Football 11/21/2024 10:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central Returns To Playoffs Saturday In Edmond

UCO Hosts Ouachita Baptist In NCAA Division II Football Championship First Round

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma returns to the NCAA Division II Football Championship for the fifth time in school history and the first since 2003 when the Bronchos host Ouachita Baptist Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Chad Richison Stadium.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ as part of a new deal with the NCAA to air all Division II playoff games on the network.

UCO went 10-1 this season and won the MIAA championship with an 8-1 record in the tough league. OBU, from Arkadelphia, Arkansas, also went 10-1 and won the Great American Conference title, going 10-1 in league play.

The NCAA selected seven teams to compete in the Super Region III playoffs and six of them have a 10-1 record. Ferris State (Mich.) is the top seed and is off in the first round awaiting the winner of UCO and OBU. No. 2 Grand Valley State (Mich.) hosts Indianapolis in a matchup of two 10-1 teams. No. 3 Pittsburg State, which is 8-2, hosts 10-1 Harding.

The regional semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30 with the Super Region III final set for Dec. 7. The higher seed will host each game in the regional. Four regional champions will be re-seeded for the national semifinals Dec. 14, with the top two seeds hosting. The 2024 Division II national championship is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 21 in McKinney, Texas.

Saturday in Edmond, UCO's high-powered offense takes on a stout defense from Arkansas. The Broncho defense, which forced more fumbles than any other team in the MIAA, takes on an OBU offense that put up 35 points and 350 yards per game this season.

Central Oklahoma heads into the playoffs with the No. 1 offense in the country – a position the Bronchos have held most of this season. UCO puts up 547.1 yards of total offense per game. Central ranks No. 3 nationally in passing at 337.9 yards per game and No. 13 in rushing at 209.2 yards per game. UCO also ranks No. 2 in the country in scoring at 47.5 points per game.

The play at quarterback has been a big part of that success. Sophomore Jett Huff has 30 touchdown passes, a school record, and more than any other player in the playoffs. The QB ranks fifth nationally in TD passes, sixth in yards passing (3,069) and is 14th with a 65.8 percent completion rate.

In Week 9 and Week 10, Dawson Herl came on in relief of Huff and he started Week 11. Each time, Herl has been excellent. He has 619 yards passing and five touchdowns and completes 64.2 percent of his passes.

Whomever the QB, both have benefitted from the tremendous play of junior wide receiver Terrill Davis. The third-year Broncho and fourth-year football player has 89 receptions for 1,397 yards and 15 touchdowns. He ranks second in school history for receptions in a single season, third in yards, and is the new record holder for touchdowns. He also has three 200-yard games this season, more than any other Broncho in school history.

Davis ranks second in the country in yards and yards per game, and third in touchdowns.

The passing game though extends beyond Davis. Ashton Schumann has 58 receptions for 701 yards and six touchdowns. Jacob Delso has 41 receptions for 512 yards and five touchdowns. Tight end Dominique Dunn has 22 catches for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 66-yard reception in Week 6 is the longest pass play of the season for the Bronchos.

Central has 13 receivers with a catch this season and eight of them have scored touchdowns.

That includes star running back Jaylen Cottrell. The junior running back has 142 carries this season for 1,069 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cottrell had two scores of more than 80 yards, one in each of his first two seasons. This fall, he has four touchdowns of more than 60 yards with two over 70. His 79-yard touchdown run this season is the longest play from scrimmage for the Bronchos.

William Mason provides a second option out of the backfield with equal ability to break away from the defense. The sophomore running back has 127 carries for 734 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He has two 100-yard games this season and two games with multiple touchdowns, including three last week. Andrew Carney also has 16 carries for 49 yards and six rushing touchdowns from the fullback position. Five of his six scores are from 1-yard out and the other was a 2-yard score.

Central's defense has been the subject of much criticism for the numbers it gives up, the but the Bronchos are stacked on the front lines, have veteran leadership leading the way at linebacker, and each of the five starting defensive backs are threats to make plays on every snap.

Jack Puckett leads the unit with 87 tackles this season. He has a team-high 13 tackles for a loss and six sacks. That goes with five QB hurries, three pass breakups, and one forced fumble. Fellow linebacker Connor Johnson adds 68 tackles, 11 in the backfield with five sacks, and he adds seven QB hurries, seven pass breakups, and a forced fumble. The third starting linebacker is Noah West, who adds 38 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.

On the line, Zane Adams, Hunter Largent and Johnny Wilson lead the way. Adams has 52 tackles, four sacks, two QB hurries and a forced fumble. Largent adds 41 tackles and 2.5 sacks, and Wilson has 27 tackles and 1.5 sacks with four QB hurries.

The secondary includes safeties Dylan Buchheit, who has 68 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, David Williams, who has 54 tackles, two forced fumbles, one recovery, and two interceptions, and Kobey Stephens, who has 35 tackles, six pass breakups, and three interceptions.

JK Moore and Willie Rice hold down the corners. Moore has 41 tackles, 10 pass breakups, three picks, and a forced fumble. Rice has a team-high 12 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Stephens doubles as a special teams playmaker that is a threat to score on every play. He has 10 punt returns at 26.6 yards per return with touchdowns from 90 and 92 yards out. He has 13 kick returns at 29.0 yards per return with a 98-yard touchdown.

Grayson Miller and Nicky Quevedo handle kicking duties for Central Oklahoma. Miller has 43 punts with a 43.7 yards per kick average, a long of 65 yards, and 17 of more than 50 yards. Quevedo is 9-for-14 on field-goal attempts this season with a career-long 47-yard twice, including a game-winner in overtime in Week 9.

Central Oklahoma and Ouachita Baptist have only played four times, with the first meeting coming in 1953 and three more in consecutive seasons in the 1990s. UCO dropped the '53 season finale 13-0 in Edmond but dominated the Tigers during a brief stint in the Lone Star Conference. Central won 31-14, 48-7, and 41-20 from 1997-99.

While this is UCO's fifth time in the Division II playoffs, it will be the sixth appearance for Ouachita Baptist.

UCO hosted a playoff game in 1996 and beat Chadron State 23-21 before falling at UC Davis 26-7 in the national quarterfinals. The Bronchos hosted a pair of playoff games in 1998, beating Chadron State by two points again, 21-19, before falling to Texas A&M Kingsville 24-21 in overtime in the national quarterfinals. Kingsville later forfeited the game due to ineligible players.

In 1999, Central went on the road and fell short against UC Davis, 33-17. The last time the Bronchos made the playoffs, 2003, UCO won on the road at Colorado Mesa, 20-15, before falling to Kingsville, 49-6, in the quarterfinals.

UCO is 3-4 in the DII playoffs. OBU is 1-5, with its lone win coming in 2018 over Indianapolis. The Tigers have only played one road playoff game in the five previous appearances. OBU lost to Minnesota Duluth 48-45 in overtime in 2014, Ferris State 24-19 in 2017, and FSU again in 2018 (37-14) following the win over UIndy. Ouachita lost to Lindendwood (41-38) at home in 2019 and Northwest Missouri (47-17) at home in 2022.

The winner of Saturday's game advances to the second round of the Division II Football Championship to face No. 1 seed Ferris State in Big Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 30.

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Players Mentioned

#31 Zane Adams: DL; 6' 1"; Senior

#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

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

#21 Connor Johnson: LB; 6' 3"; Senior

#97 Hunter Largent: DL; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#31 Zane Adams
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DL

#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

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

#21 Connor Johnson
: 6' 3"; Senior
: LB

#97 Hunter Largent
: 6' 2"; Senior
: DL