UCO, RiverHawks Meet For President's Cup Saturday

10/28/2015 8:00:00 AM

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BRONCHOS ON THE ROAD: Central Oklahoma plays its second straight road game Saturday, traveling to Tahlequah, Okla. to take on intrastate and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association rival Northeastern State in the annual President's Cup battle.

Kickoff at 8,300-seat Doc Wadley Stadium is 1 p.m.

The Bronchos are 3-5 on the season and in league play, while the RiverHawks are 2-6 and 2-6.

UCO's five losses have been by 31 total points to teams a combined 30-10, with three of those teams currently ranked in the AFCA top 25 -- No. 2 Northwest Missouri, No. 17 Emporia State and No. 25 Central Missouri.

UCO ON THE ROAD: UCO is 2-2 on the road this season, having won its last two over Missouri Southern (55-21) and Washburn (38-27) after starting with close losses to Missouri Western (26-16) and Northwest Missouri (23-16).

The Bronchos are 6-3 in road games over the past two years.

ABOUT THE RIVALRY: UCO has a big 46-27-2 lead in a long series that started in 1912 with a 53-3 win by the Bronchos, who have played NSU more times (75) than all but two schools -- Southwestern Oklahoma (87) and East Central (82).

The two started playing for the President's Cup game in 1998 and NSU has a 9-8 advantage since that was established.

ABOUT LAST YEAR: Wide receiver Christian Hood caught a touchdown pass and became UCO's all-time leading receiver as the Bronchos toppled NSU 28-10 at Wantland Stadium.

UCO scored 21 unanswered points after the RiverHawks went up 3-0 early in the game and were never really threatened in ending a four-game series losing streak. The Bronchos allowed just 275 total yards.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: UCO won its second straight road game with a 38-27 victory over Washburn. The Bronchos trailed 14-10 at halftime and 27-24 midway through the third period before scoring 14 unanswered points.

Quarterback T.J. Eckert hit 16-of-28 passes for 304 yards and touchdowns of 57 and 82 yards to wide receiver Myles Tease, who caught five passes for 166 yards. Running back Clay McKenzie rushed for 123 yards and two TDs.

UCO held Washburn to 357 total yards, including 149 in the second half.

THE COACH: UCO alum Nick Bobeck has a 15-25 record in his fourth year at the helm.

A four-year standout at fullback for UCO from 1999-02, Bobeck served as a graduate assistant for the Bronchos for three years (2003-05).

He was an assistant coach one year each at Texas A&M and Navarro (Texas) before taking over at Navarro in 2008, going 42-5 in four years there and leading the Bulldogs to the 2010 junior college national title.

Bobeck returned to his alma mater in January 2012 and UCO went 2-8 each of his first two seasons before improving to 8-4 last year.

ON THE AIR: All UCO games are broadcast live on 99.7 Hank FM.

Veteran broadcaster David Garrett calls the action, with former UCO All-American John Fitzgerald adding color commentary and Todd Lissenbee sideline reports.

RUN TO WIN: UCO has won 38 straight games dating back to 1993 when rushing for 250-plus yards.

The Bronchos have accomplished that feat in two wins this year, rushing for 269 yards against Nebraska-Kearney and 293 against Missouri Southern.

ABOUT THE OFFENSE: UCO had another strong outing in last week's 38-27 road win over Washburn, finishing with 479 total yards (304 passing, 175 rushing).

The Bronchos scored 28 points and had 305 yards in the second half to overcome a 14-10 deficit, including 204 yards in the third quarter alone.

UCO has averaged 26.8 points and 301.3 total yards in the second half of its last four games, winning three of those.

The Bronchos rank third in the conference in total offense, averaging 465.8 yards a game. The Bronchos are fourth in both rushing (205.6) and passing (260.1).

IN THE ZONE: UCO has scored on 80.0 percent (28-of-35) of its red zone opportunities this season. The Bronchos have 20 touchdowns (14 rushing, six passing) and eight field goals when advancing inside their opponents' 20-yard-line.

UCO was 4-of-5 in red zone chances during last week's win at Washburn with three TDs and one field goal. The lone non-score came when the Bronchos ran out the clock after reaching first-and-goal at the WU nine in the final minute.

ECKERT HAS RECORD DAY: Junior quarterback T.J. Eckert set a school record with his third consecutive 300-yard passing game last week, hitting 16-of-28 attempts for 304 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Washburn.

He was 9-of-15 for 114 yards in the first half and 7-of-13 for 190 yards with TDs of 57 and 82 yards in the final two quarters.

Eckert has completed 73-of-110 passes (66.7 percent) for 1,078 yards and nine TDs in the last three games since taking over the starting role.

He's had the third (421), 11th (353) and 29th (304) best passing games in UCO history the last three weeks in becoming the fourth player with three 300-yard games in one season and the first to do it consecutively.

TEASE ON A TEAR: Sophomore wide receiver Myles Tease had a second straight big game in making his first start of the season at Washburn, catching five passes for 166 yards with touchdowns of 57 and 82 yards. The 82-yard score ranks as the ninth-longest TD reception in school history.

It was the second consecutive career yardage game for Tease, who had eight catches for 155 yards and a score the previous week against Central Missouri.

