During an overall miserable season on The Hill, former Russellville football star Tacorian ‘CoCo’ Darden is one of the few standouts for Western Kentucky University.
When the Hilltoppers broke a dismal losing streak Saturday, the defense picked off five passes thrown by University of Texas El Paso quarterbacks, Darden was one of the interceptors. All the picks came in the first half, leading to a 40-0 halftime margin for Coach Mike Sanford’s team. Both WKU and UTEP came into the game with 1-9 records.
As has been the norm the past two seasons, Western was a no-show in the second half, but the Tops held on for a 40-16 win.
Darden’s aerial theft came on the first pass thrown by reserve Miner quarterback Brandon Jones. Toppe roffensive back D’Andre Ferby soon scored his second touchdown to make it 27-0. Later Gaeg Walker returned his interception for a TD. Also making interceptions were Drell Greene, Devon Key and Roger Cray.
The Miners had few opportunities to kick off, but Darden returned one of them for 19 yards. He is second on the team in kickoff returns with five and in kickoff return yardage with 115. His 37-yard return of one kickoff is the longest by a Topper this season.
On the season, Darden is the team leader in interceptions with three picks. Key is the only other player with multiple interceptions at two. Darden has the fourth most tackles for the team. He has been credited with 37 solo tackles and 28 assists for a total of 65. The only defenders ahead of him are Ben Holt with 107 and Masai Whyte and Key with 69 each.
CoCo leads the team in passes broken up with nine, which is especially significant since most teams game-plan to throw away from him.
WKU ends its season Saturday at Louisiana Tech in Ruston. It remains to be seen if it’s also the last game for Sanford. Athletic Director Todd Steward is inclined to believe in him, but fan support has been eroding significantly.