Game Notes in PDF Format

CANYON, Texas  –  The West Texas A&M football team returns home to host Texas A&M-Kingsville for the final game of the season in the Lone Star Conference Football Playoff at 1 p.m. in Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.  The Buffs are 5-4 on the year and TAMUK is 2-8.   
 
THE LSC PLAYOFF - The Buffs, Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State all tied for third in the LSC regular season.  A week ago Sunday, the conference office conducted a video conference call over Skype with ASU, ENMU and WT to decide who would be the Nos. 3-5 seed to break the tie.  In a simple coin flip in alphabetical order, conducted by LSC Commissioner Jay Poerner, Angelo State drew a heads, Easter New Mexico drew a tails and WT drew a heads.  ENMU, by virtue of being tails with ASU and WT heads, earned the No. 3-seed, while ASU was awarded the No. 4-seed by its head-to-head win over WT.  LSC regular season champion Texas A&M-Commerce downed No. 4-seed Angelo State 36-35 on the first weekend, while No. 2-seed Midwestern State held off No. 3-seed Eastern New Mexico 26-21.  No. 5-seed WT won 28-21 at Oklahoma Panhandle State and No. 7-seed Texas A&M-Kingsville won at No. 6-seed Tarleton State 43-25.  The Buffs will host Texas A&M-Kingsville and Tarleton State will host Oklahoma Panhandle State, while Texas A&M-Commerce and Midwestern will battle for the LSC playoff championship and Eastern New Mexico/Angelo State will play for third.
                        
IN THE LSC PLAYOFF - This is the second year of the LSC playoff as Angelo State won the inaugural playoff last season.  The Buffs are 2-1 in it with the 28-21 win at OPSU Saturday.  In 2014, the Buffs won 58-13 over McMurry in Canyon the first week and then had a valiant comeback which came up short in a 55-45 at Eastern New Mexico the following week.  The Buffs scored the opposition 103-68 in the two games last season and amassed 1,002 yards in the two games of total offense.  Senior Geremy Alridge-Mitchell had an outstanding tournament with 50 carries for 343 yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He had a career-high five rushing touchdowns at Eastern New Mexico in the final game of the season.
 
500 VICTORIES - With the 28-21 win on Saturday at Oklahoma Panhandle State, the Buffs won their 500th game in program history dating back to 1910.  The Buffs are 500-495-22 all-time and become the 22nd team in NCAA Division II to eclipse the 500 win mark.  The Buffs have had ten consecutive winning seasons heading into 2015 and are looking to make it 11-straight with a win Saturday.  The 10-straight winning seasons is the longest in program history.
 
JACK FM - This season marks the second year with radio partner in Townsquare Media and 98.7 KPRF "Jack FM."  With the partnership, the Buffs have the opportunity to put more sports on the air along with football and basketball.  Select volleyball, baseball and softball games also will be broadcast in 2015-16.  Neil Horn and Brice Sheets are still calling the action of every home-and-away football game for the Buffs this season. 
 
COACHES' SHOW RETURNING TO BUFFALO WILD WINGS - The 2015 WT Football Coaches' Show with head coach Mike Nesbitt and Brice Sheets returns to Buffalo Wild Wings on Coulter in Amarillo this year.  The show will be Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. throughout the season with live giveaways, prizes and more!  The show will be broadcast on 98.7 KPRF Jack FM each week.
 
HOW TO CATCH THE GAME -  Links to live stats, ticket information and streaming are on the football schedule page at www.gobuffsgo.com.  
 
A WIN OVER TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE WOULD. . .

• Give WT a 6-4 record to finish the season
• Give WT its 11th-straight winning season (2005)
• Be the 501st win in program history (500-495-22)
• Pull the Buffs within 16-14-1 all-time in the series
• Be the fourth-straight win for the Buffs marking the longest winning streak of the season
• Give WT a 3-1 record all-time in the LSC Playoff
• Give WT a 3-3 record this season at home

 
RECAPPING THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE GAME - The Buffs ran into a very fired up OPSU team last week.  WT was held scoreless in the first quarter for just the second time all season, but found pay dirt with a 12-yard touchdown run by senior Geremy Alridge-Mitchell with seven minutes left in the first half.  WT held the 7-0 lead at halftime and then went up 14-0 on a pass from sophomore quarterback Ethan Brinkley to senior Xavier Amey for 18 yards.  OPSU cut the deficit to 14-7 with a long run from Chris McClendon for a 31-yard score, but Brinkley found junior Devon Paye for 22 yards and a score for a 21-7 lead at the end of three. OPSU answered once again with a touchdown and a pick six tied the game at 21 with 8:23 left.  A methodical drive down field by the Buffs followed as Paye scored from 19 yards out on the ground for a 28-21 lead with 4:34 left.  The WT "D" stood stall for the win.  It was the 500th win in program history for the Buffs and the defense held OPSU to under 400 yards of offense for the third time this season.  Paye led the way with 85 yards rushing and a score to go along with three catches for 34 yards and a score.  Alridge-Mitchell had 80 yards on the ground and one score.
 
THINGS TO WATCH ON SATURDAY - There are a lot of interesting story lines in Saturday's game.  Here are a few things to watch.

• Saturday's game features another strong running show with the tandem of Alridge-Mitchell and Paye for the Buffs and Greg Pitre and Shawn Vasquez for TAMUK. 
• It is the top two pass defenses in the LSC as TAMUK is allowing just 182.5 yards per game through the air and the Buffs are at 206.0. 
• Conversely, it is the fourth and fifth best passing offenses in the league as TAMUK is fourth at 238.9 and the Buffs are fifth as 230.7. 
• TAMUK is second in the LSC in total defense allowing just 388.8 yards per game.  WT tied for the second-fewest years (378) at Texas A&M-Kingsville earlier this season in a driving rain storm (Oct. 24) in Kingsville.
• The game features three of the top five in interceptions in the league as WT junior Devonate Merriweather, sophomore Hunter Streuling and TAMUK's Devonte Williams each have three picks.

 
THE COACHES - West Texas A&M head coach Mike Nesbitt begins his third season at the helm of the program as he took over Aug. 21, 2013.  Nesbitt was the interim head coach all of 2013 and was elevated to head coach in December following that season.  He is 21-12 in his career as a head coach.  Texas A&M-Kingsville head coach Daren Wilkinson is in his first season at the helm of the Javelinas.  Wilkinson comes to Kingsville from Colorado State-Pueblo where he helped lead the Thunderwolves to a national championship last season as the offensive coordinator.  Wilkinson also has had stints at South Dakota State, Fayetteville (N.C.), Eastern Arizona and served as a graduate assistant at Colorado State.
 
ABOUT TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE - The Javelinas have played much better in their recent games and snapped a seven-game skid with a 43-25 victory at Tarleton State last week.  The Javelinas were led by Greg Pitre who rushed for 186 yards on 28 carries for career-highs.  Vasquez has 14 carries for 53 yards and a score.  The Hogs scored five straight times to open the second half outscoring the Texans 26-8 for the win.  This season, the Javelinas are led by Pitre who has 518 yards on the ground on 104 carries, while Vasquez has 498 yards on the ground on 107 carries and four scores.  Myles Carr and Stevie Joe Dorman each have seen action behind center as Carr leads the team with 2021 yards passing on 143 of 258 with 11 interceptions and 17 touchdowns.  Dorman is 27 of 57 with three picks, five touchdowns and 368 yards passing.  Tandem of Jordan Thomas and Anthony Autry at wide receiver has been good this season.  Thomas leads the team with 39 receptions for 684 yards and five scores, while Autry has 36 receptions for 686 yards and seven scores.   Defensively, DeMarcus Spurlock leads the team with 68 tackles, while Brandon Jones leads the team with 10.5 tackles for loss for 38 yards and four sacks for 29 yards. 
 
THE SERIES - Texas A&M-Kingsville leads the all-time series 16-13-1.  WT has won the last five games in the series and nine of the past 11.  WT won 24-14 in Kingsville on Oct. 24.  The Buffs are 6-7 all-time in Kingsville and 4-8 at home since 1946, and are 2-0 in neutral site matchups winning two games at the Lone Star Football Festival in 2011 and 2012.
 
ON THIS DAY - WT is 2-5 all-time on Nov. 14 dating back to 1946.  WT last played on Nov. 14 in 1998 with a 36-29, double overtime loss at Abilene Christian.  The Buffs are 1-1 in Canyon on this date with the last time playing at home in 1987 in a 50-3 win over Eastern New Mexico.
 
PAYE DAY - WT junior running back Devon Paye had a career day at Oklahoma Panhandle State last week as he led the team with 85 yards rushing on 11 carries and one score, while catching three balls for 34 yards and a score.  The 85 yards rushing was a career-high as was the three receptions.  It was the first game of his career with one rushing and one receiving score.
 
A FOR AMEY - Senior wide receiver Xavier Amey had a career-high seven catches for 242 yards and two touchdowns earning Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors Oct. 31 against Eastern New Mexico.  He had a career-long 89-yard touchdown reception marking the longest reception for the Buffs since Stephen Burton had a 99-yarder against Tarleton State in 2010.  It marked Amey's first two touchdown receiving game, most catches in a game and his second career game of over 100 yards receiving.
 
CHAZZ FLYING AROUND - Freshman Chazz Slatinsky earned his first collegiate start against Eastern New Mexico (Oct. 31) and didn't disappoint earning LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors.  Slatinsky is just the second true freshman to earn LSC POW honors this season.  He led the team with 13 total tackles in the Buffs' thrilling 52-42 win regaining the Wagon Wheel for the first time in three years.  Slatinsky had a team-high three tackles for loss for nine yards and recovered a fumble as he and the WT "D" forced four ENMU miscues in the contest.  Slatinsky had five solo stops and eight assisted tackles in the game.  His three tackles for loss led the team as the Buffs recorded 10 TFLs for the third time this season.
 
GEREMY OVER 1,000 - Senior Geremy Alridge-Mitchell eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second-straight season with 80 yards on Oct. 31 against Eastern New Mexico.  Alridge-Mitchell has 1,083 yards rushing yards and needs 45 yards to tie Billy Pritchett (1971) for 10th all-time single-season rushing yards (1,128).  Alridge-Mitchell had the fifth-best single season rushing season in 2014 with 1,342 yards. 
 
CAREER GEREMY - Geremy Alridge-Mitchell has played in 49 games with 21 starts.  He has carried the ball 612 times for 3,168 yards with 44 rushing touchdowns.  He ranks fifth all-time in school history in rushing yards and needs 220 yards to tie Eugene "Mercury" Morris (1966-68) for fourth all-time with 3,388 yards.  Alridge-Mitchell has 71 receptions for 496 yards and three receiving touchdowns.  He has 4,584 all-purpose yards as he became a threat to return kicks the last two seasons.  Alridge-Mitchell has 290 career points ranking him fourth in school history.  He needs four points to move into third surpassing Keithon Flemming (2007-2009) with 294 points.  For his career, Alridge-Mitchell has scored 48 total touchdowns ranking third-best in school history behind DeWayne Miles (55) and Flemming (49).
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING - The Buffs are fifth nationally in 4th down conversions at a 71.4 clip, while ranking third in fourth down conversion defense holding teams to 22.2 percent on 4 of 18. The Buffs are 12th in completion percentage at 64.7 percent, 12th in fumbles recovered (13), third in net punting (38.70), 16th in punt return defense (4.05), 12th in turnover margin (1.22), 21st in turnover gained (26) and 42nd in turnovers lost (15).