ACU takes on 5-0 Bronchos

Wildcats to face unbeaten Bronchos

ACU hits road to take on region's top-ranked team

ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS (2-2, 1-1)
vs. #13 Central Oklahoma Bronchos (5-0, 3-0)
Saturday, October 11, 2003 / 6 p.m.
Wantland Stadium (10,000 / Grass) / Edmond, Okla.

SETTING THE SCENE: The Wildcats will try to break the .500 mark on the season Saturday night when they take on No. 13 Central Oklahoma in a Lone Star Conference crossover game at Wantland Stadium on the UCO campus.

The Wildcats enter the game at 2-2 on the season and coming off last Saturday's 24-14 win over 19th-ranked Eastern New Mexico at Shotwell Stadium. The Bronchos, meanwhile, are ranked No. 1 in the first NCAA Division II West Region poll and are 5-0 after last Saturday's 20-17 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State.

ACU's defense paved the way for last week's victory over the previoulsy undefeated Greyhounds, limiting the ENMU offense to just 344 yards and two scores. Junior Randall Webb made his first start at middle linebacker and recorded 18 tackles (12 solo) to spearhead thedefensive effort. Webb was named the LSC South Division Defensive Player of the Week for his play in the win over the Greyhounds.

The Wildcats and Bronchos have each won seven games and tied one in a series that goes back to 1985. The teams played every year from 1985-1998 and then resumed the series last year with a 22-20 ACU win in Abilene. ACU is 2-5 in seven previous games at Edmond, Okla.

RADIO: KULL 92.5 FM. David Bacon (play-by-play), Chuck Statler (color commentary) and Ruben Gonzalez (sideline reporter) bring you all the action. ACU football games can be heard on www.tsrnsports.com.

WILDCAT OFFENSE: ACU's inconsistent offensive performance this season continued in last week's 24-14 win over Eastern New Mexico as Wildcat receivers dropped 10 Colby Freeman passes. Most of those passes were very catchable balls, and the drops led to just 120 yards passing for the Wildcats, who came up with 231 yards on the grounds to help offset the drops in thepassing game. ... Freeman completed just 5 of 20 passes in the game, but his .250 completion percentage for the game can be blamed on the drops. Freeman, though, has still thrown for 662 yards and four touchdowns in four gamesthis season, and last week he and Lawrence Hardman hooked up on another longtouchdown play, this time from 81 yardsout. They had already hooked up on a75-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the Fort Lewis game. Freeman is the Wildcats' eighth all-time leading passer with 3,500 yards in just 19 starts at ACU. He is also eighth in career total offense with 3,749 yards, eighth in career touchdown passes (19), ninth in career completions (247) and 10th in career attempts (458). ... Hardman leads the Wildcats in receiving with nine catchesfor 211 yards and two scores -- the 75-yard catch against Fort Lewis and the 81-yard catch against Eastern New Mexico. He has also scored a touchdown this season on a 24-yard reverse against Fort Lewis, making him the only Wildcat on the roster to score two different ways this season. ... The Wildcats could once again be without receivers DaRay Sims and Tony Cunningham, both of whom are recovering from injuries suffered in practice. Sims has a high ankle sprain, while Cunningham is nursing a tender hamstring. Both players -- along with sophomore tight end Clinton Farrell (hamstring) -- are listed as questionable for Saturday's game at Central Oklahoma. Hardman and junior Dillon Cobb are expected to be the Wildcats' starters at wide receiver against the Bronchos. ... Senior running back Richard Whitaker had another big game last week against Eastern New Mexico, toting the ball 27 times for 153 yards and two scores on runs of three and eight yards. His eight-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter broke a 14-14 tie and propelled the Wildcats to their fifth-straight win over the Greyhounds. Whitaker leads the Wildcats in rushing with 400 yards and three touchdowns on 76 carries. Those 400 yards rank him fourth in the LSC in both yards and yards per game (400 and 100.0, respectively). Texas A&M-Kingsville running back Larry Williams leads both categories with 557 yards for an average of 139.2 yards per game.

