Davontae Merriweather LSC

Football

Buffs Host #6 Angelo State for Homecoming Saturday

Game Notes in PDF Format

Purchase Homecoming Tickets with Groovy $2 Discount

CANYON, Texas  – The West Texas A&M football team returns home after its thrilling 52-38 victory in the Lone Star Football Festival for Homecoming 2015 versus No. 6 Angelo State Saturday evening at 5 p.m. at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.  The Buffs are 2-1 on the year and 1-0 in LSC play, while Angelo State is 3-0 and will be playing its first conference game of the season.  
 
THE SERIES - Angelo State leads the all-time series 14-13, but the Buffs have won nine-straight in the series, including a 58-41, come-from-behind victory last season in San Angelo as the Buffs were down 35-21 at halftime and outscored ASU 37-6 in the second half.  The teams are tied 7-7 in games in Canyon, while ASU leads 7-6 in games in San Angelo.  ASU last won in the series and in Canyon on Oct. 22, 2005, in a 58-53 game.  WT has scored 30 or more points in each of the last three meetings and won 34-30 in Canyon on Oct. 19, 2013, as ASU had a chance for the win in the final seconds.  The winning streak over Angelo State is the longest current streak for the Buffs against a current conference member. 
 
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 ANGELO STATE WOULD. . .
  • Give WT a 3-1 record on the year and a 2-0 mark in the Lone Star Conference
  • Even the all-time series with ASU at 14-14
  • Would be the 10th-straight win against the Rams
  • Be the 498th win in program history (497-492-22)
  • Would give WT a 45-26-2 record on Homecoming and be the 11th-straight Homecoming win
  • Be the second win over a ranked team for the Buffs this season (1-1)
  • Give WT a 30-24 record against ranked teams since 2005
 
ON THIS DAY - WT is 2-4-1 all-time on Sept. 26 since 1946.  The Buffs have played all but two games on this date in Canyon, going 2-2-1.  WT has dropped its past two games on Sept. 26, in 1987 and 1992 both on the road.
 
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 19-9 in his career as a head coach.  Angelo State head coach Will Wagner is in his fifth season at the helm of the Rams.  He is 27-21 during his time in San Angelo as he led the Rams to a LSC Tournament Championship last season and went 1-1 in the NCAA playoffs in 2014.  He came to ASU from Northwest Missouri State where he helped lead NWMSU to 10 conference titles, seven national championship games and three national titles. During his time at NWMSU the team was 108-8.
 
COACH TO CURE MD - This week the West Texas A&M football coaches will be wearing patches on their shirts for the game for Coach To Cure MD, which is the national game day charity project of the American Football Coaches Association.  Now celebrating its eighth year, Coach To cure MD seeks to raise awareness and money to fund research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), the most prolific lethal genetic disorder of childhood.  Go online to CoachToCureMD.org to give or text the word "CURE" to 90999 to donate $5 on your next mobile phone bill.
 
RECAPPING LAST WEEK - WT improved to 5-0 at the Lone Star Football Festival at AT&T Stadium with a thrilling 52-38 victory over rival Tarleton State last Saturday.  In the game, WT senior Geremy Alridge-Mitchell rushed for a career-high 236 yards on 31 carries with three touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Ethan Brinkley made his first career start going 15 of 22 for 256 yards and threw a career-high three touchdowns.  Senior wide receiver Word Hudson had five catches for 129 yards and one touchdown, while the defense was made a season-high 106 tackles with 42 solo stops, along with four sacks and seven tackles for loss.  The Buffs had one fumble return and picked off TSU twice, while junior Davontae Merriweather took one INT to the house for 43 yards and a score.  TSU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, but the Buffs outscored the Texans 28-3 the rest of the first half and, when momentum began to shift back to Tarleton State late in the third quarter, the Buffs responded with two touchdowns in the final stanza for the 52-38 win.  The win snapped a two-game skid against Tarleton State and gave WT a 14-11 record all-time against the Texans.  The win gave WT its fifth conference opening win in the past six seasons.
 
ON HOMECOMING - The Buffs are 44-26-2 all-time on Homecoming since 1931.  WT has won 10-straight on Homecoming and won last year 58-21 against McMurry.  During the 10-game winning streak, the Buffs have outscored the opposition 452-191 for an average of 45.2 to 19.1 since 2005.  In addition, the Buffs have allowed just 28 points in the last four Homecoming Games with shutouts in 2012 and 2013.  Also, during that span, the defense has only allowed scores in three quarters of the 16 total quarters and no scores in the third quarter at all.  This isn't the first time WT has played Angelo State on Homecoming, the Buffs downed the Rams 19-7 on Oct. 8, 2011, and the Buffs and Rams are 2-2 against each other on WT's Homecoming.  ASU won in 2002 and 1996, while WT won in 2011 and 1998.  Only McMurry (2014) and Angelo State (2011) have scored on Homecoming since 2011 as the Buffs blanked both Abilene Christian (34-0) and Central State (72-0) in 2012 and 2013, respectively.  Angelo State scored a late touchdown in the fourth quarter in 2011, while McMurry scored all 21 of its points in the first half last season.
 
HOLLABAUGH AND ALRIDGE-MITCHELL TABBED WEEKLY LSC BEST - Senior Geremy Alridge-Mitchell and junior kicker Conner Hollabaugh were named LSC Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively, this week.  It was the second-straight honor for Alridge-Mitchell and the first of the season for Hollabaugh. 
 
CAREER WATCH WITH GEREMY - Senior Geremy Alridge-Mitchell moved into fifth all-time in career rushing yards with 2,543 as he surpassed Bill Cross (2,474), Keithon Flemming (2,433) and Duane Thomas (2,376) this past weekend with a career-high 236 yards rushing on 31 carries.  Alridge-Mitchell also moved into fifth all-time in scoring as he has 260 career points. 
 
