Box Score
BETHANY — Brady Wardlaw will have to wait for one more game to break his own single-season school record as the junior quarterback threw for 194 yards in a 34-31 loss to Oklahoma Panhandle State.
Wardlaw needed 218 yards to break his record of 2,846 yards passing set last year, but much like the night, SNU came up just short. The Crimson Storm (5-4) went back and fourth with the Aggies (4-3) all night as the lead changed five times. It was also two completely different halves as the two combined for 51 points in the first half and just 14 points in the second half and all of those points came in the fourth quarter.
OPSU put up a balanced attack against SNU as the Aggies ran the ball 48 times for 207 yards and threw for 248 yards for a total of 455 yards. The Storm rushed for more than 150 yards for just the third time this season and had 348 total yards.
Wardlaw led the way on the ground as well with 65 yards on 14 carries and a pair of touchdowns. He was also 27-for-43 through the air with one touchdown. He now needs just 24 yards passing to set the school's single-season record.
Derick Perkins picked up 55 yards on 15 carries and had the only score through the air while Philip Anderson led the way in receiving with eight catches for 62 yards.
The Storm struggled to stop Darryl Brister who carried the ball 26 times for 145 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
The Crimson Storm scored on their first drive of the game as Ian Sanders nailed a 31-yard field goal attempt, but the Aggies answered with two straight touchdowns on its next two possessions to take a 12-3 lead.
SNU cut it to 12-10 early in the second after Alex Reed capped a four-play, 44-yard drive with a 10 yard run and then retook the lead on its next possession on a Wardlaw to Perkins touchdown pass. The Storm started on the Aggie 35-yard live after a 14-yard punt return by Reed. Nine plays later Wardlaw found Perkins for a five-yard strike to go up 17-12.
OPSU answered again on the ensuing possession, marching 69 yards on six plays and converted an two-point conversion to lead 20-17. Just a little more than four minutes later, Wardlaw completed an 11-play, 63-yard drive with a six-yard rush to the right pylon to give the Storm a 24-20 lead with 3:51 left in the half.
The Aggies got the last laugh in the half as they needed just three plays on the ensuing drive to take a 27-24 lead at the half. The drive was capped when Kevin Lauchland hit Tyler Northcutt for a 54-yard touchdown pass.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Aggies took their biggest lead of the night at 34-24 in the fourth when Brister capped a 10-play, 64-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown run on a third and four. The Storm cut it back to a three-point game at 34-31 with 3:08 to play when Wardlaw scored on a one-yard run to finish an 11-play, 63-yard drive, but that was it for SNU.
OPSU was able to pick up a couple of first downs in its final possession and was able to run out the clock.
The Crimson Storm now hit the road for the final time as they travel to Bacone, for a 2 p.m. kickoff next Saturday.
