Aggies ‘rev it up’ too late to pull out win

September 30, 2012

Nick Collins (9) with a catch of a pass from quarterback Caleb Holbrook late in the first quarter. Staff photo/John Plestina

GOODWELL—The Aggies finally did “rev it up,” but it was too late in the game to catch the War Hawks Saturday.
Oklahoma Panhandle State University attempted a second half comeback, taking a 28-6 halftime deficit to McMurry University, outscoring the War Hawks 27-14 in the second half but finishing with a 9-point, 42-33 final.
While McMurry outscored OPSU 14-3 in each of the first two quarters, the Aggies outscored the War Hawks 15-7 in the third quarter and 12-7 in the fourth.
The Aggies scored four touchdowns, but two extra point attempts failed. The War Hawks scored six touchdowns with six good kicks.
OPSU stats include 207 yards rushing and 260 yards passing. The Aggies total yards were 467 while the War Hawks gained only 422 total yards.
“We just built ourselves into a big hole to get out of. We’ll learn from it,” said OPSU head coach Russell Gaskamp.
“They’re (McMurry) a good football team. Offensively they’re good. They didn’t score in the red zone,” Gaskamp said.
Several OPSU offensive drives in the first half included gains and numerous first downs, but the Aggies fell short in several scoring opportunities.
OPSU had 39 first downs in the game as opposed to only 25 by McMurry.
The War Hawks struck first with just over four minutes elapsed on the first quarter clock with a 5-yard pass completion from Jake Mullin to Greg Livingston.
The Aggies added three points on a 27-yard field goal by Carlo Nieto.
Then McMurry’s Paxton Grayer scored a 24-yard touchdown on a passing play. A penalty flag on a 2-point conversion attempt pushed the ball back 10 yards and forced a kick, which was good.
Another field goal by Nieto for 25 yards early in the second frame narrowed the McMurry lead to 8 points — 14-6.
The Aggies recovered a fumble from an onside kick of the kickoff following the field goal, but a penalty resulted in a forced re-kick and a War Hawk possession.
Chris Simpson scored on a pass from Mullin and a good kick widened the gap with McMurry leading 21-6.
The War Hawks struck one more time in the first half with a catch of a 15-yard pass in the end zone by Livingston. Another good kick followed.
The second half started with several first downs on the first OPSU possession as the Aggies pushed deep into War Hawk territory. A 10-yard keeper by quarterback Caleb Holbrook finally got the Aggies into the end zone. A 2-point conversion followed and the McMurry lead shrunk to 14 points — 28-14.
The tighter score lasted just over two clock minutes. McMurry scored on a 2-yard run by Grayer. A good point after made the tally 35-14.
A completion of a long pass from Holbrook to Collins put the Aggies deep inside War Hawk territory late in the third quarter. A 15-yard pass from Holbrook to Ricky Backstrom put the Aggies in the end zone once again. A good kick by Nieto followed and the Aggies’ deficit was again reduced to 14 points.
The fourth quarter started with OPSU’s Timothy Hollingshed scoring just over two minutes in on an 8-yard pass from Holbrook. A conversion failed — 35-27.
Then McMurry’s Joshua Chatman scored on an 8-yard pass and the Aggies deficit was again by two scores.
The Aggies scored once more late in the game with a 4-yard run by Chris McClendon. The kick was blocked and the final score was 42-33.
The Aggies play their next three games on the road and the final three regular season contests will be played at home.

McMurry 42, OPSU 33
McMurry 14 14 7 7—42
OPSU 3 3 15 12—33
1st quarter
M: Livingston 5-yd. pass from Mullin (Foust kick); 10:55
O: Nieto 27-yd. field goal; 6:41
M: Grayer 24-yd. pass from Mullin (Foust kick); 4:31
2nd quarter
O: Nieto 25-yd. field goal; 13:44
M: Simpson 16-yd. pass from Mullin (Foust kick); 7:23
M: Livingston 15-yd. pass from Mullin (Foust kick); 1:05
3rd quarter
O: Holbrook 10-yd. run; 10:06
M: Grayer 2-yd. run (Foust kick); 7:57
O: Backstrom 15-yd. pass from Holbrook (Nieto kick) 00:46
4th quarter
O: Hollingshed 8-yd. pass from Holbrook (kick failed) 12:42
M: Chatman 8-yd.pass from Mullin (Foust kick); 8:17
O: McClendon 4-yd. run; 04:41
Team Statistics
McMurry OPSU
Rushing Yards -18 207
Passing Yards 440 260
Total Offense 422 467