Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Muskogee, Okla.—The Aggies (3-5) entered Saturdays matchup against the Bacone College Warriors (5-2) hoping to even up their record after winning their previous two. The records did not reflect how well the teams matched up, but turnovers would eventually come back to haunt the Aggies.

The Aggies began the game with possession of the ball, but the first play from scrimmage resulted in Caleb Holbrook being tackled as he attempted to pitch the ball, and the Warriors promptly recovering at the Aggies' 22 yard line. The Aggies "Darkside Defense" would respond, however, not allowing the Warriors to pick up a first down. Bacone would settle for a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

OPSU's next drive was plagued by dropped passes, one which looked like a walk-in score, but were forced to punt. Once again, the defense came out aggressively as they did not allow a single yard on Bacone's following drive. A key play occurred as Bacone's attempted punt was blocked by Justin Fogle, and the Aggies recovered at Bacone's 17. The Aggies could not find the end zone and were forced to kick a 29-yard field goal which was nailed by Gabriel Ortega to tie the game at 3.

A slow start to the Aggies offense was backed by a dominating start from the defense. With just under nine minutes remaining in the opening quarter, Courtney Stinnett burst through the Warriors offensive line and forced the running back to fumble the ball on Bacone's first play. The Aggies again revived the ball and set up the offense in the opponent's territory. The offense was again held to a field goal as Ortega made his second of the game from 22 yards out giving the Aggies a 6-3 advantage.

Bacone would finally get in the end zone on their next possession as they raced 70 yards in under two minutes to score on a quarterback keeper. The Warriors led 10-6 after one. OPSU's second offensive play in the 2nd quarter resulted in a fumble by Chris McClendon which set up another scoring drive for Bacone as they again scored on a quarterback run. An explosive 40-yard kickoff return by Rod Moore set the Aggie offense up on the 50 yard line, but for a third time were limited to only three points as Ortega drilled a career-long 47-yard field goal to make the score17-9 Bacone.

Stinnett again would show his dominance as he recovered a fumble on Bacone's opening play following drive to place the offense on the opponent's 16-yard line. After three plays, the offense was unable to advance the football, and Ortega's 38-yard attempt barely tipped the bottom of the goal post as he missed his first kick of the game. Bacone's next score would come with 7 minutes remaining in the quarter and it only took them two plays to score, putting them up 24-9. The Aggie offense finally gained momentum in their following drive led by Jamal White's dynamic 43-yard reception to put the Aggies in scoring position. The biggest play of the game came as the Aggies faced 4th-and-goal on Bacone's 3-yard line with less than 20 seconds remaining in the half. Holbrook attempted a pass intended for White, but the ball was tipped and intercepted. Bacone's Erik King returned the ball 104 yards for a score that seemed to kill all momentum for the Aggies. They headed to the locker room down 30-9.

The second half saw more of the same as the offense struggled to get anything going. The defense also struggled to keep Bacone out of the end zone as they allowed 17 more points, making the final score 47-9.

The Aggies were out-gained offensively, 437-291, and also committed 5 turnovers in the game. The defense could not prevent the big plays and allowed 6 of 14 third down conversions for Bacone's offense. For the game, Holbrook and the Aggie offense were finally slowed down as he completed only 9 of 23 passes for 135 yards. McClendon had an exceptional day on the ground gaining 80 yards on 20 attempts. For the defense, Keidrick Brewster and Brandon Gipe both tallied five tackles.

Coach Gaskamp was disappointed by the teams' performance and said, "We've got to be more disciplined on the field. We'll need to improve our pass game and work on stopping the run defensively as we prepare to face SAGU this week."

The Aggies are on the road again next week as they take on Southwest Assemblies of God in Waxahachie, Texas. The Aggies look to improve their record against a team in which last year's contest ended in a nail-bitter in overtime. Game time is set for 2 p.m.