Tease had just two grabs for 17 yards in the first half against Washburn before hauling in his two long TD passes during a three-catch, 149-yard second-half performance.

Tease didn't have a reception in the first five games but has 15 catches for 365 yards and four TDs in the last three outings. He's averaging 24.3 yards a reception and has TDs of 34, 57, 71 and 82 yards.

McKENZIE KEEPS TRUCKING: Sophomore running back Clay McKenzie had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game in last week's win over Washburn, gaining 123 hard-earned yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 29 carries.

He's the first UCO player to have four straight 100-yard rushing games since Greg Briley had seven in a row during the 1999 season.

McKenzie rushed 14 times for 53 yards in the first half before carrying 15 times for 70 yards with a pair of one-yard scoring plunges in the final two periods. His second TD came with 2:43 left to play and clinched UCO's 38-27 win.

McKenzie has five 100-yard games for the season (114, 115, 123, 141 and 164) and has had off 25 runs of 10-plus yards.

He's averaging 5.7 yards a carry on the season with 865 yards and nine TDs in 152 attempts while having also caught 22 passes for 193 yards and two scores. McKenzie is third in the conference in rushing (108.1 yards/game), fifth in all-purpose yardage (132.2 yards/game) and sixth in scoring (8.25 points/game).

LUPER SITS OUT: Junior wide receiver J.T. Luper was held out of the Washburn game with injury, though he could return this week against Northeastern State.

Luper has caught at least four passes in each of the seven games he's played and is tied for 10th place on UCO's single-season receptions list with 49.

He's still second in the MIAA in receptions per game (7.0) while ranking fifth in receiving yards per game (70.3) with 492 on the season.

Luper is also fourth in the league in all-purpose yardage (134.0 yards/game), third in punt return average (13.3) and fifth in kickoff return average (22.4).

ABOUT THE DEFENSE: UCO gave up 357 total yards (237 rushing, 120 passing) in last week's win over Washburn, including just 149 in the second half.

The Bronchos dominated down the stretch after taking a 31-27 lead in the third quarter, allowing a mere 37 yards in 20 plays during Washburn's last four offensive drives.

The Ichabods punted twice, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs in those possessions.

WU gained 166 of its 357 yards on four big plays (25-plus yards), netting just 191 yards on its other 64 snaps (3.0/play).

The Bronchos are ninth in the 12-team MIAA in total defense, allowing 434.1 yards a game. UCO ranks 10th in rushing (188.0) and ninth in passing (246.1).

HOWARD HOUNDS 'EM: Senior linebacker Malcolm Howard once again paced UCO's defensive efforts last week with a team-high 11 tackles, including 1.0 for loss.

Howard leads the Bronchos in solo (37), assisted (67) and total (104) tackles, ranking fourth in the conference with 13.0 tackles a game. It's already the most tackles for a UCO player since Tucker Cason finished with 106 in 2011.

WALKER RETURNS: Sophomore end Collis Walker returned to the starting lineup last week after missing the previous two games with injury and had a big impact in the win over Washburn, making five tackles with 2.0 for minus-13 yards in losses.

JONES COMES THROUGH: Senior safety Cody Jones had his best game of the season in last week's win over Washburn, making a season-high eight tackles with a forced fumble and broken up pass.

COLE GETS A PICK: Sophomore cornerback Omari Cole made his first interception of the season against Washburn, picked off a pass at the UCO 22-yard-line late in the third period to help key a late-game defensive surge.

BUSBY IS BUSY: Senior safety David Busby had seven tackles with 1.0 for loss in the win over Washburn.

Busby is second on the team in solo (34), assisted (35) and total (69) tackles and ranks 10th in conference in tackles with 8.6 a game.

HIDDINK MOVES UP: Junior place-kicker Seth Hiddink continues to move up UCO's career scoring list after scoring eight points in last week's win over Washburn.

Hiddink now ranks fifth in all-time scoring with 212 points (101-of-107 PATs and 37-of-50 field goals). He's also three away from tying the school mark for career field goals.

Hiddink made all five extra point attempts and a 31-yard field goal against Washburn. He's hit 11-of-14 field goals and 29-of-31 PATs this season for 62 points.

ABOUT NSU: The RiverHawks ended a 16-game losing streak three weeks ago with a 31-14 win at Nebraska-Kearney and followed with a 31-21 victory over Missouri Southern before falling to Central Missouri 54-10 last week.

NSU is 10th in the MIAA in total offense with 306.6 yards a game. The RiverHawks are eighth in passing (199.6) and 11th in rushing (107.0).

Quarterback Kevin Pantastico has hit 95-of-202 passes for 1,286 yards and nine touchdowns, with wide receiver Garrett Powell (33 catches, 473 yards) his favorite target. Running back Joel Rockmore leads the ground game with 644 yards and four TDs on 129 carries.

The RiverHawks rank 11th in the league in total defense, giving up 440.4 yards a contest. NSU is second in passing (202.6) and 12th in rushing (237.8).

Linebacker Irving Steele paces the defense with 87 tackles, including 8.0 for loss. Safety Steffon Herd has added 75 tackles and linebacker Kenneth Davis 62.

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