vs. Eastern New Mexico - October 20
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GAME NOTES

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M goes for its fifth-straight win when it host Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 20, for the Wagon Wheel Game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

FIVE KEY STORYLINES
West Texas A&M is looking to win five straight games for the first time since 2013 when they finished 11-3 and made a run to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals. It has also been six years since the Buffs opened Lone Star Conference play with a record of 4-1.

Special teams have been a major positive for the Buffs this season. WT ranks first nationally with its four blocked punts and is one of nine Division II schools to have two different players return a punt for a touchdown. Rodney Freeman's group has blocked a punt in three consecutive games for the first time in school history, two of those being returned for touchdowns. Tobias Harris has been a huge part of WT's success as the freshman ranks first in the nation in combined kick return yards (684) and 14th in punt return average (14.6).

Duke Carter IV will get a majority of the headlines as the junior leads the Lone Star Conference in rushing with 772 yards but Justin Houghtaling has been just impressive under center. Since throwing an interception on his fourth attempt of the season against Tarleton on Sept. 15, the sophomore has thrown for four touchdowns and zero interceptions in the 79 attempts since. His 140.87 efficiency rating is the fourth-highest in the Lone Star Conference. He had his best game of the season on Saturday throwing for a season-high 238 yards and a touchdown against Angelo State.

During its four-game win streak, WT has only turned the ball over twice (both coming against Western New Mexico) while forcing six turnovers for a +4 turnover margin. Tobias Harris has accounted for half of those turnovers with interceptions against Western New Mexico, Central Washington and Angelo State.

Entering the final two home games of the season, West Texas A&M ranks 14th nationally in total attendance and 12th average attendance. The Buffs average 6,277 fans per game which is the third-most in the Lone Star Conference trailing only MSU Texas and Texas A&M-Commerce.

SCOUTING EASTERN NEW MEXICO
Eastern New Mexico is looking to win their second rivalry trophy in two weeks after defeating Western New Mexico on Saturday night in Portales, N.M. for the Chile Bowl. The Greyhounds enter the Wagon Wheel Game 2-5 overall and 2-3 in Lone Star Conference play.

Led by second-year head coach Kelley Lee, the Greyhounds average 299.3 yards rushing which is the third-most in the nation. Leading the rushing attack is junior Paul Terry, who has a team-high 571 yards and seven touchdowns on 127 attempts. The Amarillo, Texas product is one of three Greyhounds with 400-plus rushing yards. Redshirt junior quarterback Wyatt Strand ranks second on the team in rushing (490 yards) while completing 48.4% (31-of-64) of his passes.

The defense is led by fifth-year senior Brad Hardin with 54 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack. Former Buff Noah Sweitzer has been the most disruptive player for ENMU as the linebacker has a team-high 6.5 tackles for loss with four of those coming in last week's win over WNMU. Charles Countee has a team-high three interceptions to go along with 33 tackles.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the 33rd all-time meeting and 31st for the Wagon Wheel. The all-time series is tied 16-16 with Eastern New Mexico having won two straight and five of the last six. From 2005 to 2012, West Texas A&M won seven straight games scoring 40-plus points in five of those victories.

Five of the six WT-ENMU matchups since 2013 have been decided by 10 or fewer points. The only contest that had a margin greater than 10 points occurred last year when the Greyhounds won 28-14 in Canyon.

LAST TIME VS. EASTERN NEW MEXICO

The Buffs scored on their second drive of the game to take a 7-0 lead, but Eastern New Mexico responded with 28 straight points in the second half en route to retaining the Wagon Wheel, 28-14, on Sept. 30, 2017 at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

Justin Houghtaling completed 12 of 20 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Markel Steward had a game-high four receptions while Ja'Quarius Daniels and Junior Pome'e had receiving touchdowns.

Trevor Myklebust was one of three Buffs with double-digit tackles. The senior had a game-high 13 with Carter James chipping in 11 and a tackle for loss.

A LOOK BACK AT ANGELO STATE
West Texas A&M outscored Angelo State 16-3 in the third quarter en route to defeating the Rams, 26-18, for the first time since 2013. It was their first win at LeGrand Stadium since a 35-19 victory on Oct. 6, 2012.

Trailing 7-3 with 11:04 remaining in third quarter, Ayrton Payne blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to give WT their first lead of the game. It was the redshirt freshman's second punt return touchdown in the past three games.

ASU would tie it at 10-all on the next drive, but WT would score 16 straight points to take a 26-10 lead they would not relinquish.

Justin Houghtaling had his best game of the season completing 22 of 32 passes for a season-high 238 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for his first touchdown in the third quarter. The Artesia, N.M. native completed a pass to seven different Buffs including a game-high seven to junior Semaj Mitchell.

Sophomore linebacker Eric Collins recorded 10-plus tackles for the first time in his career with 12. Frank Honang also had 11 while Christopher Thomas had 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Christopher Thomas is the only freshman and one of six underclassmen ranked in the Top 50 in Division II in total tackles. The Humble, Texas product 10.1 tackles per game are the 28th most in the nation and second in the Lone Star Conference. He has recorded 10 or more tackles in five of his last six games including a career-high 12 against UT Permian Basin.

Redshirt freshman Ayrtone Payne currently leads the nation in punt return touchdowns with two while teammate Tobias ranks fifth with one. Both of Payne's returns have come in the past three weeks starting against Central Washington when Marcel Paige blocked the punt. He did it himself this past weekend at Angelo State by blocking the punt before taking it in for a touchdown to give WT their first lead of the game.

Duke Carter IV still ranks in the Top 25 nationally in total rushing yards and rushing yards per game after being held to 58 yards on 31 carries against Angelo State. His 772 rushing yards are the 14th most in DII while his 110.3 yards per game are the 18th most. Notre Dame's (Ohio) Jaleel McLaughlin leads both of those categories.

Much can be said about how good senior punter John Cummings has been this year and the numbers support that argument. The Plano, Texas natives 43.2 yards per punt is the 11th best in the nation and tops in the LSC. For the season, 24 of his 45 punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line.

HONORING THE PAST
Earlier in the season, WT football announced a season-long recognition for former Buffs who played in the original Buffalo Bowl that opened in 1959. During this week's game former players and coaches from the Don Davis, Bill Yung and Gen Mayfield will be honored.

BUFFS TO WEAR THROWBACK JERSEYS
West Texas A&M will wear throwback West Texas State jerseys for their final home game on Saturday, November 3, when they host Texas A&M-Kingsville. The jerseys designed by Under Armour, are modeled after hose worn by WT when the stadium first opened in 1959.

A limited number of game-worn jerseys will be available for online purchase only beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 22.

WT HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
WT head coach Hunter Hughes, the 2011 FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year, is now in his second season at the helm of the Buffs After going 3-8 in his first season in 2017, Hughes has the Buffs off to a 5-2 start this season including a win over a nationally-ranked Central Washington on the road. 

LIVE COVERAGE
The West Texas A&M Athletic Media Relations Department will provide live stats for the game. Buff Nation can listen to all of the Buffalo Football games on Lonestar 98.7 with Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets on the call with Kent Johnson joining them as the sideline reporter.  For more information, visit the Football Schedule Page at GoBuffsGo.com. 

AFCA DIVISION II POLL
For the third consecutive week, WT received votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Top 25. Tarleton State moved up seven spots to 9th after defeating #19 Texas A&M-Commerce. MSU Texas moved up two spots to 10th after defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville.