a 1^st-and-10 at the UCO 21-yard line. Three plays later, Northwest cut the UCO lead to 20-14 on a three-yard rushing touchdown by Robert Rawie. Rawie's score capped a four-play, 57-yard drive that consumed 1:13 off the clock.
 
UCO promptly pushed it back to a two-score game with its third field goal of the contest. A 43-yard field goal with 1:48 left in the third quarter gave the Bronchos a 23-14 advantage.
 
Neither squad would score in the fourth quarter.
 
Jamar Moya rushed for a team-high 76 yards on 15 carries. Moya averaged 5.1 yards per carry. He also caught four passes for five yards.
 
Alexander led the receivers with six catches for 91 yards. Peyton Carder caught a career-high five passes for 55 yards.
 
Hohensee went 17-of-28 passing for 153 yards. Hohensee tossed three interceptions and was sacked twice. Braden Wright went 2-of-5 passing for 41 yards and was sacked once.
 
Zach Howard secured a team-best eight tackles, including three tackles-for-loss. Sam Phillips and Andrew Dumas each tallied seven stops.
 
Northwest will return to action at home next Saturday against Missouri Western. Northwest and Missouri Western will kick at 1:30 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium.