Box Score

Season Stats

Postgame Interview

CANYON, Texas  –  Double-digit scoring in the second and fourth quarters were too much as No. 14 Texas A&M-Commerce defeated West Texas A&M 38-20 Saturday evening.  With the loss, the Buffs fell to 2-4 on the year and 1-3 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUC improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in league play.
 
"I thought there were some stretches in there defensively we did some really good things," WT head coach Mike Nesbitt said.  "A couple of big plays given up or something crazy like that happens and we are doing just enough to get beat and not enough to win.  Our defense is playing really well in stretches, but playing with a short field and the defense is trying to hold them out.  We didn't convert enough on offense to stay in the game and hold serve."
 
WT finished the game with 314 yards of offense on 266 passing yards and 48 rushing yards.  Junior transfer Devon Paye led the team in rushing with 46 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Ethan Brinkley was 26 of 41 for 266 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.  Senior Xavier Amey led the team with 93 receiving yards on six catches.  Defensively junior Alex Olson had 14 tackles as did sophomore Carter James as James led the team with 2.5 tackles for loss for seven yards.
 
TAMUC had a balanced game offensively with 268 yards passing and 223 rushing for a 491 total.  The Lions were led by Theo Wofford on the ground as he tallied 125 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, while Richard Cooper had 116 yards rushing on 15 carries.  Harrison Stewart went 14 of 22 for 253 yards with one touchdown behind center.  Three different quarterbacks each threw touchdown passes for the Lions.
 
After trading punts, the Buffs had a nice drive of 10 plays for 54 yards to the TAMUC 26.  On a 4^th and one junior Eddy Williams went up the middle for the necessary yardage and a first down.  A nice pass from Brinkley to Amey and good rushes from Paye as he scored from one yard out for a 7-0 WT lead with 1:49 left in the first quarter.  The drive was 16 plays for 80 yards and used 7:14 on the clock for the longest drive of the season.
 
The Lions came right back and used some nice runs to the WT one yard line.  TAMUC quarterback Gabriel Rodriguez appeared to have fumbled the ball with the Buffs recovering, but the referee said Rodriguez passed the ball and it was an incomplete pass keeping the drive alive.  Buck Wilson, out of the wildcat, scored tying the game at seven early in the second quarter on a nine play, 75 yard drive using 3:24 off the clock. 
 
On the first pass from scrimmage for the Buffs, Brinkley's pass was intercepted by Demarlon Morris at the WT 23.  Texas A&M-Commerce had two negative plays setting up a 3^rd and 15 from the WT 27.  A run by Wofford got the Lions to the 20 forcing a fourth down.  Kristov Martinez missed the 37-yard field goal wide right as the turnover didn't hurt the Buffs.
 
The Buffs had to punt, but Shawn Hooks fumbled the ball setting the Buffs up at the TAMUC 23.  WT reached the seven, but settled for a 23-yard field goal from junior Conner Hollabaugh for a 10-7 Buff lead with 7:37 left in the first half.
 
It didn't take long for Commerce to answer as Cooper had an 18-yard run and Darby Smith caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Stewart on the next play giving the Lions their first lead of the game at 14-10 with 7:03 remaining in the half.
 
TAMUC came with the heat and got two sacks on a Buffs' drive late in the half forcing WT to punt out of its own end zone with 1:53 left in the half.  Junior Felipe Parra's punt was blocked by Davarus Shores as TAMUC began the drive at the WT seven.  Cooper threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Chris Chumlay for a 21-10 lead with 1:37 left in the half.
 
For the half, the Buffs had 128 yards of offense on 32 yards rushing and 96 passing as Paye led the way with eight carries for 29 yards and a score.  Brinkley was 12 of 19 for 96 yards with one interception. TAMUC had 212 yards of offense on 130 yards passing and 82 rushing.  Cooper led the way with nine carries for 76 yards. 
 
Following a Buffs' punt to begin the second half, WT stopped the Lions on 4^th and 2 from the WT 37 on the Lions' first possession of the half.  On a 4^th and 2 for the Buffs at the TAMUC 36, Brinkley connected with Amey for a 12-yard gain for a 1^st and 10 at the TAMUC 21.  Hollabaugh nailed his second field goal of the game, this time from 39 yards for a 21-13 deficit with 8:18 left in the third.
 
Martinez kicked a 41 yard field goal on the next TAMUC possession for a 24-13 lead with 4:31 left in the third quarter.  Brinkley put up a 31 yard pass to Amey putting the Buffs at the 31 of TAMUC on WT's next possession.  Brinkley has his pass intercepted by Kevin Mederias at the TAMUC 20 nullifying a potential scoring opportunity.  Penalties and a nice stop defensively by the Buffs ended the drive as the Lions had to punt.
 
A fumble by Buffs after a catch by Amey into Lion territory marked the third miscue by WT of the game giving the ball back to the Lions as Trey Porter forced and recovered the miscue.  On a 3^rd and 6 for the Lions at the WT nine, a pass interference penalty gave TAMUC a first and goal from the two.  After a run for no gain, Rodriguez found Ovie Urevbu in the end zone for a 31-13 lead with 10:44 left.
 
Wofford scored from 34 yards out for a 38-13 lead with 7:23 left as he and Cooper both had big runs on the drive.
 
Brinkley and the Buffs marched down the field for seven play, 67 yard drive as senior Jarrian Rhone caught a five yard touchdown pass from Brinkley for a 38-20 score.
 
The Buffs will look to end a three-game skid next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Texas A&M-Kingsville.