Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Goodwell, Okla.—The Oklahoma Panhandle State University Football team depart this week for San Angelo, Texas to take on their first Lone Star Conference opponent prior to entering the league in 2016; the Aggies will take on Angelo State University on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in the newly renovated LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field.

The Rams are coming off of a spectacular 9-3 season including a trip to the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs where they fell in the second round to No. 8 CSU-Pueblo.  ASU enters this season ranked twelfth in the nation by D2Football.com and are listed as LSC Preseason Favorites.

This matchup will be on familiar territory for OPSU Head Coach Russell Gaskamp who spent three years at Angelo State coaching the offensive line. Gaskamp took over at the Offensive Coordinator in January of 2011 under the Rams current head coach Will Wagner. Gaskamp stated, "I learned so much from Coach Wagner and his staff and I am incredibly happy for the success of the program recently. They deserve it, they have done a great job and the administration and community are doing great things for ASU Football." Wagner and Gaskamp remain close and are both looking forward to putting their teams on the field.

The Aggies also turned in a successful season in 2014, going 7-3 and finishing as the only team in Division-II to rank in the top five nationally in both Total Offense and Total Defense. With 17 starters returning, this looks to be the Aggies' strongest group since Gaskamp's arrival in 2012.

Running back Chris McClendon racked up over 1,100 yards last year and is back and ready to pound the ground for his senior season. Also, on offense, wide receivers Zacari Lavender and Devyn Williams combined for 12 touchdowns and close to 1,200 yards receiving. One area of focus offensively has been development at the quarterback position with the replacement of three-year starter Caleb Holbrook who shattered the school record books last season. Senior Jacob Morgan is up to the task and will be starting against the Rams this week.

Defensively the Aggies are loaded at linebacker returning two outstanding seniors in Tanner Hallford and Isaia Vimoto; Hallford totaled 84 tackles in 2014 and 7.5 sacks while Vimoto cleaned up with 49 total tackles and one interception. The Aggies also lost the talented Gabriel Ortega at kicker and will be utilizing two skilled freshmen kickers; Jacob Test and Nikolas Clarkson.

Gaskamp is optimistic about the season and feels that this first game will serve as a great barometer of the program's ability to compete against the top teams in the LSC and noted, "Our keys for success against Angelo will be stopping the run, tackling in open space and winning the turnover battles." He added, "We have to be sound against the Read option game with regards to responsibilities; we must keep their QB in the pocket and stay in pass rush lanes and our O-line must neutralize a great ASU defense."

"Our kids are very excited about playing a team as good as Angelo and about our transition into the LSC in 2016," Gaskamp concluded. The Aggies will play four Lone Star games this season and will move to a full schedule next year.

Aggie fans not making the road trip to San Angelo can support the team from home with live stats, video and audio links which are available on the OPSU Aggie Athletics website; Football Schedule page. Fans can start gearing up for the first home game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 19. The Aggies will face their long-time rival Langston University at 2 p.m. and will host a Military and First Responders Appreciation Day sponsored by Chrysler Corner in Liberal, Kan. Get ready to WEAR RED, GET ROWDY and REV IT UP for your Aggies!