SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (5-3, 5-3 GAC) dominated Northwestern Oklahoma State (0-8, 0-8 GAC) to the tune of 28-7 in Saturday night's homecoming showdown inside Crain Family Stadium to extend its win streak to two games.
OBU fell just short of a shutout as the Rangers mustered a touchdown late. Nonetheless, the Bison handled business.
In front of a capacity crowd, Oklahoma Baptist posted 356 yards of offense, including a season-high 329 yards through the air and four touchdowns. Defensively, OBU held the Rangers to 217 yards while tallying 13.0 tackles-for-loss.
Aidan Thompson threw for a career-high 279 yards and three touchdowns, nearly completing 60 percent of his passes. It marked the third time Thompson has pitched three touchdowns in a game this year. On the ground, Buddy Bizzell punched in his first score of the season while Nick Nabavi scurried to a team-best 22 rushing yards.
Junior wideout Nick Harris led the receiving corps with six catches for 97 yards and a score, while Michael Marshall hauled in four balls for 83 yards. One of Marshall's receptions went for a score of 11 yards, which was the first touchdown of the game. Harris' touchdown of 51 yards was the second-furthest of his career. Charles Whitebear was the final touchdown recipient, hauling in a 10-yard reception to go along with 29 yards.
Scooter Baker was a force to be reckoned with again, recording nine solo tackles en route to 12 total stops. He added a team-high 3.0 TFL, which he has done two other times this season.
The OBU defense sacked the Rangers four times. Defensive linemen Nick Carpin, Brett Karhu, Xavier Lott, and Bryce Starlin earned a stop behind the line of scrimmage apiece. Then Brandon Spencer intercepted his fourth pass of the year to go along with two tackles.
Despite a slow start, the Bison built momentum on the back of an electric second quarter from Thompson, which featured pitch and catches to Marshall and Whitebear. Taking a 14-0 advantage into the break, OBU tacked on another score midway through the third frame.
This time, Thompson connected with Harris before a Bizzell score pushed the margin to 28-0. The Rangers managed seven points late, but it was to no avail, as OBU marched on the victory.
Another Bison performance of note was freshman kicker Luke Watkins. He booted 10 punts for 399 yards, including four inside the 20-yard line with a long of 48 yards.
Next week, Oklahoma Baptist returns home for a clash against Arkansas-Monticello (2-6, 2-6 GAC). OBU has come out on top in two of the last three matchups. Kickoff for senior day on Bison Hill is slated for 2:00 p.m.
