Football Eyes Strong Finish

October 31, 2007

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State University’s first step at securing a winning football season begins Saturday as East Central University visits town in a Homecoming matchup. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Milam Stadium.

The Bulldogs bring a 4-5 record into the contest and will need a victory in each of their final two games to finish with a winning record. If SWOSU finishes at 6-5, it will be the first time since the 1991-1992 seasons that the Bulldogs have strung together two straight winning campaigns.

SWOSU will certainly be tested by the Tigers who have been dangerous this year despite a 2-7 record. ECU has beaten both Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville and lost a tight three-point heartbreaker to Lone Star Conference North leader Central Oklahoma.

The Tigers rely heavily on do-everything-quarterback Marcus Johnson who previously played under current ECU head coach Kurt Nichols at Cisco Junior College. Johnson throws the ball more than 35 times a game and has completed passes totaling 1,968 yards. Against Angelo State, Johnson set school records for most yards (386) and touchdowns tossed (6) in a single game.

The Bulldogs are likely to use a more balanced attack and rely on both a combination of runs and passes. SWOSU uses three running backs – Patrick Weaver, Brian Allen and Steve Ihekona – to do the bulk of the ball carrying. The trio has accumulated 867 of the 1,017 yards gained on the ground or roughly 85%.

Through the air SWOSU now uses quarterback Steve Day as its full-time signal caller. Day, who had split time with Jimmy Sangster, took over the starting job at Northeastern State two weeks ago. Against NSU, he threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns and was named the LSC North Player-of-the-Week.

Defensively, SWOSU ranks eighth in the LSC allowing 391 yards a game while ECU is next-to-last at 12th yielding more than 459 yards each game.

Linebackers Greg Franklin and Ruzell McCoy have been the tackle leaders for the Bulldog defense all year. Franklin has 70 tackles this season and looks to be on target to finish again as the team leader. McCoy has 64 stops, including a season-high 17 against UCO last week.