Game Notes PDF Format

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M football team returns home to close the 2017 season hosting Western New Mexico for Senior Day Saturday at 1 p.m. at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. 
 
Fans can access live stats, audio/video streaming links of the game at www.gobuffsgo.com on the football schedule page.  The game will be broadcast on Lonestar FM 98.7 throughout the Texas Panhandle as Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets will have the call of the game.
 
OPENING DRIVE NOTES
 

• The Buffs are 3-7 overall and 1-6 in Lone Star Conference play, while Western New Mexico is 3-7 and 2-5 in league play.
• WT has dropped three-straight games dating back to a 17-14 win over Adams State on Homecoming on Oct. 14.  The Buffs have gone 1-6 in their last seven games after a 2-1 start to the season.  WNMU downed Texas A&M-Kingsville last week  35-23 for the Mustangs' final home game of the season.
• The Buffs have struggled offensively in conference play, as they are averaging 11.7 points per game in league play, while allowing 33.1.  For the season, the Buffs are scoring 13.6 points per game and allowing 29.1.  WT has nine touchdowns offensively in league play and 13 for the season.
• Prior to Saturday's game, WT will honor ten seniors playing in their final game in a WT uniform as the 2017 senior class includes in numerical order; #22 Isaac Watson, #46 Daelin Young, #49 John Cummings, #51 Trevor Myklebust, #56 Carter James, #63 Moses Mondesir, #70 Dillon Vaughan, #87 Junior Pome'e, #88 Ja'Quarius Daniels and #97 Solomon Perdue.  We wish each of these seniors the best of luck in their future endeavors. 
• The Buffs lead the LSC in fewest penalty yards (432, 15th), penalties (48, 12th), penalties per game (4.80, 11th) and penalty yards per game at 43.20 per contest ranking 14th nationally. WT is fifth nationally in net punting at 39.27 to lead the conference, while ranking 10th nationally and first in the league in punt return defense at 3.31 yards allowed per return.  WT had its second blocked punt of the season last week, as the Buffs are 19th nationally in blocked punts, ranking second in the LSC. 
• Western New Mexico is led by senior quarterback Javia Hall who is third nationally in completions per game (36.44), 21st in passing touchdowns (22), 12th in passing yards (2,811) and eighth in passing yards per game (312.3).

 
INSIDE THE SERIES
 

• WT leads the all-time series with Western New Mexico, 5-2 and has won five-straight in the series.  The Buffs downed WNMU 37-30 in overtime last season in a game dubbed "The Miracle in Silver City" as the Buffs trailed WNMU 30-16 with 2:04 left in regulation.  WT scored 14 points in the final 42 seconds, sending the game to overtime where former Buff Christopher Gilchrist caught his second-straight touchdown pass for the game winner, giving WT a 6-5 record for the season.
• This marks the first time WNMU has visited Canyon since a 50-0 WT drubbing of the Mustangs on Aug. 26, 2000, as the Buffs are 3-1 all-time in Canyon and 2-1 in Silver City.
• WNMU won the opening two games of the series with the first being a 30-20 decision in Canyon on Oct. 3, 1992.

 
MEET THE COACHES
 

• 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).
• Western New Mexico head coach Adam Clark is 32-44 at the helm of the Rams in six seasons and is 0-1 against WT in the loss last season.  Clark also is the defensive coordinator for the Mustangs and ranks third in school history in wins entering 2017.  Since his arrival in 2010, Clark has built the most consistent program WNMU has had in the last 20 years.  He previously was at Colorado Mines and St. Ambrose (Iowa) his alma mater where he graduated from in 2002.  He was a two-year letterwinner for St. Ambrose earning All-America honors.

 
A WIN OVER WESTER NEW MEXICO WOULD . . .
 

• Give WT a 4-7 record on the year and a 2-6 mark in Lone Star Conference play to end the season
• Give Coach Hughes his fourth win at WT
• Be the 508th win in program history (507-507-22) putting WT back over .500 as a program
• Be the 111th win on Lone Star Conference play for the Buffs (110-107)
• Give WT a 4-3 record at home this season
• Be the sixth-straight win over Western New Mexico and the fourth-straight win in Canyon against the Mustangs
• Send the 2017 seniors out with a victory on Senior Day
• Snap a three-game losing skid and send the Buffs into 2018 with some positive momentum
• Be the fifth win for WT on Nov. 11 (4-5), extend a two-game winning streak on this date and be the second home win (1-2), as WT won last time on this date 21-16 against Tarleton State in Canyon in 2006.

