WEATHERFORD -- Southwestern Oklahoma State (2-2) used a punishing ground game and a pair of timely defensive plays to earn a 38-24 win over Oklahoma Baptist (1-3) on Saturday at Flex-Chem Field.
The Bulldogs piled up 388 rushing yards, its second-highest total in a D2 game dating back to 2001. Quarterback MJ Rivers had 117 yards and a score, while running back Ethane Hyche added 90 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. Southwestern's defense also set the tone early, with Zack Roberts returning an interception 24 yards for a touchdown just moments after Rivers' 3-yard scoring run gave SWOSU the lead.
Oklahoma Baptist responded late in the first when
TJ McMahon connected with
Nick Harris for an 80-yard touchdown strike. Harris later added a 3-yard rushing score to tie the game at 14-14, but Rivers answered before halftime with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Norris, giving the hosts a 21-14 edge at the break.
SWOSU controlled the third stanza, extending the margin with Rivers' 18-yard touchdown pass to Bodie Boydstun and a 26-yard field goal from Ethan McBee.
Carter Lowry's 36-yard field goal trimmed the deficit to 31-17 in the fourth, but Hyche's 9-yard run with 3:32 remaining sealed the Bulldogs' second straight win.
OBU added a late touchdown when
Deuce Wise hit
Haydn Thornton from one yard out with 22 seconds left, but it was too little, too late. McMahon finished with 194 yards passing and one touchdown for the Bison, while Harris totaled 102 receiving yards.
The Bulldogs' defense tallied four sacks and two interceptions, holding OBU to just 65 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Roberts paced the unit with 10 tackles and his pick-six.
For the Bison,
Jojo Wash led with 12 tackles while
Aditya Singh,
Austin Vincent,
Noah Loyd and
Maddux Boyd each added eight.
Next week, OBU hits the road again to face Ouachita on Oct. 4 at high noon.
