Box Score Wichita Falls, Texas—The Aggies' fourth consecutive road game of the season proved the most challenging to date as the team not only faced a tough LSC opponent in Midwestern State, but also had to contend with Mother Nature and severe weather which impacted play. Meeting both obstacles head-on, the Aggies gave their undefeated opponents a hard-fought battle through all four quarters, but fell short in the end taking a 42-24 loss to the No. 11 Division II team in the nation.
In a game that kicked off at 7 p.m. Saturday night both teams were sent to the locker room only six minutes into the first quarter as a lightening delay, turned flash-flood warning, ended Saturday's action early. Midwestern took the opening kickoff 73 yards on the return and found the end zone two plays later to edge an early 7-0 lead. Panhandle's first drive got off to a bad start as an interception gave the ball back to the Mustangs deep in Aggie territory, which set up another quick score for the home team.
The Aggies regained composure and put together a well-played package led by running back
Rod Moore and quarterback
Shane Truelove, who combined for nine plays on a 79-yard scoring drive. Moore totaled eight yards on the ground and Truelove found five different targets on six passes, including the four-yard completion to
Andrew Hernandez that put Panhandle on the board and within one touchdown (14-7) of the Mustangs. Just as the Aggies were finding their stride, a lightening delay was called with 9:22 left in the first quarter. Fans, players and coaches waited for over two hours as heavy thunderstorms threatened the area with rampant lightening and flash flooding. Finally, a decision was made to postpone play until 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon in the hopes the weather would clear.
Play resumed as planned on Sunday with only a few scattered sprinkles occurring throughout the day. MSU had possession to start on their own 28-yard line and the Aggie defense came out strong and forced a punt on the opening drive. The Mustang defense also came prepared to play, bringing the thunder back with a blocked punt on a three-and-out Panhandle possession. Midwestern went on to score their third touchdown of the first quarter, leaving the Aggies with a 21-7 deficit and 2:13 left on the clock. The Aggies were looking at another three-and-out series when a fake punt on fourth-and-one fooled the Mustangs, as defensive end
Sequoia Smith took the hand-off and barreled out four yards for the first down.
The Aggies held possession going into the second quarter, and a sack on the opening play did not hold the Aggies back, as
Rod Moore broke through with three consecutive rushes totaling 28 yards for a Panhandle State touchdown (21-14). The Aggie defense made a strong stand in the next series, holding the Mustangs to just 13 yards and a punt. Truelove, then took over at midfield and fired off a 28-yard pass, complete to
Devyn Williams, to start the next drive. A nine-yard QB keeper put the Aggies inside the red zone on the MSU-14, and the following rush by
Rod Moore brought up first-and-goal for the Aggies. Two incomplete passes and offsetting penalties left the Aggies at first-and-goal from the two-yard line, when sophomore Eddie Thomas, IV came down with a catch in the end zone to tie the game at 21-21 with 11 minutes left in the half.
Punts resulted on each of the following two drives giving Panhandle the time and opportunity to pull ahead before the break. Starting from their own 28-yard line, the Aggies battled back down-field to a first-and-goal situation at the MSU-9 with 1:17 showing on the clock. A complete pass from Truelove to Moore moved the Aggies three yards closer to the end zone, and a timeout was taken to assess the defense. Moore edged out another four yards on the next play, prompting the Aggies to take a second timeout. On the ensuing play, Truelove's pass was intercepted in the end zone for a touchback which left the teams even at the break (21-21). At halftime the Aggies held 290 yards of total offense; 176 in passing and 114 rushing; Midwestern only accounted for 151 yards of offense but, with three takeaways, held the upper hand through much of the first half.
An exciting start to the second half brought a blocked punt by Panhandle's
Eddie Thomas IV on the Mustang's opening drive;
Axel Rogue recovered the ball for the Aggies on the MSU 23-yard line. Truelove looked to senior
Beau Avila on a ten-yard pass to the sidelines for an Aggie first down. A one-yard rush by Moore was followed up with an incomplete pass on a QB-hurry by the Mustang D, bringing up a third-and-nine situation. Moore managed to make seven yards on a run play, and the Aggies opted for a field goal attempt on fourth down; the 22-yard shot was successful by
Sterling Claphan and the Aggies owned a three-point lead three minutes into the second half (24-21).
