GOODWELL, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State football team (2-4, 1-3 SAC) executed in all three phases as it roared to a 34-13 victory late Saturday afternoon versus Nelson (1-4, 0-3).
 
The win is the program's third straight official victory over the Lions, as OPSU dominated time-of-possession, controlled the line of scrimmage and won the turnover battle to lead to the lopsided result.
 
Ground and Pound: In consistently gusty conditions at Anchor D Stadium on Saturday, the Aggies committed to the ground game, got going and never let up as they blew their season highs out of the water with 216 rushing yards on 54 attempts. By way of methodical drive after methodical drive, Panhandle State had possession of the football for nearly two-thirds of the game.
 
The primary beneficiaries of rock-solid offensive line play were Rylan Johnson and Jacob Chavez, who both rushed for career highs of 117 and 95 yards, respectively.
 
When OPSU did take to the air, Chance Guadiz was given ample time to find receivers, going 12-for-19 for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Five of those passes were caught by William Rodriguez III, who had a team-high 37 receiving yards.
 
Guadiz was not sacked and seldom needed to scramble to evade pressure, staying fresh with only three rushing attempts.
 
Taming the Lions: For the third straight game, Panhandle State scored on the opening drive – this one a 15-play masterpiece that ate up over half of the first-quarter game clock and could have only ended better had it resulted in six. Instead, Carlos Vazquez chipped through a 23-yard field goal to give the Aggies an early lead.
 
Almost as soon as OPSU's offense went to the sidelines, it was back on the field after Charles Holmes III intercepted a pass on the Lions' third play from scrimmage. Although the Aggies were forced to punt, the defense came through again with a three-and-out.
 
This time, the home team offense capitalized as Chavez rushed for 26 yards in a three-play span to get the Aggies deep into the redzone. Guadiz finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run to put OPSU up, 10-0.
 
Panhandle State's next drive, following another Lions punt, started on its own 11, but the game plan remained unchanged.  Chavez and Johnson kept churning for first downs on the ground, until the Aggies eventually went to the air to cap a 14-play, 89-yard touchdown drive with a 22-yard completion to Dillon Laurer.
 
Late in the half with Nelson driving, Hector Rodriguez was in on back-to-back sacks (the first of which he combined with Wally Palega Jr.) to kill any Nelson momentum, and the Aggies took a controlling 17-0 lead into halftime.
 
Cruising to Victory: In the third quarter, Vazquez put the Aggies up by 20 with a 30-yard field goal before the Lions could get on the board with a touchdown to their top receiver, Zach Fuller.
 
OPSU answered right back with a 24-yard gain from Chavez, which helped set up Johnson for a four-yard touchdown response that made it 27-7.
 
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lions had the ball needing perfection to have a chance in the critical conference contest, but they fumbled a handoff and Elzie Barnett III was in the backfield to recover.
 
Moments later, Guadiz delivered the dagger as he rolled right and found David Zeller working across the endzone for a 24-yard touchdown, putting the Aggies up by four scores.
 
Standout Defensive Efforts: Loren Snead and Nate Orta each had eight tackles to lead OPSU, as Snead also forced a fumble.
 
Five Aggies recorded a tackle-for-loss, highlighted by Rodriguez and Barnett III, both of whom were credited with two quarterback hurries as well.
 
Holmes III's interception marked the sixth of his career and first of the season.
 
What's up next: OPSU stays at home next Saturday to face Arkansas Baptist College (2-4, 1-3) at 2 p.m.