Football 9/11/2024 10:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Hosts No. 2 Central Missouri

Battle of the Centrals Kicks Off At 7 p.m. Saturday Night At Chad Richison Stadium

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma looks to carry a hot start into Week 2 as the Bronchos move into conference play with a big test Saturday night at Chad Richison Stadium.

UCO (1-0) hosts No. 2 Central Missouri (1-0) with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. It's Teacher Appreciation Night at Central, the original teacher's college of the state of Oklahoma. School staff members can receive free admission to the game with a valid school ID.

"We had a great first game last week and we're going to need every bit of that this week as we play Central Missouri," UCO head football coach Adam Dorrel said. "They won the league last year and made the playoffs. They have the returning Harlon Hill winner. It's going to take everyone on our team playing well and we're up for the challenge. This is a tough test, but so is every week in the MIAA."

Central Missouri is led by quarterback Zack Zebrowski, who threw 60 touchdowns last season and won the Harlon Hill trophy (the Division II equivalent to the Heisman). Zebrowski threw six touchdowns last week as UCM trounced Northeastern State.

Central Oklahoma looks to counter the high-paced Central Missouri squad with its new look defense. All four coaches on the defensive side of the football are new to UCO, which pitched a shutout in the first game of the season. The Bronchos blanked Langston 72-0, the first shutout since 2019, and UCO also forced five turnovers in the game.

Central Oklahoma is the only MIAA team with a shutout to its credit through two weeks of play this season. Dylan Buchheit, Curtis Miller, and Kazeyn Bird each grabbed interceptions in Week 1, and Buchheit also recovered a fumble for the Bronchos.

UCO conceded just 346 total yards of offense to Langston last week, with 235 coming in the passing game and 111 via the run. The Broncho defense held LU to 4 of 15 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth downs.

Offensively, 72 points jumps out for the Bronchos. It's the most points scored since posting 82 on NSU in 2019. The Bronchos managed 24 first downs, 12 on runs, nine on pass plays, and three more from penalties.

UCO put up 580 yards of total offense last week. The Bronchos had 361 rushing yards and 219 passing yards. Of Central's 10 touchdowns scored, four game from the passing game, four from the run game, and two more from special teams.

Kobey Stephens highlighted the opener for the Bronchos, with the senior defensive back pulling off a historic accomplishment in the special teams game. Stephens, from Wewoka, Oklahoma, ran the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, he took a punt return 90 yards for another touchdown. The efforts earned him MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week as well as D2Football.com
Special Teams Player of the Week.

A CLOSER LOOK – OFFENSE

Central Oklahoma's dominant performance on the ground in Week 1 was led by a pair of 100-yard rushers. Jaylen Cottrell and Quincy Thompson both tallied 103 rushing yards with Cottrell doing it on six carries and Thompson 11 carries. Both had one touchdown. William Mason rushed the ball seven times for 67 yards. Dawson Herl had three carries for 47 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Carney had four carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. And Jett Huff had three rushes for 19 yards.

Thompson's 63-yard rush was the longest from scrimmage. Cottrell had a 50-yard rush and Mason a 47-yard scamper. Herl's 45-yard touchdown was the longest score on the ground for the Bronchos.

Huff and Herl both took snaps at quarterback for the Bronchos, with Huff starting and taking most of the reps.

Huff, a sophomore quarterback and Houston transfer, went 12-for-16 passing with 192 yards and four touchdowns. He connected with Cottrell for a 34-yard score, Carney for a 10-yard score, Terrill Davis for a 35-yard score, and Jacob Delso for a 24-yard score.

Herl went 4-for-7 for 27 yards and threw one interception.

Together, the duo connected with nine different receivers. Delso had a team-high four receptions for 64 yards and one score. Davis finished with three receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Ashton Schumann (2-18) and Carney (2-14) gave UCO four with multiple receptions. Cottrell (1-34), Dominique Dunn (1-19), Christian Romero (1-8), Hagen Hacker (1-5), and Mason (1-1) all had one catch on the night.