WILDCAT DEFENSE: Randall Webb had a spectacular game last Saturday in the win over Eastern New Mexico, coming up with 12 solo tackles and six assists for 18 total tackles, numbers that earned him LSC South Division Defensive Player of the Week honors. Webb was starting his first game at middle linebacker after the coaches had to re-shuffle the linebacking corps in light of the knee injury Shawn Taylor suffered against Tarleton State. Webb had one tackle for a loss and one quarterback hurry in the game, leading a Wildcat defensive effort that limited the Greyhounds to just 107 yards of offense and one touchdown in the second half of ACU's 24-14 victory. Webb will be back at middle linebacker against Central Oklahoma, and will be flanked by sophomore Matt Allen at strongside linebacker and senior Cliff Compton at weakside linebacker. There is a chance, however, that Taylor could see some playing time Saturday, which would put him about two weeks ahead of schedule in his recovery from a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) inhis right knee. ... Compton had one of his best games last week, recording 14 tackles (3 solo, 11 assists), and junior defensive back Dawon Gentry -- back at his starting spot in the secondary just two weeks after brusing his spinal cord against Tarleton State and spending two nights in the hospital -- had 10 tackles (4 solo) against the Greyhounds. ... Redshirt freshman safety Danieal Manning picked off his second pass of the season last week, a spectacular leaping grab on a deep pass in the fourth quarter of the contest against ENMU. Manning also had seven tackles (2 solo), a forced fumble and a pass breakup in the victory. He also returned three punts for 36 yards, including a 23-yard return that helped set up an ACU score. ... The Wildcats' defense is ranked 10th in the LSC in total defense and seventh in scoring defense, allowing 345.2 yards and 23.0 points per game, respectively. However, when you take out the Tarleton State game in which ACU allowed 464 yards and 41 points, the Wildcats are allowing foes just 305.7 yards and 17 points per game. And after allowing Tarleton State to make five trips into the red zone, the Wildcats gave up just two trips to the red zone and one score against the Greyhounds.

WILDCAT SPECIAL TEAMS: With his six points last week against Central Oklahoma, junior placekicker Eben Nelson fifth on ACU's career scoring list for kickers with 126 points. He is just 26 points from passing Dennis Brown (151 points from 1987-88, 1990) and moving into fourth place on the career list. After that, he would need just 12 more points to become the all-time leading scorer among kickers in school history. ... Nelson's 41-yard field goal late in last week's win over Eastern New Mexico was the 22nd of his career, moving him to within six field goals made from becoming the all-time leader in field goals made at ACU. The current leader is Mark Turner, who kicked 27 field goals from 1984-86. In just two-plus seasons, Nelson has already kicked 11 field goals of at least 40 yards, and has two 50-yard-plus field goals to his credit. ... Sophomore punter Chase Fishback had the best game of his career last week, averaging 43.3 yards on seven punts, including a 55-yarder in the first quarter. He also buried the Greyhounds inside the 20 on two of his punts.

Q&A WITH COACH GARY GAINES
How important was last week's victory, not only from the standpoint of picking up the win, but for getting past the Tarleton game?
"Well, it certainly makes practice a lot easier when you win. I don't think there's any substitute for it from a mental standpoint. I believe it helps everyone's preparation for the next game."

How concerned are you that we're at the halfway point of the season and the offense still hasn't gotten untracked?
"It's a concern, no question about it. We've just been very inconsistent offensively throughout the course of the season. Last week, though, outside of all the dropped passes (10), I thought we were a little bit more effective offensively. But those drops were just horrible. I've never been a part of a game or seen a game with that many drops by one team."

What do you have to do offensively Saturday if you're going to beat Central Oklahoma?
"Central is so physical up front that it's going to be tough to run the ball. We'll probably have to lean more on the passing game. But they're one of the better defenses in the conference, and they'll be a big challenge for us."

Defensively, do you go into the game saying that anyone else but (all-America wide receiverr) Dee Dee Carter is going to beat you?
"They have such a physical running game, and that has to be the focus of our defense. Carter is obviously a big-play guy, but so is the running back (Jarrod Manoy). He'll really pound you, and that poses a lot of problems for our defense."

