Game Notes in PDF Format

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M football team returns to the road as it travels to Texas A&M-Kingsville for a Saturday night matchup between two teams who desperately need a victory.  The Buffs are 2-3 overall and 1-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUK is 1-4 and 0-3 in league play.  Kick is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
The game will be broadcast on Lonestar 98.7 FM throughout the Texas Panhandle with Lucas Kinsey, Brice Sheets and Kent Johnson having the call.  Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of the game at www.gobuffsgo.com on the football schedule page.
 
OPENING DRIVE NOTES

• The Buffs are coming off their worst performance of the season offensively as they amassed just 154 yards of offense against Eastern New Mexico and just seven first downs.WT didn't have 100 yards of total offense until the final drive of the game where it cut the margin to 28-14.
• WT senior offensive lineman Dillon Vaughan was named one of 22 college football student-athletes from all divisions to the prestigious AFCA Allstate Good Works Team announced last week. Vaughan is in graduate school and graduated with a 4.0 GPA in finance.He also is a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award.His brother, Dustin, earned the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award in 2013.
• The last time these two teams played in Kingsville, it was in a heavy mist from start to finish as remnants of a hurricane was hitting the South Texas coast.WT won the game 24-14.
• TAMUK also is looking to snap a losing skid as the Javelinas have dropped three-straight games with their lone win being a 35-7 victory over Simon Fraser on Sept. 9.
• Following Saturday's game, the Buffs return home for Homecoming 2017 next Saturday at 5 p.m. against Adams State at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.
• This marks the second showdown of the season between former Colorado State-Pueblo coaches as Hunter Hughes and Daren Wilkinson both were on staff together at CSUP and won a national championship in 2014.Hughes defeated then No. 7 CSU-Pueblo back on Sept. 9, 24-21 and former boss John Wristen.

 
INSIDE THE SERIES

• TAMUK leads the all-time series 17-14-1 and snapped a six-game winning streak by the Buffs with a 51-34 win in Canyon last season on Homecoming.
• The Javelinas lead the series in Kingsville, 7-6 and in Canyon, 9-5, while WT leads 2-0 in neutral site games.
• The winner of the last two games have scored 50+plus points with WT winning 51-45 in Canyon in the LSC Football Playoff in 2015 and TAMUK's win last season.
• The Buffs have won the last two meetings in Kingsville with a 24-14 win in the mist in 2015 and a 69-7 win in 2013, marking the largest win by the Buffs in the series.

 
MEET THE COACHES

• Both of these coaches are friends and were on Colorado State-Pueblo's national championship team in 2014.
• WT head coach Hunter Hughes is in his first season at the helm of the Buffs as he was hired from Colorado State-Pueblo on Dec. 13, 2016 as the 28th head coach in WT history.
• Hughes spent 10 years as Defensive Coordinator at CSUP where he guided the ThunderWolves to the program's first national championship in 2014 with a 13-0 shutout of Minnesota State.Hughes had a tremendous track record at CSUP as one of the top defensive units in the nation.
• He was named Footballscoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year finalist in 2014 and his "D" led all of Division II in scoring defense (12.8 ppg) INT's (29), defensive touchdowns (7) and turnovers gained (43).
• TAMUK head coach Daren Wilkinson is in his third season as head coach for the Javelinas and led TAMUK to a 9-3 record last season and a berth in the Live United Bowl.  The Javelinas started their six-game winning streak to end the season with the win over the Buffs last season after starting the year 2-3.

 
A WIN OVER TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE WOULD . . .

• Give WT a 3-3 record on the year and a 2-2 mark in Lone Star Conference play
• Give head coach Hunter Hughes a 3-3 record in his first season at the helm of the Buffs
• Be the 15th win by the Buffs in the series and seventh in Kingsville (14-17, 6-7)
• Be the 507th win in program history (506-503-22)
• Give WT a 1-1 record on the road this season
• Be the 111th Lone Star Conference victory in program history (110-103)
• Give WT a 6-4 record all-time on Oct. 7 and a 2-2 record on the road on this date
• This marks the first time playing on Oct. 7 since a 29-27 win over Midwestern State in Canyon in 2006 and third time since 2000 (1-1).

