No. 10 Langston Defeats OPSU 33-9, Clinches SAC Crown

LANGSTON, Oklahoma – Senior quarterback Jaylen Lowe passed for two touchdowns and ran for three as the No. 10 Langston Lions defeated the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies 33-9 Saturday afternoon to clinch the inaugural Sooner Athletic Conference Championship.

Lowe racked up 361 yards through the air and picked up an additional 131 yards on the ground as the Lions (9-1, 8-0 SAC) won their 21st straight conference game dating back to the 2016 season. Langston clinched the automatic bid to the NAIA Football Championship Series first round and will find out their opponent when the NAIA national office announces the tournament bracket tomorrow at 4 p.m.

"We're very excited about the back to back conference championships and now we turn out attention to the playoffs," head coach Quinton Morgan said about the team's second straight conference championship and bid to the NAIA FCS First Round. "We've been in this situation before, our goal is to stay focused, represent the SAC and to get to the national championship."

Cameron Booty led the air attack with seven receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown, Isaiah Shaputis hauled in four catches for 66 yards and Daylon Person finished with three receptions for 89 yards and one touchdown. Tim Whitfield finished second on the team in rushing with 33 yards on eight carries.

Defensively, Justin Wade anchored Langston with seven total tackles with two tackles for loss. James Cox finished with six tackles and Charles Harvin III finished with four total tackles.

"To start off in August, this was one of our main goals, it feels good to accomplish it," senior quarterback Jaylen Lowe said. "We're excited, last year's playoffs were embarrassing, and our goal is to get deep into the playoffs and make a national championship run. We're not done yet."

Langston led 13-3 at halftime but began to pull away in third quarter after Lowe scored on a 23-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 20-3. Following a fumble recovery for a touchdown by OPSU's Diamante Pounds, Lowe tacked on another touchdown run to close out the third quarter and put Langston in front 26-9.

The final score came at the 4:48 mark in the fourth quarter when Lowe scampered his way into the endzone from 31 yards out.

Langston (9-1, 8-0 SAC) improves to 30-5 overall under head coach Quinton Morgan and clinched their second straight conference championship and playoff appearance under his tutelage.



LANGSTON UNIVERSITY LIONS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS