Football 11/28/2018 3:28:00 PM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Take On Angelo In Heart of Texas Bowl

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WACO, Texas – The University of Central Oklahoma football team is set to play former conference foe Angelo State in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl Saturday, Dec. 1 at 4:05 p.m. at Waco ISD Stadium.

This will be the fourth bowl game for Central Oklahoma in five seasons. UCO came up short in the Mineral Water Bowl in 2014 before winning the Live United Bowl in 2015. After missing out in 2016, the Bronchos responded by winning the Corsicana Bowl in 2017.

Central Oklahoma takes a 7-4 record to Waco. The Bronchos started the season 0-2 before bouncing back to .500 with a pair of wins. After its third loss of the season in Week 5, Central then won five straight games to improve to 7-3 on the year.

2018 is the fourth season in the last five years the Bronchos have won at least seven games. Seventh-year head football coach Nick Bobeck takes a 37-41 career record to Texas this week. He's 30-17 in his four combined winning seasons.

Angelo State is 6-5 this season and went 4-4 in the Lone Star Conference. Central Oklahoma is a former member of the LSC and played Angelo regularly there after the two teams transitioned into Division II. The schools had a storied history prior to that as well, playing six times in the 1970s and five times in the 1980s.

ASU does own an 18-6-1 mark in the all-time series.

The Bronchos head to Waco aiming to rebound after losing its final regular season game Nov. 11 against Emporia State. Central Oklahoma entered that game on a terror defensively. The Bronchos had recorded three consecutive shutouts from Week 8-10 and had not allowed a passing touchdown from Week 4 to Week 11.

Central's defense ranks 20th in the nation in points allowed per game. The Bronchos allow only 18.8 points per game, down almost 10 points per game from 2017.

O'Shay Harris led the charge this season for the Bronchos. The junior safety, who earned First Team All-MIAA honors, made 67 tackles this season, two behind the line of scrimmage, broke up seven passes, intercepted two balls, forced two fumbles, and recovered another one, which he took back 70 yards for a touchdown.

Senior middle linebacker Colton Lindsey led the Bronchos in stops this season, making 82 tackles. The Norman, Okla. native made five tackles for a loss including one and a half sacks. He also had a team-high three interceptions, and added two fumbles forced and one recovered.

Chris Pogi (56 tackles), Dillon Hall (48) and Dreyvon Christon (43) were also regular ball hunters on the Broncho defensive unit this season.

Kolby Underwood and Malik Walker, as well as Christon, joined Harris in the Broncho secondary to create a formidable pass defense that ranked No. 1 in the MIAA. Harris and Underwood had a pair of interceptions each, while Walker and Christon each had one.

Central Oklahoma's offense this season scored 29.3 points per game, eclipsing the 300 total points mark for the fifth consecutive season. UCO averaged 395 yards per game, tallying 234 per contest in the passing game and 161 on the ground.

The Bronchos had a peculiar season at quarterback in 2018.

Keats Calhoon started in Week 1 and was playing very well through 2 1/2 games before a season-ending injury. He totaled 572 yards and five touchdowns in his brief season.

Chandler Garrett, who already played with Calhoon, became the starter after that point and he was solid in accumulating 588 yards passing and six touchdowns over the next five weeks before he too went down with an injury.

Insert Will Collins. A sophomore like Calhoon and Garrett, Collins was successful the same. He threw for 1,392 yards to finish the season and added 10 touchdowns.

Collins (257), Garrett (249) and Calhoon (111) were all contributors in the Broncho run game as well.

Clay McKenzie led the charge rushing the football this season. The sixth-year senior had 661 yards in 11 games played, rushed for eight touchdowns, and in Week 8, eclipsed the 3,000-career rushing yards mark.

McKenzie moved up to fourth all-time in Central Oklahoma history with 3,306 career rushing yards. He is also fourth all-time in school history in points scored with 294 thanks to 45 career rushing touchdowns and four career receiving TDs.

Justin Curry helped McKenzie along the way in 2018. The junior runningback and Samford transfer had 414 yards rushing this season, averaging 6.1 yards per carry in 11 games played, and scored four touchdowns on the ground. Curry, like McKenzie, also had a receiving TD for the Bronchos this season.

Dustin Basks is the Bronchos' leading receiver, having caught 57 balls for 749 yards and five touchdowns. Mekail Hall (34-589), Ronnie Turner (16-154), Tyrone Howell (13-242) and Ronald Monroe (11-185) all made up a deep cast of go-to-guys in the pass game. The Bronchos threw for 21 touchdowns this season to nine different receivers.

Angelo State went 6-5 this season including a three-game win streak in Week's 8-10. The Rams averaged 33 points per game and allow 27. ASU also averages 443 yards per game on offense, allowing 402. Angelo averages 279 yards per game passing and 164 yards per game rushing.

The Rams defense is led by Marcus Jones, a defensive lineman that has been named a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, given annually to the best lineman in Division II, as well as being named a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, given annually to the best overall player in Division II.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#6 Dreyvon Christon: DB; 5' 10"; Senior

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

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

#14 O'Shay Harris: DB; 6' 1"; Junior

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

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

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

#21 Kolby Underwood: DB; 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#6 Dreyvon Christon
: 5' 10"; Senior
: DB

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

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

#14 O'Shay Harris
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DB

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

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

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

#21 Kolby Underwood
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB