GOODWELL, Okla. – The No. 6 Texas A&M University-Commerce football team raced out to a big lead and picked up its fifth straight win to start the season with a 35-13 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lions are now 5-0 overall and 3-0 in Lone Star Conference play, while OPSU is now 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the league.
 
A&M-Commerce will now prepare for a matchup of nationally-ranked unbeatens on October 8, hosting Midwestern State in the Division II National Game of the Week, which will be nationally televised on ESPN3.
 
Tickets for the huge Lone Star Conference matchup are available online at www.WeAreLionsTix.com, by contacting the box office at (903) 468-8756, or by visiting the athletics department offices in the Field House on the A&M-Commerce campus.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions outgained the Aggies by 300 yards, picking up 562 yards compared to the hosts' 262. A&M-Commerce averaged 7.4 yards per play.
- Quarterback Luis Perez completed 34-of-48 passes for 397 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
- Lance Evans had seven catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
- Ovie Urevbu picked up 64 yards on four carries and had a 28-yard touchdown reception.
- D'Arthur Cowan had seven catches for 65 yards and a score.
- Cameron Rogers led the Lions with seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
- The Lions notched 16 tackles for loss in the game
- A&M-Commerce has now won five straight games to open the season for the first time since 1980. That team won the first six games of the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions raced out to a big lead in the game, scoring five first half touchdowns. Only six plays into the game, Perez found Evans over the top for a 53-yard touchdown pass.
 
OPSU drove downfield on its opening possession, but Trey Porter picked off a pass in the endzone to get the ball back to the Lions. The Lions took nine plays to go 80 yards downfield and put the score at 14-0 on a 5-yard touchdown carry by Richard Cooper.
 
After an Aggie punt, the Lions marched 85 yards downfield in 11 plays, pushing the advantage to 21-0 on a 6-yard touchdown completion from Perez to Cowan.
 
Panhandle State elected to go for it on a fourth down and A&M-Commerce's Kieston Carter sacked the quarterback to return the ball to the Lions. Perez went to Evans from 20 yards out for a touchdown to cap a six-play, 55-yard drive and make it a 28-0 lead for the Lions.
 
The Lions' next drive ground to a halt at the OPSU 28, and holder Jared Cate ran a fake field goal, completing the touchdown pass to Urevbu and making it a 35-0 lead that would go into halftime.
 
At halftime, A&M-Commerce had racked up 386 yards of offense, with Perez completing 23-of-32 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Panhandle State responded with its first score of the day on the opening drive of the second half thanks to a good kickoff return. A 52-yard drive took 10 plays and ended in a Aggie score to make it 35-7.
 
The Lions were held off of the scoreboard in the second half in part because of a fumble and three interceptions. A 39-yard touchdown pass for the Aggies with 4:25 left in the contest wrapped up the scoring.