The Aggie defense kept the Mustangs in their own territory to force a punt which was downed by the Aggies at the OPSU-29. Truelove was sacked for a loss of four yards on a third-and-eleven attempt, which brought
Jacob Test out to punt for Panhandle. MSU then took three plays 64 yards for their fourth touchdown of the game, reclaiming the lead 28-24 midway through the third quarter. The Mustangs caught the Aggies by surprise with an onside kick which was recovered by Midwestern on the Panhandle 32, bringing the defense back on the field. The Aggies did their jobs holding the Mustangs to just 15 yards that series. An MSU field goal attempt was left short maintaining the four-point difference as the third quarter ticked down. Starting on their own 20-yard line, the Aggie offense took ten plays 60 yards to the MSU-20 where they would begin the fourth quarter.
Two rushes by Moore had the Aggies within 15 yards of the end zone putting Panhandle in prime position to shift the momentum back in the Aggies' favor; but heavy coverage led to two incomplete passes turning the ball over on downs. Midwestern went on to add another seven points to the board and left the Aggies empty-handed once again with an interception in the end zone as Panhandle approached on an eight-play, 66-yard drive. A deflated Aggie defense did their best, but could not fend off four consecutive rushes and a 73-yard touchdown pass in the Mustang's next series which dashed the hopes for an Aggie comeback. With 4:46 left in the game, Midwestern owned an 18-point advantage (42-24) which they would hold through the end of the game. The Mustangs remain undefeated with a 3-0 overall record and two Lone Star Conference wins. Panhandle State dropped to 1-3 on the season and still look for a win within the LSC.
Coach
Russell Gaskamp was extremely pleased with his team's effort despite the unusual circumstances that arose. "I'm proud of how the guys handled the adversity of this long and challenging weekend; and I'm especially proud of how hard they played. I felt we played very well overall, but just not good enough to beat a top-ten caliber team with the mistakes we made in the red-zone offense and on special teams. Our effort was great throughout the game and we will need to continue to play that hard week in and week out to compete against these LSC teams."
The Aggies finished with 446 yards on offense and allowed 467 total yards to their opponents. Of Panhandle's 164 rushing yards,
Rod Moore was responsible for 133 yards on 23 carries with one rushing touchdown. Truelove passes for 282 yards going 25-of-41 for two TDs; three interceptions and two sacks hurt the Aggies in the pass game. Moore also accounted for 44 yards receiving with six catches to earn a game-high of 177 all-purpose yards. Receiver Eddie Thomas finished with six catches for 57 yards and one TD. The Mustangs ended the night with 218 yards rushing and 249 passing.
Defensively the Aggies totaled 88 tackles led by
Darryn Cain with nine and
Royce Asi,
Olen Brown and
Dharius Timmons who each had eight tackles. Timmons and senior LB
Brandon Gipe teamed up on a sack, and senior
John Pitts received a solo sack in the first quarter. Freshman
Marcus Jones contributed on defense with one forced fumble and one pass breakup in the game. Midwestern's defense created two sacks, six pass breakups and five quarterback hurries bringing the pressure that resulted in three interceptions. The 14 points scored off turnovers proved detrimental to the Aggies' success in an otherwise, well-played game.
Aggie fans can look forward to the first home game of the season this week as Panhandle State will host the home-opener against a No. 6-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce team. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at Carl Wooten Field at No Man's Land Stadium and fans are encouraged to come early to take part in the pre-game tailgate festivities which will open at 10:30 a.m. Coach Gaskamp would love to see a full tailgate section outside the team's locker room, and a packed house inside the stadium as the Aggies are eager to play in front of a great home crowd after four long weeks on the road.
