East Central (3-3, 3-3 GAC) at SWOSU (4-3, 4-3 GAC)
Homecoming 2013
Saturday, October 26, 6 pm | Weatherford, Okla. (Fast Lane Field)
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Weekly Notes (pdf)
Setting the Scene
Fresh off a 37-27 victory at Southeastern Oklahoma State last Friday night, the SWOSU football team returns home to host East Central for Homecoming on Saturday night.
SWOSU snapped a two-game losing skid in Durant by outscoring the Savage Storm 17-0 in the fourth quarter. The victory was just the second by the Bulldogs over Southeastern since 2001.
East Central evened their record at 3-3 last weekend with a 64-14 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State and the Tigers come to Weatherford on a two-game winning streak. ECU has defeated Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Nazarene and NWOSU this year with losses to Southern Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State.
The Series
Southwestern Oklahoma State University football has played East Central more times than any other opponent. SWOSU is 41-47-2 all-time against the Tigers, with a 6-10 record against ECU as members of NCAA Division II.
The two teams will meet in Weatherford for the third consecutive season, splitting the first two games as members of the Great American Conference. SWOSU defeated ECU 13-10 last season after the Tigers had won the previous two meetings in the series.
The Coaches
Dan Cocannouer enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team in 2013. He returned home to lead his alma mater in 2009 and helped the team better its won-loss record in each of his first three seasons. After finishing 1-10 in his inaugural season, SWOSU improved to 5-6 in 2011, the first season of the Great American Conference. In 2012, the Bulldogs slipped slightly in the win column, finishing 3-7 (2-6 GAC) with three losses of 10 points or less. Overall, Cocannouer is 16-34 overall at SWOSU and 2-2 against East Central.
Tim McCarty is in his fifth season of his second stint as the East Central head football coach, with a record of 29-36 to date. McCarty was the Tiger head coach in 2004 and 2005 before spending three seasons as the top assistant at Kansas State from 2006-08.
The Last Meeting
Southwestern Oklahoma State University's football team made a bold early statement with a 13-10 beating of visiting East Central University in a test of Great American Conference foes Saturday in Weatherford.
SWOSU jumped to an early 13-0 on an 18-yard touchdown run by quarterback
Dustin Stenta and two mid-range field goals by kicker
Colton Rainey. The lead held to that point until ECU's Brian Gonazlez kicked a 39-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer to trim SWOSU's lead to 13-3.
ECU got closer with a 20-yard pass from Cody Miller to Colter Huff to bring the Tigers within 13-10 with 8:23 to play. From that point on, it was all SWOSU's defense.
The Bulldogs limited ECU on its next seven possessions to three-and-outs four times, two interceptions and a turnover on downs. ECU's last 23 plays resulted in a net total of (-19) yards.
SWOSU doubled ECU in total yards with 336 yards to the Tigers' 151. SWOSU had 128 yards on the ground and another 208 through the air.
ECU's quarterback was constantly under pressure. He completed just 15-of-40 passes for 135 yards and was intercepted four times and sacked twice.
SWOSU's Terrence Franklin had three interceptions, the last of which he returned to the Tiger's 12-yard line with just 1:22 remaining.
Offensively, Stenta completed 26-of-51 passes for 208 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass ending a streak of eight consecutive games in which he has tossed at least one scoring pass.
Defensively, SWOSU was led by
Kale Sawatzky with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
DeMarcus Miller was next with seven stops, including two tackles for losses totaling 31 yards and a forced fumble.
Last Time Out
After entering the fourth quarter trailing Southeastern Oklahoma State by a touchdown on Friday night, SWOSU outscored the Savage Storm 17-0 in the final period and improved to 4-3 on the year with a 37-27 victory.
Trailing 27-20 at the start of the fourth, SWOSU quickly capped off a 12-play, 82-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal from
Kevin Cantrell to cut the deficit to 27-23. The Bulldogs defense responded by holding Southeastern's next drive to five plays, ending with a punt that gave SWOSU the ball on their own 30 yard line.
It took the Bulldogs just five plays to travel 70 yards as quarterback
Dustin Stenta found
Ryan Corbin and
Teverick Boyd downfield and
D.C. Walker carried the ball 15 yards down to the Savage Storm eight yard line. Stenta again found Corbin on the next play and the Bulldogs tight end dove into the end zone to give SWOSU the lead, which was pushed to 30-27 on Cantrell's extra point.
