Football 10/10/2018 10:35:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Visits Missouri Western Saturday

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma football team hits the road in Week 7 as the Bronchos take on Missouri Western at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13 at Spratt Memorial Stadium in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play.

The Bronchos are looking for a win streak after beating Central Missouri last weekend in Edmond. UCO (3-3) is also looking to avenge a loss at Missouri Western last season. The Griffons (4-2) are on a three-game win streak and are also 3-0 at home this season.

"Winning on the road is tough in this league," seventh-year head football coach Nick Bobeck said. "Missouri Western is a talented football team and they are good at home. It's going to be a challenge. But every game is a tough challenge itself. We just have to execute our gameplan and see if we can get up there and get a win."

Central Oklahoma used its third quarterback in six games last Saturday in Edmond. The results were good. UCO sophomore Will Collins got the start against Central Missouri and threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 50+ yards and one touchdown.

Chandler Garrett, also a sophomore, has played in all six games and has 566 yards and six touchdown passes. His only play last Saturday was a rush. He has 184 rushing yards and two touchdowns this season.

Keats Calhoon, the Week 1 starter, went down with a knee injury in Week 3. He has 572 yards passing and five touchdowns in 2 1/2 games. He also had 111 rushing yards before the injury sidelined the sophomore lefty.

UCO's quarterbacks have spread the wealth in the passing game. Dustin Basks is the team's top receiver with 34 receptions for 454 yards and three touchdowns. Mekail Hall has 15 catches for 199 yards and Tyrone Howell (7-170) has two touchdowns. Ronald Monroe (4-136) also has two touchdown catches.

The Bronchos have 12 different players with at least one catch and four with at least 11 catches.

What also helped the Bronchos to a win last week and will certainly help going forward is the resurgence of Clay McKenzie.

The sixth-year senior had 154 rushing yards and a touchdown last week against Central Missouri. It was his first 100+ yard game since Nov. 12, 2016 and moved him closer to another career milestone.

McKenzie has 2,929 career rushing yards, ninth all-time at Central. He also has 39 career rushing touchdowns, fourth-most in school history. McKenzie's touchdown run last week gave him 246 career points, which moved him into fifth-place on UCO's all-time scoring list.

McKenzie is and has been a bruising running back since he began his Broncho career in 2014. He gets better as the game goes on as he continues to inflict wear and tear on every defender in front of him.

The UCO defense has emerged as a strong front in the three Broncho victories this season as well as in defeat. Central linebackers Colton Lindsey, Chris Pogi, and Dillon Hall are three of the top four tacklers on the team. Lindsey has 43 including 3 1/2 behind the line of scrimmage, and he also has an interception and a fumble recovery.

Pogi has 39 stops, four behind the line, and has forced one fumble. And Hall, a newcomer at middle linebacker, has 27 tackles, 2 1/3 behind the line including one sack.

The Bronchos as a team have 12 sacks for a combined loss of 105 yards (third in the MIAA). Eli Hooks, a senior defensive end, leads the MIAA with 41 yards lost on sacks. He has 3 1/2 sacks.

Central Oklahoma lost at Missouri Western in Week 4 last season. The Bronchos, down 31-27, got the ball at their own 31-yard line with 24 seconds left, marched down the field and had a shot to win the game as time expired before Western broke up the pass on the final play of the game.

Missouri Western leads the all-time series with Central Oklahoma 6-2.

The Griffons two losses this season are to Northwest Missouri and Central Missouri – both wins for UCO. MWSU is led by an offense that scores an even 30 points per game. The Griffons fifth-best offense is predominantly a running offense. Western averages 224 rushing yards per game, which is second most in the MIAA.

The Bronchos are back in Edmond in Week 8, with UCO hosting Washburn at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Wantland Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Dustin Basks: WR; 5' 9"; Junior

#18 Keats Calhoon: QB; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#16 Chandler Garrett: QB; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#17 Mekail Hall: WR; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman

#35 Eli Hooks: DE; 6' 0"; Senior

#27 Colton Lindsey: LB; 6' 4"; Senior

#23 Clay McKenzie: RB; 5' 11"; Senior

#9 Chris Pogi: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

#81 Tyrone Howell: WR; 6' 3"; Freshman

#7 Will Collins: QB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#5 Dustin Basks
: 5' 9"; Junior
: WR

#18 Keats Calhoon
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: QB

#16 Chandler Garrett
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: QB

#17 Mekail Hall
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman
: WR

#35 Eli Hooks
: 6' 0"; Senior
: DE

#27 Colton Lindsey
: 6' 4"; Senior
: LB

#23 Clay McKenzie
: 5' 11"; Senior
: RB

#9 Chris Pogi
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

#81 Tyrone Howell
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: WR

#7 Will Collins
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: QB