FIRST IN THE NATION - Geremy Alridge-Mitchell leads the nation in scoring at 18.0 points per game and leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with eight.  He ranks sixth nationally in all-purpose yards at 206.67 and is sixth in rushing yards with 458, while ranking seventh in rushing yards per game at 152.7. 
 
STREULING AND MERRIWEATHER - Sophomore Hunter Streuling and junior Davontae Merriweather each had an outstanding game Saturday as Merriweather tallied his team-leading third interception of the season and went 43 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter giving WT a 21-17 lead.  Merriweather also leads the team with four pass breakups on the year and tallied three Saturday.  He has 23 tackles on the year for the Buffs which is third on the team.  Streuling tallied a career-high 17 tackles on Saturday with a fumble return for 29 yards.  He is second on the team in interceptions with two as he had two acrobatic INTs against then-No. 2 Colorado State-Pueblo the week before earning LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors.  Streuling is second on the team in tackles with 35 and leads the team with 16 solo stops.  He ranks 11th nationally in solo tackles at 7.0 per game, while Merriweather is second nationally in interceptions at 1.0 per game and sixth in passes defended at 2.3 per contest.
 
STRONG FOOTED PARRA - Junior punter Felipe Parra has gotten off to a great start this season as he has 20 punts for 804 yards for a 40.2 average.  He has hit a long of 57 and has two touchbacks, three fair catches, five punts inside the 20 and two over 50 yards.  As a team, the Buffs are 40th nationally in net punting at 36.00 per punt which is third in the LSC.  Parra is 41st in the nation with a 40.2 average.
 
BRINKLEY'S FIRST CAREER START - Sophomore quarterback Ethan Brinkley made his first career start on Saturday for the Buffs, going 15 of 22 for 256 yards and throwing three touchdown passes in WT's thrilling 52-38 victory over Tarleton State.  Another former Buff made his first career start at the LSC Football Festival in 2011 as Dustin Vaughan started that game as a sophomore, too, in the Buffs' 42-21 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.  Vaughan, who went onto have a record-breaking career for the Buffs, passed for 384 yards, no interceptions and three touchdowns in his first start on 24 of 41. 
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING - The Buffs rank 47th nationally in rushing offense at 201.7 and are 45th in scoring offense at 35.7 points per game.  WT is 31st in passing efficiency defense at 101.03, while ranking 40th in net punting (36.00).  WT, defensively, ranks 27th in tackles for loss at 8.3 per game which leads the league and are 40th in sacks allowed at 1.33.  Angelo State, has not allowed a sack in its first three games this season.    
 
GETTIN' THE TURNOVER - WT is fourth nationally in turnover margin at 2.33 which leads the LSC.  The Buffs have forced 11 turnovers on eight interceptions and three fumble recoveries, while turning it over just four times.  The eight interceptions lead the nation.  WT has outscored the opposition 35-17 on points off turnovers in its three games thus far.
 
BUFFS FIFTH IN PRESEASON LSC POLL - The Buffs were picked fifth in the 2015 preseason LSC poll which was released at Media Day on July 28.  Angelo State was picked first, followed by Texas A&M-Commerce, Midwestern State, Tarleton State, the Buffs, Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Kingsville. 
 
ABOUT ANGELO STATE - The Rams enter the game with a 3-0 record and have outscored its opposition 156-51.  ASU is led by LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in senior quarterback Kyle Washington.  Washington has been successful both through the air and on his feet, going 73 of 117 for 932 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions.  He also has rushed for 150 yards and scored five of the team's 10 rushing touchdowns on the year.  Both Trey Green and Ryan Byrd have seen success at running back this season combining for three touchdowns and 344 yards on 43 carries.  Donovan Thompson leads the team in receiving with 307 yards and three scores on 31 receptions.  He is averaging 102.33 yards per game which leads the LSC.  Talon Smith also has 262 yards with three touchdowns on 17 receptions as he is averaging 87.3 yards per game ranking fourth in the conference.  Defensively, Grant Aschenbeck leads the team with 21 tackles, while Clayton Callicutt leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.  As at team, the Rams have 25 tackles for loss for 99 yards and eight sacks for 47 yards.  ASU leads the nation as its offensive line has not allowed a sack all season.  WT was the first team to hand ASU a sack last season.
 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Geremy Alridge-Mitchell

#4 Geremy Alridge-Mitchell

RB
5' 8"
Senior
Ethan  Brinkley

#12 Ethan Brinkley

QB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Conner  Hollabaugh

#48 Conner Hollabaugh

K
5' 10"
Junior
Word Hudson

#15 Word Hudson

WR
6' 0"
Senior
Felipe  Parra

#28 Felipe Parra

K
5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
Hunter Streuling

#22 Hunter Streuling

DB
6' 0"
Sophomore
Davontae Merriweather

#8 Davontae Merriweather

DB
6' 2"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Geremy Alridge-Mitchell

#4 Geremy Alridge-Mitchell

5' 8"
Senior
RB
Ethan  Brinkley

#12 Ethan Brinkley

6' 2"
Sophomore
QB
Conner  Hollabaugh

#48 Conner Hollabaugh

5' 10"
Junior
K
Word Hudson

#15 Word Hudson

6' 0"
Senior
WR
Felipe  Parra

#28 Felipe Parra

5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
K
Hunter Streuling

#22 Hunter Streuling

6' 0"
Sophomore
DB
Davontae Merriweather

#8 Davontae Merriweather

6' 2"
Junior
DB