Football 9/29/2026 12:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

Bronchos, Mules, Clash In Warrensburg

Central Oklahoma Visits Central Missouri Saturday Night

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Central Oklahoma is back on the road for the fourth time in five games to start the season as the Bronchos visit Central Missouri Saturday at 7 p.m.

UCO is 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA. The Bronchos opened with three consecutive road games before finally playing at home this past weekend. Central beat No. 7 Northwest Missouri 19-14 at Chad Richison Stadium.

Now the Bronchos go to Central Missouri, which is 3-1 on the season overall and 2-0 in the MIAA. The Mules lost at No. 6 Colorado State Pueblo to open the season and then beat Missouri Western and Delta State. After a bye week, UCM beat Missouri Southern for its third straight win last week in Joplin.

"It's going to be tough," UCO head football coach Adam Dorrel said. "They're a good team in all aspects of the game. It's hard to win on the road too so we're going to have to play a complete game. If we take care of the ball and force some turnovers, that will give us a better chance. But it's going to be a tough game just all around."

Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri are both receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25. UCO received a total of 19 points and UCM just two. The No. 25 team, Walsh, received 71 total points in the poll of 31 head coaches around the country.

Entering Week 5, Central Oklahoma is averaging 27.0 points per game and 378.3 yards of total offense per game. The Bronchos put up 274.5 passing yards and 103.8 rushing yards per contest.

Defensively, Central Oklahoma allows 23.5 points per game and gives up just 320.0 yards of total offense per game. The Bronchos allow 199.0 rushing yards per game and 121.0 passing yards per game. UCO is the top-rated pass defense in the MIAA and ranks No. 3 nationally for allowing just 121.0 passing yards per game.

Jett Huff leads the UCO offense into Warrensburg. The fifth-year senior quarterback is 85-for-133 this season with four touchdowns and five interceptions. He's thrown for 947 yards. Huff also has 86 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Huff ranks No. 2 in career passing yards among active Division II players. His 6,753 career yards also ranks second in UCO history. He is 658 yards shy of Chas Stallard's all-time record of 7,411 set from 2014-18. Huff owns UCO's career touchdown passes record (56) as well as the most 300-yard games (10) and most 400-yard games (three) in UCO history.

Makel Paiva and Tahkari Bethel have been Huff's top two targets this fall. Paiva has a team-high 22 receptions with 249 yards and one touchdown. Bethel has a team-high 319 yards receiving on 16 catches and two touchdowns. Ja'Daniel Nettles (14-98), Zayden Martinez (10-126), and Andrew Carney (9-93) have also been key targets. Carney has one TD reception in the group.

Nettles leads UCO's rushing attack. The junior from Alabama has 182 yards on 38 carries this season. He had a season-high last week in UCO's upset of Northwest Missouri. Nettles totaled 114 yards on 18 carries. Junior Dev Mathews has 82 yards on 21 carries in three games played this season with one touchdown.

UCO's defense is paced by senior linebacker Reese Roller, who has a team-high 33 tackles this season. Wearing No. 33, Roller has a team-high 7.5 tackles in the backfield, including one sack. He's also active in that stingy UCO pass defense. Roller has two interceptions, two pass breakups, and two QB hurries. He also has one forced fumble this season.

Chris Fitzpatrick has 21 tackles in four games this season. He has four in the backfield including a team-high three quarterback sacks. Fitzpatrick has also forced two fumbles and has one pass breakup. He was named MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week presented by FieldTurf earlier this week after a nine-tackle, two-sack game against Northwest.

Christian Cooper has 23 tackles and joins Roller and Fitzpatrick as leaders on defense. Bryant Coley, who has 13 tackles, has one interception. He also has a 39-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Bradley Thao was also named MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week presented by FieldTurf for the second time this season. Thao, a freshman from Bixby, Oklahoma, is 8-for-10 on field goals and 11-for-11 on PATs this season. He went 4-for-5 against Northwest and scored 13 points in the 19-14 victory for the Bronchos.

UCO trails the all-time series with UCM, 9-4. The teams never met on the football field prior to Central Oklahoma joining the MIAA in 2012. Central Missouri won the first five meetings before the Bronchos won two in a row, both in Edmond, in 2017-18. UCO also won two more home meetings in 2022 and 2024. Last season's game in Edmond was a 35-34 win for UCM. A missed PAT by the Bronchos that would have tied the game with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter was the difference.

Central Missouri welcomes Central Oklahoma to Warrensburg averaging 39.2 points per game this season. The high-octane offense averages 490.0 total yards, 311.7 passing and 178.3 rushing per game.

Defensively, UCM holds opponents to 19.5 points per game on just 271.5 total yards of offense per game. UCM allows 176.7 passing and 94.8 rushing yards per game.

Central Oklahoma will return home for the second time this season next weekend. The Bronchos host Fort Hays State on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. for First Responders Night in Edmond.

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Players Mentioned

#18 Andrew Carney: TE; 6' 1"; Senior

#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

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

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

#2 Ja'Daniel Nettles: RB; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#18 Andrew Carney
: 6' 1"; Senior
: TE

#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

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

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

#2 Ja'Daniel Nettles
: 6' 1"; Junior
: RB