Aggies Make a Statement in Win

Goodwell, Okla.-On September 20, 2014, the OPSU Aggie football team
dominated the Oklahoma Baptist University Bison for their first victory of
the season. The Aggies took the gridiron at Carl Wooten Field with
intentions of bouncing back from a tough loss last week and ultimately
succeeded. After a scorching, sunny day, the Aggies prevailed 49-21.

The Bison created a rocky start for the Aggies by forcing an early
three-and-out and topped it off with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown
with the swift moves from defensive back Eugene Estes. After an OBU
interception in the middle of the first quarter, the Aggies got on track
with a 68-yard run for a touchdown by Chris McClendon to tie the game 7-7.

The Aggies went on a tear in the second quarter, as Dominique Guest
recovered a botched OBU snap in their own Red Zone. The Aggie offense
capitalized on the turnover as running back Rod Moore punched the ball in
for a 4-yard touchdown. Moore continued to wreak havoc on the Bison defense
by scoring the next touchdown with a 19-yard run. Later in the quarter,
Caleb Holbrook found his top receiver, Zacari Lavender, for a 51-yard
touchdown to make it a 28-7 Aggie lead. The rest of the half was a defensive
battle with OPSU defensive back, Xazier Murray, making a leaping
interception and ended with a blocked field goal by the Bison defense.

The Aggies came out hot in the second half with a 60-yard touchdown pass
from Holbrook to Devyn Williams, making the score 35-7. OBU running back,
Dawson Meyers, would help his team close the lead with a 15-yard scamper up
the middle for a touchdown. With the offense clicking, the Aggies managed to
find the end zone once again with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Holbrook to
Timothy Hollingshed to make the lead 42-14 at the end of the third quarter.

The Bison attempted to make a fourth quarter comeback by getting an
interception and answering with a 10-yard touchdown run by Blake Woodard,
but the Aggies answered right back with one last touchdown pass from
Holbrook to Williams for 30 yards. OPSU defensive back Jarrett Mitchell
snagged a late interception on the final OBU drive to seal a 49-21 final.

Although the Aggies were plagued with penalties, they focused for all four
quarters of the game and succeeded in earning their first "W". Head coach,
Russell Gaskamp, commented with both pride and preparation. "I am very
pleased at the victory today and really impressed with our kids’ ability to
bounce back after a tough loss last week. However, we made way too many
mistakes in the game and played undisciplined football; those types of
mental mistakes cost us last weeks’ game versus a better opponent. We have
to find a way as a staff to get our football team to play smarter and more
disciplined if we want to play well the rest of the season."

The Aggies threw for over 400 yards from the arm of Holbrook- 407; and
Avila- 10. The OPSU backfield rushed for 266 yards with McClendon running
for 169 yards and Moore for 58 yards leading the pack. Both Williams and
Lavender contributed to the bulk of Aggies’ receiving yards with Williams- 5
receptions for 129 yards and Lavender- 5 receptions for 110 yards. Andrew
Dougherty led the Aggie on defense with 8 tackles.

The Aggies will continue their journey next Saturday, Sept. 27 at 12 p.m.
against the Texas College Steers in Tyler, Texas. The Aggie Nation will
welcome their team back for the 2014 Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 4 at
1 p.m. against Sul Ross State.

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Justine Gaskamp