Football 10/9/2025 11:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Visits Fort Hays State Saturday Night

Bronchos, Tigers, Battle In Big In-Season MIAA Matchup In Kansas

HAYS, Kan. – Central Oklahoma plays its only October road game Saturday at Fort Hays State with kickoff in the MIAA matchup scheduled for 7 p.m. from Lewis Field Stadium.

UCO is 2-3 overall this season and 2-2 in the MIAA. Fort Hays State, which is receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 and is ranked No. 20 in the D2Football.com Media Poll, is 4-2 this season and 3-1 in the MIAA.

"It's always hard to win at Fort Hays and they've got a really good team so this year will be no different," UCO head football coach Adam Dorrel said. "We're going to have to play our best for all four quarters on both sides of the ball. We have the ability to do it, but we have to execute this week."

Central Oklahoma put up its best offensive performance of the season this past week against Central Missouri. Although it ended in a 35-34 loss, the Bronchos put up 617 yards of total offense, the 10th most in a single game in school history. UCO totaled 223 rushing yards and 394 passing yards in the game. Central's 34 points also tied a season high.

Jett Huff's return to play led the offense. The junior All-American missed most of UCO's 27-24 win against then No. 8 Pittsburg State in Week 1, and both the Week 3 and Week 4 games against Washburn and Northwest Missouri. Huff set single season records for passing yards and touchdowns in 2024, and his 394 yards last week tied a school record for most 300-yard games in a career at UCO (seven). Huff has 4,193 yards in his second season with the Bronchos and ranks seventh in school history for career passing yards. Huff also moved to No. 2 on Central's career passing touchdowns list with 38.

Huff's primary target last week was Ashton Schumann, the sophomore wide receiver that leads the Bronchos in receptions and yards this season. Schumann caught 10 passes for 188 yards and one score – his first of the year. He has 34 receptions for 444 yards in five games this season. Schumann, who was MIAA Freshman of the Year last season, has 96 catches for 1,193 yards in just 18 career games with the Bronchos.

Javohn Thomas (9-135) and Hagen Hacker (9-129) are also key figures in Central's passing game. Dominique Dunn (11-99) has a team-high two touchdowns, both last week. Schumann, Hacker, and Dunn make up 4 of 6 UCO touchdowns. Kristian Valeriano (5-57) and William Mason (5-49) caught the other two scores.

Mason is UCO's leading rusher after five games this season. The junior running back has 64 carries for 462 yards, 7.2 per carry, with three touchdowns this season. Mason ran for a career-high 168 yards last week against UCM. It was his fourth career 100-yard game. Jaylen Cottrell has 48 carries for 308 yards, 6.4 yards per carry, and four touchdowns this season. He missed one game with an injury. The two combined have 112 rushes for 770 yards, 6.8 yards per carry, and seven touchdowns.

The Bronchos average 444.2 yards per game and 25.0 points per game through five games played this season.

Defensively, Central Oklahoma gives up 393.4 yards and 31.8 points per game. Connor Johnson leads the team with 30 tackles this season. Braden Waters has 24, Reese Roller 23, Abner Dubar 22, and Jack Puckett 21. Roller and Puckett have a team-high five tackles in the backfield. Roller's 2.5 sacks also leads the team. Cameron Done, who has 13 stops this year, has two sacks.

UCO as a team has 12 sacks and 38 total tackles in the backfield. The Bronchos also have 19 quarterback hurries to their credit, led by Johnny Wilson's five. Roller and Done have three hurries each and Connor Johnson has two.

Central Oklahoma has 19 passes broken up through five games. The Bronchos have just one interception, from Antwan Gilbreath in Week 1 that was returned 68 yards.

On special teams, Joseph Kim handles kicking duties and is 5-for-10 this season. He has a long of 51, tying a school record. He also handles kickoff responsibility and averages 63.4 yards per kick. Davis Barr handles punting responsibilities and averages 40.2 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards. Barr has six inside the 20 and four 50+ punts this season.

Central Oklahoma and Fort Hays State have played 17 times since 1955 and 10 times as league rivals in the MIAA. The Bronchos hold a 10-7 advantage overall while Hays owns a 6-4 advantage in MIAA contests. Central Oklahoma is also 5-4 in Edmond and 5-3 in Hays, Kansas against the Tigers.

Central Oklahoma returns home for the remainder of October following Saturday night's game. The Bronchos play host to Emporia State Oct. 18 and Northeastern State Oct. 25, which is scheduled for Homecoming.

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Players Mentioned

#0 Jaylen Cottrell: RB; 6' 2"; Senior

#5 Dominique Dunn: TE; 6' 3"; Senior

#14 Antwan Gilbreath: DB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#2 Hagen Hacker: WR; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#3 Jett Huff: QB; 5' 8"; Junior

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

#22 William Mason: RB; 6' 2"; Junior

#30 Jack Puckett: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

#33 Reese Roller: LB; 5' 10"; Junior

#15 Ashton Schumann: WR; 6' 1"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#0 Jaylen Cottrell
: 6' 2"; Senior
: RB

#5 Dominique Dunn
: 6' 3"; Senior
: TE

#14 Antwan Gilbreath
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB

#2 Hagen Hacker
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: WR

#3 Jett Huff
: 5' 8"; Junior
: QB

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

#22 William Mason
: 6' 2"; Junior
: RB

#30 Jack Puckett
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

#33 Reese Roller
: 5' 10"; Junior
: LB

#15 Ashton Schumann
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: WR