WILDCAT FOOTBALL DEPTH CHART
Updated October 8, 2003

OFFENSE
Quarterback
5 Colby Freeman (6-3, 205, sr, 2VL, Brownwood)
4 Greg Wiggins (6-3, 205, jr, 2VL, Austin)
Running Back
21 Richard Whitaker (5-10, 200, sr, Tr, Jacksonville)
12 Willie Williams (5-8, 180, jr, 2VL, Houston)
Fullback
40 Brett Unger (6-0, 225, jr, 2VL, Abilene)
48 Nick Anthony (6-1, 200, soph, 1VL, Roscoe)
Tight End
85 Clinton Farrell (6-1, 225, soph, 1VL, Hallsville)
83 Odis Dolton (6-3, 240, soph, 1VL, Abilene)
Left Tackle
68 Britt Lively (6-5, 310, sr, 2VL, Silsbee)
78 John Douty (6-5, 290, fr, HS, Kennedale)
Left Guard
77 Buddy Dowden (6-3, 285, sr, 3VL, Abilene)
72 Logan Bains (6-2, 270, fr, HS, Southlake)
Center
69 Blake Lewis (6-4, 275, sr, 3VL, Brady)
79 Tayler Cates (6-3, 260, fr, HS, McKinney)
Right Guard
61 Cody Savage (6-4, 310, fr, RS, Atlanta)
72 Logan Bains (6-2, 270, fr, HS, Southlake)
Right Tackle
74 Charles Mock (6-4, 300, soph, 1VL, Abilene)
66 Josh Lively (6-5, 315, soph, 1VL, Silsbee)
Wide Receiver
80 Lawrence Hardman (6-0, 200, soph, Tr, Greenville)
7 DaRay Sims (6-2, 190, sr, 1VL, Corsicana)
Wide Receiver
86 Dillon Cobb (5-11, 170, jr, 2VL, Stamford)
9 Vince Copeland (6-2, 180, sr, Tr, Valdosta, Ga.)
Wide Receiver
17 Roddy Alexander (5-8, 165, sr, 2VL, Roscoe)
18 Tony Cunningham (6-1, 170, soph, 1VL, Abilene)

DEFENSE
Left Defensive End
54 Clayton Farrell (6-5, 275, soph, 1VL, Hallsville)
89 Mark Malunowe (6-1, 240, soph, 1VL, Fort Worth)
Nose Guard
99 Devian Mims (6-1, 310, sr, 1VL, Waco)
60 Rahgene Cherry (6-2, 280, soph, 1VL, Plano)
Defensive Tackle
95 Michael Walker (6-2, 265, sr, 3VL, Abilene)
44 Joe Edwards (6-3, 275, fr, Tr, Dayton)
Right Defensive End
90 Brad Walton (6-3, 235, sr, 3VL, Fort Worth)
50 William Cones (5-11, 225, fr, HS, Austin)
Strongside Linebacker
8 Matt Allen (6-1, 200, soph, 1VL, Canyon)
34 Daniel Evans-Pickens (5-11, 190, sr, 3VL, Houston)
Middle Linebacker
55 Randall Webb (6-2, 225, jr, Tr, Mesquite)
13 Todd Mrozek (6-3, 230, jr, Tr, Plano)
Weakside Linebacker
33 Cliff Compton (6-2, 225, sr, 3VL, Bedford)
49 Craig Howard (6-1, 215, fr, RS, Amarillo)
Left Cornerback
24 Corey Thompson (5-10, 180, jr, 2VL, Killeen)
19 Omar Tejeda (5-11, 175, soph, 1VL, Arlington)
Strong Safety
11 Danieal Manning (6-0, 195, fr, RS, Corsicana)
37 Brandon Henry (6-0, 180, fr, RS, Kaufman)
Free Safety
2 Dawon Gentry (5-11, 195, jr, Tr, Denison)
25 Nate Petross (5-10, 175, fr, HS, Spring)
Right Cornerback
31 Kendrick Walker (5-8, 170, sr, 1VL, Corsicana)
3 Adam Black (5-11, 190, jr, Tr, Houston)

SPECIALISTS
Punter
81 Chase Fishback (6-4, 200, soph, 1VL, Early)
Plackecker
32 Eben Nelson (5-11, 165, jr, 2VL, Stephenville)

INJURED LIST
DB 23 David Jones (6-0, 175, sr, 3VL, Kaufman)
     (torn right achilles tendon; out for season)
OL 70 Jeff Shelburne (6-4, 250, soph, 1VL, Muleshoe)
     (dislocated right shoulder; out for season)
OL 65 Cody Stewart (6-2, 285, jr, 1VL, Everman)
     (broken right leg; out for season)
LB 27 Shawn Taylor (5-11, 215, jr, 2VL, Hallsville)
     (sprained right MCL; questionable)
WR 7 DaRay Sims (6-2, 190, sr, 1VL, Corsicana)
     (sprained ankle; questionable)
WR 18 Tony Cunningham (6-1, 170, soph, 1VL, Abilene)
     (pulled hamstring; questionable)
TE 85 Clinton Farrell (6-1, 225, soph, 1VL, Hallsville)
     (pulled hamstring; probable)