A CLOSER LOOK – DEFENSE

Jack Puckett led Central Oklahoma with nine tackles, including two for a loss, in Saturday's opener. The sophomore linebacker and team captain had one sack for a loss of eight yards. Connor Johnson and Noah West both had six tackles as the UCO starting linebacker unit led the way for the new-look D. Johnson was also credited with two pass breakups and West had a half-sack for a loss of four yards.

Johnny Wilson, who had two tackles and a blocked field goal, joined West on the sack. Buchheit had three tackles to go with his interception and fumble recovery. Bird had five tackles to go with his pick. Wesley Hudson, who had two tackles, forced the one fumble.

A CLOSER LOOK – SPECIAL TEAMS

Central Oklahoma had an active special teams play in addition to Stephens' two returns for touchdowns. Stephens had two more punt returns for a combined eight yards and Terrill Davis had one for seven yards.

Grayson Miller, who earned All-MIAA as a punter last year, had just one punt in Week 1 for 25 yards. Nicky Quevedo went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts, missing a 44-yard attempt wide right. He connected on a 21-yard attempt. Quevedo also had 12 kickoffs on Saturday for a total of 743 yards, averaging 61.9 yards per kick. He had only one touchback in the game.

NEWS AND NOTES

Central Oklahoma entered the 2024 season tied for fourth in Division II history with 655 wins. Pittsburg State (750) and Tuskegee (714) are the only two programs with more than 700. Hillsdale (664) is also in front of Central while Carson-Newman is tied with the Bronchos at 655. Pitt State is off to a 2-0 start to this season while Tuskegee is 0-2. Hillsdale is 0-1, and UCO and Carson Newman are both 1-0.

The matchup between Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri on Saturday night in Edmond will be 12th meeting – all in the last 12 years. Following UCO's arrival in the MIAA, UCM won the first five meetings from 2012-16. The Bronchos won back-to-back games in 2017-18 before the Mules won back-to-back games in 2019 and 2021. UCO won in Edmond in 2022 and UCM won in Warrensburg last fall. The Bronchos are 3-8 against Central Missouri, with all three wins coming in Edmond.

Central Oklahoma is 10-2 at Chad Richison Stadium under current head coach Adam Dorrel. The Bronchos went 5-1 in 2022 and 4-1 in 2023, and are off to a 1-0 start in 2024.

Dorrel is 107-51 as a college head football coach. The Northwest Missouri State University alum began coaching his alma mater in 2011 and coached at Abilene Christian from 2016-21 before coming to Edmond. Dorrel is 12-11 in two seasons with the Bronchos.

UP NEXT

Central Oklahoma will hit the road for the first time in 2024 next weekend when the Bronchos take on Nebraska Kearney Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. UCO will return home for a third time in four weeks to host Fort Hays State Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Kazeyn Bird: LB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#10 Dylan Buchheit: DB; 6' 1"; Senior

#18 Andrew Carney: RB; 6' 1"; Junior

#0 Jaylen Cottrell: RB; 6' 2"; Junior

#8 Terrill Davis: WR; 6' 0"; Junior

#1 Jacob Delso: WR; 6' 0"; Senior

#5 Dominique Dunn: TE; 6' 3"; Junior

#11 Hagen Hacker: WR; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#12 Dawson Herl: QB; 6' 3"; Senior

#93 Wesley Hudson: DL; 6' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#13 Kazeyn Bird
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: LB

#10 Dylan Buchheit
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DB

#18 Andrew Carney
: 6' 1"; Junior
: RB

#0 Jaylen Cottrell
: 6' 2"; Junior
: RB

#8 Terrill Davis
: 6' 0"; Junior
: WR

#1 Jacob Delso
: 6' 0"; Senior
: WR

#5 Dominique Dunn
: 6' 3"; Junior
: TE

#11 Hagen Hacker
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: WR

#12 Dawson Herl
: 6' 3"; Senior
: QB

#93 Wesley Hudson
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: DL