 
LOOKING AT WESTERN NEW MEXICO
 

• The Mustangs enter as one of the top passing teams in the conference and have some momentum after a 35-23 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last week. 
• WNMU ranks 15th nationally in passing offense and second in the conference at 294.6 yards per game, while quarterback Javia Hall is third nationally in completions per game (26.44), 21st in passing touchdowns (22), 12th in passing yards (2,811), eighth in passing yards per game (312.3) and 12th in total offense at 318.0 yards per game.
• Hall enjoys finding a number of quality targets each game as his top receiver is D'Angelo Bowie, who ranks 33rd nationally and second in the LSC in receiving yards with 783 and is 19th nationally in receiving yards per game at 97.9 for second in the conference.  Bowie leads the LSC In receptions per game at 7.4, ranking 11th nationally.
• Teammate Sean North is second in receiving touchdowns with seven, ranking sixth in the league and 49th nationally.  Evan Beebe is fifth in the LSC in receiving yards per game at 69.5 and fourth in receptions per game at 5.4 as he has 556 yards on the season.  Bowie has 59 catches on the season, while Beebe has 43 receptions and two scores.  North also returns kicks as he is second in the LSC and 35th nationally in combined kick returns with 608 yards, while ranking third in the LSC in kickoff returns at 24.3 and 59th nationally.
• The running game also has been strong for the Mustangs as Justin Harris is third in the LSC in rushing yards with 694 and sixth in rushing yards per game at 69.4.  Harris has 149 attempts and four rushing touchdowns on the year.
• Hall is 238 of 430 with 11 interceptions on the season for 2811 yards and 22 touchdowns.  He also is the third-leading rusher on the team with 56 yards and one rushing score.
• Defensively, the Mustangs are led by Dominic Barry who has 107 tackles for the year with 41 solo stops as he ranks 14th nationally and fourth in the LSC in total tackles per game at 10.7.  He is third in the LSC and 41st nationally in tackles for loss at 1.5 per game and 14.5 for the season, while leading the team with 5.5 sacks, as he is fourth in the league in sacks per game (0.55). 
• Joe Tito is second on the team in tackles for loss with 10, while ranking third on the team in tackles with 54.  Ian Davis and Isaiah Edwards each have two interceptions to lead the team, while five different Mustangs each have a fumble recovery.
• WNMU is 32nd nationally in third down percentage defense, holding teams to a .321 clip, ranking third in the LSC, while ranking second in the LSC in first downs with 215, good for 32nd nationally.  WNMU is holding teams to 17.46 yards per kick return, ranking second in the LSC and 16th nationally.
• Davis is the reigning LSC Special Teams Player of the Week as he blocked a punt and returned it for a score in the win over Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend.  He also had an interception in the game.  His pick-six was the first score of the game for the Mustangs, just four minutes into the contest.

 
BUFF NEWS AND NOTES
 

• The Buffs enter the regular season finale looking to snap a three-game losing skid and enter the offseason with some momentum for 2018.
• WT has really struggled offensively over the last six games, not scoring more than 17 points in any of the games (1-5). 
• The Buffs have not scored a touchdown in two of the last three games and have been outscored 131-22 over the last three games.
• WT will honor the ten seniors prior to the game as each has been a huge contributor to the program during their time at WT. 
• Despite the offensive struggles, the team is 12th nationally in fewest penalties with 48, while ranking 11th in fewest penalties per game at 4.8.  The Buffs are 15th in fewest penalty yards 432 and 14th in fewest penalty yards per game at 43.2. 
• The Buffs had a season-high 111 penalty yards in the loss at Angelo State on Saturday as the team had more penalty yards than total yards (103). 
• WT is one of 20 teams in all of NCAA Division II without a blocked kick this season, nor has WT allowed a blocked punt.  The Buffs are the lone team in the LSC without surrendering a blocked kick and one of four not allowing a blocked punt. 
• The Buffs are fifth nationally in net punting at 39.27 yards per punt, while ranking 10th in punt return defense at 3.31 yards per return as both lead the LSC.
• WT senior punter John Cummings is fifth in punting at 43.4 yards per game to lead the LSC.
• Junior Lloyd Turner is second in the LSC in kickoff returns at 25.0 per return, ranking 50th nationally.
• Freshman kicker Alex Schrag is 18th nationally and second in the LSC in field goals per game at 1.3 as he has scored the Buffs' last 12 points on four field goals dating back to the first quarter against Texas A&M-Commerce on Oct. 28.
• Senior linebacker Daelin Young is second in the LSC in sacks at 0.8 per game and 26th nationally.  He has eight sacks on the year for 55 yards to lead the team and 10 tackles for loss for 60 yards.  He is third in the league in solo tackles at 5.2 per game as he has 54 solo stops on the year and 69 total tackles.
• Senior Carter James is third in tackles with 68 and is one tackle away from 300 for his four-year career with the Buffs.
• Senior Trevor Myklebust leads the team in tackles with 87 and has 54 solo stops.  He has 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks with one intreception and one forced fumble.  Myklebust is seventh in the league in total tackles at 8.7 per game.
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Houghtaling is 85-180-9 for 1160 yards and four scores this season, while rushing for 77 yards and two touchdowns.  Redshirt freshman Skyler Bonneau and junior Ben Arbuckle also have seen time under center.
• Junior Warren Witherspoon leads the team in rushing at 66 yards per game as he has 594 yards on 156 carries and one touchdown. 
• Senior wide receivers Junior Pome'e and Ja'Quarus Daniels each have two receiving touchdowns to lead the team, while senior defensive lineman Solomon Perdue has 31 tackles and three tackles for loss in 10 starts this season.
• Senior offensive linemen Moses Mondesir and Dillon Vaughan have both played in all 10 games.  Vaughan was named to the prestigious AFCA Allstate Good Works Team this season as one of 16 to earn the honor from all divisions of football.

 
 
For the latest on WT Athletics, follow the Buffs/Lady Buffs via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.  Also check back with www.gobuffsgo.com for the latest information on news, statistics, tickets and more on all of West Texas A&M athletics.