OPSU Aggie Update

Dave Beyer

Aggies edged in season finale, 27-21

GOODWELL, Okla. – The Oklahoma Panhandle State University football team lowered the curtain on the 2019 season, suffering a heart-breaking, 27-21, setback at the hands of Lyon College before 1,763 at Anchor D Stadium. The Aggies closed the books on the campaign with an overall record of 3-7 and 3-5 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

The Aggies had control of matters against the SAC’s third place team early on in the bout. On its third possession of the game, needed just five plays to go the 72 yards for the score. Quarterback Tony Brown carried three times on the series, including a 46-yard scamper through the Scots’ secondary for his ninth rushing TD of the year. Luis Rivas’ extra point kick made it 7-0 with 5:12 remaining.

The Aggies held that advantage the duration of the first quarter and well into the second before Lyon was able to knot the contest at 7-7 with a score of its own with 4:40 left until halftime. But Panhandle was not through in the quarter.

After a punt by OPSU in its own half of the field, the Scots muffed the return attempts with Triston Inman recovering at the OPSU 38 to give Panhandle new life. On the very next play, Brown found Chris Daley on a 62-yard catch-and-run to put the Aggies up 14-7, as it stood until the intermission.

Opening the third stanza, Lyon would score 10 unanswered points on Randy Satterfield’s second touchdown catch of the day, as well as a field goal with 5:03 remaining in the third.

But Panhandle answered on its ensuing drive.

Beginning at their own 30, the Aggies drove into Scots territory and, on a third-and-11, Brown zipped a 29-yard aerial toward Seth Barbarino. Barbarino went up between a pair of LC defenders and came down with the ball in the end zone, putting Panhandle up 21-17 after the point after touchdown kick by Rivas.

Lyon College would add another 10 points in the fourth quarter, while keeping the Aggies at bay in the final period.

Brown would finish the day with 159 rushing yards on 22 carries. Brown also completed 4-of-12 passes for 99 yards and two TDs.

On defense, Diamante Pounds led all Aggies with nine tackles, six solo. Teammate D’Quan Charles had eight tackles, as well.

 

Aggies break Mustangs, 87-56, to go 3-0 on the week

GOODWELL, Okla. – Oklahoma Panhandle State University women’s basketball capped a perfect 3-0 week, by defeating the University of the Southwest (N.M.), 87-56, in the finale of the 2019 Aggie Classic at Anchor D Arena. The Aggies (3-1) shot better than 50 percent from the field for the third-consecutive game – all won by OPSU – and also had double-digit three-point baskets made in each contest, as well.

In the Aggie Classic Panhandle State went 2-0, as did the University of Science and Arts-Oklahoma. The Aggies also had a win earlier in the week versus Manhattan Christian.

The two teams battled close in the first quarter, ending the stanza in a 12-12 stalemate. Panhandle created some separation in the second period, taking a 38-26 advantage into the locker room. The Aggies led 60-46 after the third quarter and finished by out-scoring the Mustangs in the fourth, 27-10.

Senior Nadia Hayes came off of the OPSU bench to provide the spark for her team, Hayes booked a season-high 19 points, in rolling up her third-straight double-digit scoring game, as well. Hayes was the model of consistency, missing just one shot – going 7-for-8 – from the floor (as she did in the previous two game) on her way to a game-leading 19 points. She also grabbed five rebounds and made a pair of steals in the big win.

On the week, Hayes was an unstoppable force off the Panhandle bench for Aggie Head Coach Victory Esparza. In the three games last week, Hayes singed the nets by shooting a red-hot .864 from the floor.

“My game plan was just to stay ready,” Hayes said afterwards. “No matter how the game was going, I just made sure I was ready to do my part and play my position well. It was a team effort, overall.”

Redshirt-freshman guard Vanessa Gonzales was close behind with 18 points on a 7-for-14 night shooting. Gonzales made a game-leading four baskets from beyond the arc. She also gave off two assists and made two steals.

Shay Audrain and Cassia McCaskill each added 11 points to the OPSU coffers. Audrain went 4-for-5 overall from the floor and was a perfect 2-for-2 from long distance, all while also pulling down four boards. McCaskill had a game high in rebounds with six.

Spanish import Laura Moya Demures had her second-straight game in double-figure scoring – with 10 points – as the Aggies fifth player in the game with 10 or more points scored. Moya Demures hit 4-of-6 – also going 2-for-2 from three-point range – and passed off for four assists.

Shaylynn Choates chipped in eight points and Kaylee Morgan four, with Morgan making three steals and four assists, as well. Naomi Rodriguez and Lowendie Laporal each tallied two points to round out the Panhandle scoring.

“The University of the Southwest just plays so dang hard,” Esparza reflected post-game. “I think that caught us off-guard a little bit at the beginning of the game. For us, we have to build on what we did (Friday night). Every game is different. The flow is going to be different. We’ve got to just take it as game at a time and not worry about past games or success.

“People can see, especially from this weekend, we can shoot the basketball; we can put it in the hole. So, we can’t turn the ball over, so we have all those shot opportunities. But I’m proud of our girls, a great weekend for us. Now it’s time to turn the page on Monday and get ready for two road conference games next week.”

The Panhandle State squad will get a severe test out of the blocks, as it begins Sooner Athletic Conference action on Thursday (Nov. 21) at NAIA pre-season No. 3-ranked Oklahoma City University. Tipoff in the OKC is slated for 6 p.m. OCU is the defensing SAC champion and was the national runner-up last season.