**For Immediate Release**
OPSU Falls 13-10 in Final Seconds
- Aggie Sports on 08/26/05
by Scott Puryear
Weatherford, OK – Rusty Voight’s
20-yard field goal with but two seconds remaining gave
Southwestern Oklahoma State a 13-10 victory over Oklahoma
Panhandle State on Thursday night. It was the first college
game of the 2005 season in Oklahoma.
On the 95 degree night with only a slight wind, it was
a tale of two halves with the OPSU Aggies getting the better
of things in the first half, and the Bulldogs getting the
job done in the second.
OPSU freshman quarterback Brandon Warner opened the scoring
with a five yard plunge with six minutes left in the first
quarter and Hal Rogers booted the point after to put the
Aggies ahead 7-0.
With not quite four minutes gone in the second quarter,
Rogers nailed a 35-yard field goal to give OPSU a 10-0
lead.
The Aggies took the ten point lead to the lockers at halftime,
and the first half heroes were definitely the OPSU defenders,
who held the Bulldogs to a mere 15 yards of total offense.
The home crowd of nearly 5,000 cheered loudly for the
Bulldogs as they entered the field of play for the second
half and their offense began to click. With just over three
minutes to play in the third period, a 20-yard Steve Day
to Rusty Wall scoring pass and the ensuing conversion narrowed
the Aggie lead to 10-7.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs
put together a nice drive, capped by Voight’s 21-yard
field goal that tied the score at 10-10.
The heat began to take its toll on
both teams as the game clock moved into the final minutes,
and it was virtually anyone’s contest up until Voight’s
successful twenty yard boot with two ticks remaining.
David Daniels led the OPSU ground attack with 52 yards
in seven carries and hard-running freshman fullback Tanner
Williams, smashed for 25 yards in eight carries.
Warner connected on five of his ten passes for 35 yards
and hard working senior Jeff Cornwell caught three of them
for 14 yards.
On defense, OPSU defensive back LaKendrick Bevil had a
nice night with four solo tackles and eight assists, plus
an interception he returned for 13 yards. Lineman Hershell
Alfred had three tackles (including a quarterback sack)
and seven assists.
The Aggies will head north next week for a Thursday night
game with Minnesota State (in Mankato).
Minnesota State is also 0-1, after falling in overtime
to Northwest Missouri, 24-21.
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