Football 10/8/2026 8:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Hosts Fort Hays State Saturday Night

Central Oklahoma Celebrates First Responders Night In Matchup With FHSU Tigers

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma hosts Fort Hays State Saturday night in an MIAA matchup at Chad Richison Stadium.

The Bronchos are 2-3 on the season overall and 1-2 in the MIAA. The Tigers of Hays, Kansas are 3-2 overall with a 2-1 record in the MIAA.

"Hays is a very good team and it's going to take a very good effort by us for all four quarters," UCO interim head football coach Cody Swanson said. "We need to limit our mistakes and do everything we can to force them into mistakes. If the guys show up and bring the energy and we're going to feed off our great crowd, it should be a great night."

Central Oklahoma welcomes Fort Hays State to Edmond looking to bounce back after a 33-31 loss at Central Missouri last week. The Bronchos are 1-0 at home this season, defeating Northwest Missouri 19-14 two weeks ago at Chad Richison Stadium.

The Bronchos average 27.8 points per game and 373.0 yards of offense per game through five games this season. UCO puts up 275.4 passing yards per game and 97.6 rushing yards per game.

Defensively, Central Oklahoma allows 25.4 points per game and 366.6 total yards per game. Opponents average 186.8 passing yards and 179.8 rushing yards per game against the Bronchos.

UCO has outscored its opponents 139-127 in five games. In three MIAA games, opponents have a 61-60 advantage. All three league games for the Bronchos have been one-score games.

Reese Roller is leading Central's defense this season. The senior linebacker has 47 tackles, eight in the backfield, and one quarterback sack. He has two QB hurries, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He's also broken up three passes.

Christian Cooper and Chris Fitzpatrick are also key players on defense. Both have 25 tackles. Fitzpatrick has four tackles in the backfield and three sacks. He's forced two fumbles this season. Ralph Carter also has two QB sacks this season. The Bronchos have 10 as a team in five games.

UCO has five interceptions in five games. Roller leads the way with two. David Williams, Bryant Coley, and Cooper Snyder have one each. Coley also has a fumble recovery that he returned 39 yards for a touchdown.

Jett Huff continues to lead the UCO offense. The senior quarterback is completing 63.5 percent of his passes (113-for-178) this season. Huff has 1,243 yards and seven touchdown passes.

Huff is second among active Division II players with 7,049 career passing yards. That also ranks second in UCO history. He is inching closer to Chas Stallard's record of 7,411 yards set from 2014-18. Huff recently broke Stallard's career touchdown passes record and now has 59 entering this week.

In the passing game, Huff has found two primary targets this season in Tahkari Bethel and Makel Paiva. Bethel has a team-high 401 yards receiving on 22 receptions. He has two touchdowns – both in the season opener at Texas Wesleyan. Pavia has a team-high 37 receptions for 380 yards and also leads the Bronchos with three touchdown catches. Last week at Central Missouri, Pavia tied the UCO single game record with 15 receptions.

Zayden Martinez (11-143) and Ja'Daniel Nettles (15-109) have also been key targets in the pass game. Nettles is a junior running back and leads the Bronchos with 220 yards on 47 carries this season. Dev Mathews has 128 yards on 31 carries and one touchdown.

Central Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Fort Hays State, 11-7. The Bronchos have won the last two meetings and four of the last five. UCO won 21-14 last year in Hays, Kansas and 48-24 two years ago in Edmond.

Fort Hays State comes to Edmond averaging 30.8 points per game and defensively the Tigers are allowing 23.8 points per game. FHSU puts up 421.2 total yards of offense with a split of 248.8 passing yards and 172.4 rushing yards per game. Hays allows 377.8 total yards, 241.4 passing and 136.4 rushing yards per game.

Central Oklahoma played four of its first five games on the road and will spend the next two weeks on the road following Saturday night's game. The Bronchos play at No. 9 Emporia State and at Pittsburg State the next two Saturdays.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Bryant Coley: DB; 6' 1"; Senior

#40 Chris Fitzpatrick: LB; 6' 0"; Senior

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

#7 Zayden Martinez: WR; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#6 Dev Mathews: RB; 6' 0"; Junior

#33 Reese Roller: LB; 5' 11"; Senior

#24 David Williams: DB; 6' 0"; Senior

#19 Tahkari Bethel: WR; 5' 11"; Freshman

#3 Ralph Carter: DL; 6' 4"; Senior

#7 Christian Cooper: DB; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#5 Bryant Coley
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DB

#40 Chris Fitzpatrick
: 6' 0"; Senior
: LB

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

#7 Zayden Martinez
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: WR

#6 Dev Mathews
: 6' 0"; Junior
: RB

#33 Reese Roller
: 5' 11"; Senior
: LB

#24 David Williams
: 6' 0"; Senior
: DB

#19 Tahkari Bethel
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: WR

#3 Ralph Carter
: 6' 4"; Senior
: DL

#7 Christian Cooper
: 5' 10"; Junior
: DB