The SWOSU defense came up with a clutch turnover to end the next drive by Southeastern. Facing a third-and-nine, Savage Storm quarterback Nick Sioson was intercepted by SWOSU's
Steven Townsley, giving the Bulldogs possession in Southeastern territory with 7:35 to play.
Karl Hodge carried the ball three times on the next drive and Stenta connected with
Brad Smithey on a key third down as SWOSU again moved down the field. SWOSU called timeout facing fourth-and-five at the SOSU eight and Stenta found Corbin in the end zone for the third time in the game, putting the Bulldogs on top by 10, 37-27, with 4:52 to play.
SWOSU put up 473 yards of total offense, including a season-high 352 passing yards and four touchdowns from Stenta, who eclipsed the 8,000 yard mark for his career in the victory. He completed 26-of-37 passing attempts, finding seven different receivers in the game. Stenta's top target was Corbin, who tied his career high with 10 receptions and set new career bests with 164 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Ryan Feller made 13 tackles (five solo, eight assist) to lead the Bulldogs defense with
Jim O'Brien adding nine stops, one sack and one tackle for loss. Townsley and
Kale Sawatzky each made eight tackles and Townsley recorded the game's only interception.
Checking the Standings
The middle of the pack in the Great American Conference is very balanced but the Bulldogs currently sit atop that group, tied for fourth place in the standings. SWOSU and Southern Arkansas are tied at 4-3, one-half game ahead of Arkansas-Monticello, East Central and Arkansas Tech who are all deadlocked at 3-3. Henderson State is the lone remaining unbeaten team in the conference at 6-0 with Harding and Ouachita Baptist both sitting right behind them at 5-1.
Climbing the Ladder
Ryan Corbin has moved to the No. 3 spot in career receptions after his 10 catch effort against Southeastern Oklahoma State last week. Corbin now has 44 receptions for the season and 144 for his career. He trails Bruce Hatton, who had 155 catches as a Bulldog from 2008-11 and Jonathan Haggerty, the all-time leader in receptions with 173 from 2006-09.
For his efforts against Southeastern (10 catches, 164 yards, 3 TDs), the senior from Newcastle was named the State College Player of the Week by the Daily Oklahoman on Tuesday.
Third Straight Meeting in Weatherford
After making the trip to Durant last weekend for the fourth consecutive year, the Bulldogs return home to host East Central for the third straight season. SWOSU and ECU have split the previous two meetings at Fast Lane Field with the Tigers winning 29-12 in 2011 and SWOSU returning the favor with a 13-10 victory last season.
Player of the Week
Southwestern Oklahoma State University defensive back and kick returner
Terrance Franklin has been named the Great American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in the Bulldogs 37-27 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday night.
Franklin returned three kickoffs for 129 yards for the Bulldogs, including a 97-yard touchdown in the second quarter that tied the game at 20-20 heading into the break. That return tied the GAC record and is the longest kickoff return by a player in the conference this season. Franklin is now tied for the conference lead with one kick return touchdown.
A senior from Killeen, Texas, Franklin has returned six kickoffs this season for 190 yards for an average of 31.7 yards per return, which would put him atop the GAC rankings if he had more attempts.
Scouting East Central
East Central has won two straight games, outscoring Southern Nazarene and Northwestern Oklahoma State by a combined 110-30, after starting the season 1-3. The Tigers opened the year with a win over Arkansas-Monticello before suffering three straight defeats to Southern Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State.
The Tigers offense is averaging 36.7 points per game, ranking fifth in the GAC. Quarterback Spencer Bond is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the conference, ranking second in total offense with 1,913 yards (318.8 yards/game) accounted for.
The ECU defense is one of five in the conference allowing more than 30 points per game and they rank eighth in the GAC in total defense, giving up 415.8 yards per game. Defensive tackle Juju Turituri leads the ECU defense and ranks third in the GAC with four sacks on the year.
Looking Ahead
SWOSU welcomes Southern Nazarene to Fast Lane Field next Saturday for Senior Night. That game will kickoff at 2 pm.
