PITTSBURG, Kan. - Central Oklahoma closes the book on another season this weekend when the Bronchos visit Pittsburg State Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Carnie Smith Stadium.
The Bronchos head into Week 11 looking to finish the year on the right side of .500. UCO is 5-5 in 2023. The Bronchos went 6-5 in 2022. Central Oklahoma will have its hands full in the finale battling No. 8 Pitt State. The Gorillas have a 9-1 record on the season and are coming off their first loss of the year in Week 10. PSU needs to win to split the MIAA title with Central Missouri.
Central Oklahoma is looking to finish the season with an official win streak after turning back Washburn, 41-7, last week in Edmond. The Bronchos pushed their scoring average up to 28.7 points per game. Central also averages 418.5 yards of total offense per game. The Bronchos split that average with 251.5 yards passing and 167.0 yards rushing per game. UCO ranks fourth in the MIAA in passing, fifth in rushing, and eighth in scoring offense. Defensively, UCO gives up 27.4 points per game on 377.1 yards of offense per game. Opponents average 223.0 yards passing and 154.1 yards rushing per game.
Dawson Herl and Stephon Brown have led the Broncho offense this season. Herl is 102-for-168 passing with 1,492 yards and 13 touchdowns. Brown is 83-for-127 with 926 yards and two touchdowns. Brown is also the second-leading rusher for the Bronchos, with 76 carries this season for 255 yards and five touchdowns. Herl is fourth on the team with 28 carries for 133 yards and one touchdown. The duo has combined for 2,806 total yards of offense and they are responsible for 21 touchdowns. Brown also moved into the No. 10 spot in school history for career total offense last week. He has 4,358 total yards (3,248 passing, 1,110 rushing) and already just two yards shy of ninth place.
Terrill Davis and Oscar Hammond lead the receiving corps with plenty of help from Jacob Delso, Darius Melton, Christian Romero, and Jaylen Cottrell. With 15 UCO players catching a pass, those six have 10 or more. Davis leads the team with 38 receptions for 513 yards and four touchdowns. Hammond has 33 catches for 463 yards and four touchdowns. Delso (28-374), Melton (22-323), Romero (16-229), and Cottrell (13-134) have all been regulars in the passing attack.
Along with Brown and Herl's combined 388 yards rushing, Cottrell adds 145 yards on 22 carries. He has played in 7 of 10 games. Payton Scott also ahs 146 yards on 29 carries in 10 games. Those two both have one touchdown rush this season. Andrew Carney has also been a regular in the backfield, with 25 carries for 104 yards and one touchdown run.
On the defensive side of the ball, Connor Johnson leads the way for the Bronchos. The sophomore linebacker has a team-high 61 tackles this season. He also leads the Bronchos with nine tackles for a loss. Johnson has two sacks and an interception as well. Zane Adams, a junior defensive lineman, has 48 tackles, four in the backfield, one sack and a blocked punt. Jack Puckett, a redshirt freshman linebacker, has 46 stops, 8.5 in the backfield, and a team-high 3.5 sacks this season. Rae'Quan Wicks leads the secondary with 41 tackles. J.K. Moore and Johnathan Mosley lead the team with two interceptions each, while Johnson, Emmonte Davis, Noah West, and Kobey Stephens all have one interception. Moore, Mosley, and West all have interceptions returned for a touchdown this season.
Nicky Quevedo leads Central Oklahoma with 65 points this season. The junior is 35-for-36 on PATs this season and is 10-for-13 on field goals with a long of 40 on the year. He is 6-for-6 inside 30 yards. Grayson Miller and David Vargas both have handled punts for the Broncho special teams this season. Vargas began the year in the role and has 716 total yards, 42.1 per punt, with a long of 58. Vargas put five inside the 20 and has three touchbacks. Miller has 19 punts for 791 yards, 41.6 per punt, with a long of 55. He has five inside the 20 and no touchbacks. Miller also handles kickoff duties for the Bronchos. On 39 kicks, Miller averages 55.9 yards per kick with 12 touchbacks. Quevedo also has 16 kickoffs, averaging 60.9 per kick, with five touchbacks.
The Bronchos are looking to snap a six-game losing streak against Pittsburg State. The Gorillas own a 13-3-1 all-time lead in the series that began in 1925. UCO's last win came in Pittsburg, Kansas in 2014, with the Bronchos piling it on in a 49-31 victory. Before last season's 38-7 win for PSU, the previous two meetings were one-score games.
Central Oklahoma will head into the offseason recruiting blitz following Saturday's contest. National Signing Day is the first Wednesday in February, Spring ball follows in March-April, and after a summer off, UCO returns in August 2024.
