vs. UT Permian Basin - October 6
LIVE STATS | VIDEO | AUDIO | TICKETS
GAME NOTES
CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes of West Texas A&M and their two-game winning streak return to the friendly confines of Kimbrough Memorial Stadium to host UT Permian Basin on Saturday, Oct. 6, for the annual Homecoming Game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
West Texas A&M is 44-28-2 all-time in Homecoming games dating back to 1931 when the Buffs defeated New Mexico Military Institute 7-0. The Buffs have won 10 of their last 12 games including a 17-14 victory over Adams State last season.
Tobias Harris continues to do it all for WT as the freshman recorded his fifth interception of the season on Saturday to go along with his 108 all-purpose yards. His first big play of the game come on a 72-yard kickoff return in the second quarter that resulted in WT scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Justin Houghtaling to Duke Carter IV. His interception came in the red zone with 8:13 remaining in the game to maintain the Buffs 28-19 lead.
Duke Carter IV's 259 rushing yards in Saturday's win over Central Washington are the third-most in Division II game this season. Only Notre Dame's Jaleel McLaughlin has more with games of 340 and 302 yards. The junior running back also became the first Buff to eclipse the 200-yard mark since Geremy Alridge-Mitchell ran for 236 yards against Tarleton on Sept. 19 at AT&T Stadium. His 571 total rushing yards are the most in the Lone Star Conference and eighth-most in the nation.
Jordan Johnson made his first start of the season against Central Washington after missing the first three games due to injury. He played sparingly against Western New Mexico before recording a team-high three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. Last season, the Eagle Lake, Texas native had 19 receptions for 267 yards in 10 starts.
Saturday's homecoming game could feature a pair of former Artesia (N.M.) High School stars playing against one another. WT's Justin Houghtaling and UT Permian Basin's Taylor Null both played quarterback for head coach Cooper Henderson. Houghtaling had a historic career behind center throwing for 6,811 yards, 74 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his two-years as a starter for AHS. Null signed with the Falcons in the spring of 2018 after throwing for 3,792 yards during his senior season while breaking the school record with 52 touchdowns and a 67.0% completion percentage.
SCOUTING UT PERMIAN BASIN
UT Permian Basin makes the trip to Canyon 1-4 on the season and 1-2 in Lone Star Conference play after defeating Western New Mexico 21-20 on Saturday. The Falcons scored with less than two minutes remaining to secure their first win of the season.
UTPB has played three different quarterbacks this season with freshman Taylor Null getting the start in the past three games. The Artesian, N.M. native has completed 63 of 123 passes for 704 yards and five touchdowns along with four interceptions. In his collegiate debut, he threw for 300 yards in the Falcons loss to nationally-ranked MSU Texas.
Marquis Simmons has been the featured back for the Falcons with 70 attempts and 344 yards. Both of his touchdowns have come in the past three games including the game-winner against WNMU.
Kristian Brown is one of five Falcons with over 100 yards receiving as the junior has 313 yards on 19 receptions and a team-high three touchdowns. His best game of the year came against MSU Texas where he had five catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week Chris Hoad has a team-high 56 tackles this season, 20 more than Marquee Allison. He has recorded 15 tackles in each of the past two games.
Justin Carrigan is in his third season at UT Permian Basin where he has lad the Falcons to a record 5-22. Prior to starting the Falcon program, Carrigan spent five years at Tarleton including the final three as the offensive coordinator. He was a two-time All-Lone Star Conference safety during his playing career at Angelo State.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
The Buffs lead the all-time series 2-0 including a 17-6 victory last year on Sept. 16, 2017. WT won the first ever meeting on Sept. 18, 2016 in Odessa in a game at that was delayed until Sunday due to a tornado in the area.
LAST TIME VS. UT PERMIAN BASIN
Jordan Johnson and Brandon Blair ran for touchdowns as West Texas A&M defeated UT Permian Basin 17-6 on Sept. 16, 2017 at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.
With WT clinging to a 10-6 lead in the fourth quarter, Brandon Blair scored from 10 yards out to put WT up 17-6 with less than six minutes remaining in the game.
Ben Arbuckle finished 13 of 24 for 140 yards and two interceptions. Blair had his best game of the season with 31 yards on the ground on six carries and a touchdown.
A LOOK BACK AT #14 CENTRAL WASHINGTON
The Buffs ran for a season-high 268 yards (6.2 average) in their 28-26 win over #14 Central Washington in the first ever night game played at Tomlinson Stadium.
Duke Carter IV had one of the top performances in all of Division II underneath the lights running for 259 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. He also had two receptions for 12 yards a touchdown.
The Buffs special teams came up huge with their first punt block of the season with 13:13 remaining in the fourth quarter holding onto a three-point lead. Donevin Manuel was credited with the block while Ayrton Payne
Justin Houghtaling completed 11 of 18 passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Johnson had a team-high three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Tobias Harris had an interception for the second consecutive game, this time in the end zone with five minutes left in regulation to stop a Central Washington that would have made it one score game.
Six of James Clark's nine tackles were of the solo variety while also forcing his first fumble of the season. Frank Honang also forced a fumble to go along with his two tackles for loss.
DAVE CAMPBELL'S TEXAS FOOTBALL TEAM OF THE WEEK
West Texas A&M was named Dave Campbell's Texas Football Team of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. The honor comes days after the Buffs defeated #14 Central Washington on the road.
CARTER IV NAMED LSC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior running back Duke Carter IV was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon by the league's office in Richardson, Texas. The Grand Prairie, Texas native becomes the first WT player to earn a LSC weekly award this season.
Carter IV was a driving force in the Buffs win over #14 Central Washington rushing for 259 yards on 35 attempts including a 79-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. His performance is the third-most rushing yards this season in Division II.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Tobias Harris combined 462 kick return yards are the most in the Lone Star Conference and eighth in the nation. His 13.5 yard average on punt returns also ranks in the Top 25 nationally. On the defensive side of the ball, his 1.0 interceptions per game are good enough for second behind Josh Ojo of West Liberty.
Duke Carter IV's 571 yards are the eighth-most in Division II and tops in the Lone Star Conference. His 114.2 rushing yards per game are also the 13th-most in the nation.
Frank Honang's 1.6 tackles per loss per game rank him 40th in the nation and seventh in the Lone Star Conference. The junior has a team-high eight tackles for loss this season.
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 3-2 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
MSU Texas is one of three Lone Star Conference schools ranked in the latest AFCA Division II Poll. The Mustangs moved up one spot to fourth with Texas A&M-Commerce sitting at ninth for the second consecutive week. Tarleton moved up four spots to 21st with West Texas A&M receiving votes after defeating Central Washington on Saturday.
2018 LSC PRESEASON POLL
Texas A&M-Commerce were picked to finish first receiving 13 of the possible 24 votes for a total of 201 points. MSU Texas was picked second with 10 first place votes for a total of 200 points. Eastern New Mexico ranked third with 142 points followed by Angelo State (136), Tarleton State (130), Texas A&M-Kingsville (104), West Texas A&M (73), UT Permian Basin (one first place, 57) and Western New Mexico (37).
MSU Texas' Layton Rabb was tabbed as the LSC's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Angelo State's Markus Jones was named the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