 
LOOKING AT TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE

• The Javelinas enter losers of three-straight and are 1-4 overall and 0-3 in league play.TAMUK had its best offensive performance of the season as it racked up 511 yards in a 40-14 loss at Angelo State, getting shutout in the final three quarters.
• TAMUK had a 99-yard touchdown pass from Cade Dyal to Jordan Thomas in the game.The Javelinas had a one-hundred yard rusher and one-hundred yard receiver against the Rams, marking the first time since Nov. 14, 2015, at WT.TAMUK has had a player reach the century mark either rushing or receiving in four of the five games thus far this season.No opposing team has had a player reach 90 yards rushing this season against the Javelinas.
• The Javelinas were picked third in the preseason Lone Star Conference poll announced in July and defensive end Brandon Jones was named LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.Jones was a D2Football.com Preseason All-America honoree.
• For the season, the Javelinas rank second nationally in fumbles lost, allowing just one.The team is 38th in passes intercepted with six, while holding teams to just 104.8 yards on the ground ranking 26th nationally and third in the league.
• TAMUK is 11th in sacks averaging 3.4 per game ranking second in the league, while ranking seventh nationally in time of possession at 33:08 which also is second in the conference.
• Kuziah Ferebee leads the LSC and is 14th nationally in interceptions per game at 0.6 as he has three on the year.He also is 32nd in passes defended at 1.4 per game.
• Jordan Thomas ranks secodn in the LSC in receiving touchdowns with four, while ranking second in the league in receiving yards (461) and receiving yards per game (92.2).He is fourth in receptions per game at 5.4, while ranking fourth in total touchdowns with five.
• Nick Pelrean has 273 yards on the ground with two touchdowns on 34 carries, while Jeff Carr has rushed for 262 yards on 60 carries.
• Dyal is 78 of 134 with five interceptions and seven touchdowns.He ranks fourth in the LSC in touchdowns and fourth in passing yards with 817.
• The Javelinas have been crushed in the fourth quarter, outscored 42-3 and 46-24 in the third quarter for an 88-27 margin for the second half.In the first half, TAMUK trails 56-52 in points scored.
• Trevor Moss leads the team with 36 tackles with two tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.Peyton Tilley is second on the team in tackles with 30 and has two tackles for loss, one interception and one fumble recovery.
• Jones leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack, while Valentine leads the team with 3.5 sacks on the year.As a team, the Javelinas have 17 sacks and 35 tackles for loss, with seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

 
BUFF NEWS AND NOTES

• The Buffs are coming off their worst offensive game of the season with just 154 yards of total offense and 38 yards on the ground in a 28-14 loss to Eastern New Mexico.
• WT had just seven first downs in the game and didn't eclipse 100 yards of offense until the final series of the game.
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Houghtaling threw a career-best two touchdown passes in the game as he was 12 of 20 for 154 yards, two scores and an interception.
• The Buffs were just 3 of 11 on third down, while ENMU went 7 of 15 and the Greyhounds were 3 of 4 on third down.WT had not allowed a fourth down conversion all season.
• WT trailed in time of possession for the first time this season as ENMU had the ball for almost 40 minutes (39:01), while WT possessed it for just 20:59.
• The Buffs are second nationally in fewest penalties with 16 and are second in fewest penalties per game at 3.20.They leads the nation in fewest penalty yards (111) and fewest penalty yards per game (22.20).
• Despite some of the offensive woes, the Buff "D" has been strong as it is sixth nationally in kickoff return defense, holding teams to just 14.57 yards return, while ranking 45th nationally and second in the league in passing yards allowed at just 142.4.
• When getting in the red zone, the Buffs have converted as they are third in the LSC in red zone offense at an .824 clip on 14 of 17.
• While TAMUK has been outscored in the fourth quarter, the Buffs are the opposite, outscoring the opposition 46-34, but WT was outscored in the final stanza 21-7 in Saturday's loss to ENMU.
• Individually, senior Daelin Young is 12th nationally and first in the league in sacks at 1.0 per game, while ranking 32nd nationally and second in the league in solo tackles at 5.8 per game.
• Senior punter John Cummings is second in punting at 39.9 yards per punt and 38th nationally.
• Houghtaling is 42 of 90 with two touchdowns and two interceptions for 533 yards.He has rushed for 56 yards and a score on the season on 25 carries.
• Junior Warren Witherspoon leads the team on the ground with 191 yards on 52 carries, but it has been by committee as seven different players have had carries this season, not including the quarterbacks.
• Junior Markel Steward leads the team with 160 yards receiving on 10 receptions.
• Young leads the defense with 35 tackles, seven tackles for loss and five sacks.He has seven hurries and one forced fumble.
• Junior Lance Hyder is second in tackles with 33 and has two sacks and two tackles for loss.
• Senior Carter James is second in tackles for loss with six, while sophomores Isaiah Barnett and Kevon Thomas each have two interceptions to lead the team.
• Freshman Eric Collins has five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks on the year in his first season as he has played and started all five games as a true freshman.
• Junior Chazz Slatinsky has 33 tackles on the year and recorded his first blocked punt against ENMU last week setting up the Buffs' first touchdown of the game.
• Freshman kicker Alex Schrag is 6 of 11 in field goals, ranking 26th nationally in field goals per game and is fifth in the LSC in field goal percentage at a .545 clip.He is a perfect 8-8 in extra-points.