Alva Review-Courier -

DURANT, Okla. – SWOSU Football fell to No. 23-ranked Southeastern 31-24 on Saturday despite leading for a majority of the contest. The Savage Storm scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, including a late home run ball with 25 seconds left in the game that would doom the Bulldogs.

Both teams struggled to get their offense going in the early stages of the first quarter, trading punts on each of the first four possessions of the game. Southeastern finally got on the board first on its third possession, driving 64 yards on eight plays that was capped off by a 10-yard run by SE running back Ryan Taylor.

The score seemed to wake Casey Freeman and the Bulldog offense up however, because two plays later the Dawgs found themselves in the end zone. A Cedric Cooper rush of 23 yards started the drive and a Freeman pass to JR Omigie on a double move ended it on a 38-yard strike through the air for a touchdown. Just like that, it was 7-7 with 4:12 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Southeastern faced third and one from their own 27 when Austin Loomis jumped a route and hauled the half's only turnover. The interception setup SWOSU with great field position and again the Dawgs would need only two plays to cash in. After a seven-yard Cooper rush to the SE 17, Cooper again was the target on a screen pass. The SWOSU running back made defenders miss before barreling into the end zone, giving the Bulldogs the 14-7 lead nearing the end of the first quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Savage Storm were picking up momentum on a long drive looking to tie the game. The Dawg defense's backs were against the wall facing third and goal, when Braden Sweet came up huge with a sack that forced a SE to send their field goal team out to attempt a kick. That kick missed wide right, and SWOSU maintained the one-score lead with 4:05 left before halftime.

Two stalled drives later, the Dawgs got the ball back and were able to drive down the field and get in field-goal territory with one play left before halftime. Trent Dennis lined up and knocked the kick home, giving SWOSU the 17-7 lead as time expired heading into the locker room.

After a scoreless third quarter, it was Southeastern who again scored the first points of the new half after a fake punt late in the third quarter sparked their long drive. Facing fourth and eight from their own 22, SE's punter threw a pass that was complete for 37 yards and kept the drive alive. 11 plays later, the Savage Storm ended the possession with a field goal to get within one score at 17-10 with 13:46 left in the fourth quarter.

Southeastern was able to tie the game at 17-17 after an inexplicable punt by Dalton Jackson setup the Savage Storm with great field position. SWOSU's punter kicked it into the back of his upman blocking, and the ball ricocheted in the wrong direction for a negative 17-yard punt. Two plays later, SE was in the end zone and it was a brand new ball game and tied up.

The Savage Storm regained the lead for the first time since the first quarter after a 22-yard TD pass followed up a 22-yard run and 15-yard penalty. In need of a score, JR Omigie sparked SWOSU momentum with a 58-yard kickoff return to the Southeastern 29. The Savage Storm's defense held tough, forcing a decision on fourth down from the Dawgs who would go for it. The gamble payed off, after Freeman found a streaking Jordan Jackson for a 28-yard touchdown pass that knotted the game back up at 24-24 with 4:07 remaining in the game.

SWOSU failed to convert on fourth down and gave the ball back over to Southeastern with 33 seconds left in the game. It was looking like overtime until a blown coverage gave SE a wide open receiver who walked into the end zone after a 63-yard pass, capping off the day's scoring.

Offensively, SWOSU ended the day with 266 passing yards and 56 rushing yards. Freeman completed 50 percent of his passing on 22-of-44 attempts for three scored, but also threw two interceptions. JR Omigie led the receiving corps with five grabs and his score, while Cooper tallied 11 rushes and 37 yards on the ground. Austin Loomis was the anchor on defense, tallying 10 tackles to go along with his interception.

"I am so proud of our kids, they fought hard today and did a lot of good things," SWOSU Head Coach Dan Cocannouer said after the game. "I told them all to keep their heads held high after this game, we played well enough to win but a few plays late didn't go our way and that's just how it goes sometimes."

SWOSU (2-4, 2-4 GAC) will return home to host Arkansas Tech next Saturday at 2 pm on ASAP Energy Field.