Powered by The Oklahoman MainStreetOK.com Panhandle

The Oklahoman Electronic Edition

By Scott Puryear

Goodwell, Okla. — Though the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, the ThunderWolves of Colorado State-Pueblo came back strong and held on for a 24-13 victory in Pueblo on Saturday night. The game was played in front of an estimated crowd of over 9,200 people.

The Aggies came out fast and got the first touchdown ever in the ThunderWolves’ new stadium on a 40-yard Vinny Gay to Aeron Williams pay dirt strike with less than two minutes gone in the game. Patrick Klein’s extra point gave the Aggies a 7-0 advantage.

The Thunderwolves came right back with 10 points of their own and by the start of the second quarter, the Aggies trailed 10-7.

With not quite two minutes gone in the second quarter, the ThunderWolves’ Markus Turner reeled off a stunning 61-yard punt return and after the PAT, the Aggies trailed 17-7.

Hungry for their first win of the season, the Aggies came back with a Gay to Jonathan Williams 11-yard touchdown pass with 1:45 remaining before halftime. A two-point conversion failed, and a short time later the Aggies went to the halftime break trailing 17-13.

Both squads covered a good deal of ground in the second half, but the ThunderWolves were the only team to score -– Turner again, but this time on a 38-yard pass from Bobby Washington (plus the PAT) with :55 left in the third quarter that upped the CSU-Pueblo lead to 24-13. The Aggies did everything they could to get back into things, but neither team found the end zone in the fourth quarter.

For the game, Gay hit 19 of 48 passes for 269 yards and the two OPSU touchdowns. Darryl Brister led the Aggie receivers with six catches for 110 yards and Aeron Williams grabbed three for fifty yards. Brister also led Aggie runners with 17 yards in ten carries.

OPSU linebackers Matt Warner and J.C. Ramirez were in on nine and five tackles, respectively, and lineman Will Turnbo and Gus Overstreet were each in on four stops. Overstreet had a pair of quarterback sacks.

Next week, the Aggies (now 0-2 on the season) will be on the road again, this time against traditional rival Langston University. The Lions are currently 1-1 and coming off a big 47-17 victory over Lincoln University.