GOODWELL, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State football team (3-4, 2-3 SAC) continued its dominance on the ground with 349 rushing yards in a 35-14 win over Arkansas Baptist (3-5, 1-4) Saturday afternoon at Anchor D Stadium.
 
The rushing output tied the most in a single game for the program since Sept. 26, 2015, when it racked up 352 yards in a 69-20 victory at Bacone College.
 
For the second straight week, Rylan Johnson and Jacob Chavez turned in career-best rushing totals with 138 and 116 yards, respectively. Johnson ran in a 23-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and Chance Guadiz finished with a pair of one-yard touchdown dives. Christopher Magee was productive late with 28 yards and a score on six carries.
 
Whether via penalties, takeaways or de-facto takeaways with turnovers on downs, OPSU overcame mistakes and ended up on the positive side of several game-altering plays. The victory moves the Aggies to 4-0 all-time versus Arkansas Baptist, having outscored it 170-57 in 16 quarters.
 
How it happened: Panhandle State again turned to the ground game early and often in windy conditions facing the SAC's last-ranked rushing defense in the Buffaloes. Despite its abilities to move the ball, however, the home team could not convert on fourth down twice in the first quarter.
 
The second turnover on downs resulted in ABC taking over on its own one-yard line, where it was stuffed for no gain and had a failed punt-turned-rushing attempt snuffed out.
 
Guadiz and the offensive line took advantage with a quarterback sneak to put the Aggies ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter following Carlos Vazquez' extra point.
 
More dominant defense and a good break on special teams positioned OPSU in plus-territory for its next drive, but a missed field goal and, conversely, a long pass from the Buffaloes combined with a two-point conversion briefly put the visitors on top, 8-7.
 
OPSU closed the half in style, though, with Johnson and Chavez breaking tackles before Johnson broke all the way through for a touchdown with five minutes remaining until the intermission.
 
A quick ABC punt gave Panhandle State the ball back with time to work, and Johnson turned on the jets for a 31-yard gain, which was shortly followed by a nice 18-yard grab in the corner of the endzone by William Rodriguez III that made it 21-8, Aggies, at halftime.
 
A slow Buffaloes death: Charles Holmes III opened the third quarter with an interception and, one defensive possession later, a partially blocked punt that put OPSU in total control of the game.
 
OPSU's offense embarked on a pair of long drives spanning a combined 25 plays for 114 yards while bleeding over nine minutes of game clock. Though the first drive ended in a turnover, the Aggies went ahead 28-8 late in the third on Guadiz' second one-yard touchdown of the day.
 
Arkansas Baptist gave itself a glimmer of hope with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but one more marathon, 12-play drive for Panhandle State was in the works, ending in a five-yard touchdown rush by Magee.
 
Standout Defensive Efforts: Holmes III picked off his second pass of the game with seven seconds left on the clock, which was his third interception in two weeks. He also starred with 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
Christian Garcia II and Jake Morones led OPSU with nine tackles apiece, and Hector Rodriguez came away with a sack and forced fumble. Ronnie Gonzalez also notched a sack.
 
What's up next: OPSU has a bye week ahead of its final home game of the season on Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. versus No. 19 Texas Wesleyan (4-3, 4-0 SAC).