vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville - Nov. 3 - Kimbrough Memorial Stadium
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GAME NOTES
CANYON, Texas – The Buffs of West Texas A&M will wear 'West Texas State' throwback jerseys in their final game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium when they host Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
Saturday's game between West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Kingsville will be the 312nd and final game at Kimbrough Memorial. Next season, WT move to an on-campus stadium, Buffalo Stadium, but not before they try to clinch their first winning season since 2016. A win over the Javelinas would also give Canyon's team their first winning record at home in five years.
West Texas A&M special teams has been one of the top units in the nation with its six blocked punts, five of those coming over the past five games. The six blocks is tied for the most in any division of collegiate football with Division I's Toledo. Ayrton Payne has returned two of those punts for touchdowns, which is the second-most in Division II.
With two games remaining in the regular season, freshman Tobais Harris ranks in the Top-10 nationally in three different categories. The Pfulgerville, Texas native's 777 combined kick return yards are the fourth-most in the nation while he ranks sixth in punt return touchdowns (1/total) and eighth in interceptions per game (0.7/game). He needs four more punt returns to break John Holt's record set back in 1978 while 69 more punt returns yard will break Curley Watters record from 1966.
Paton Gonzales has been one of Justin Houghtaling's favorite targets over the past two games with eight receptions for 123 yards. The Hereford, Texas native had a career-high 79 yards receiving and four receptions against Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday. He ranks second on the team in receiving yards with 254 while ranking third in receptions (16) and touchdowns (1).
One of the WT's keys to success on Saturday was their execution on third down. The Buffs entered the contest converting 26.0% of their tries on the season but went 6 of 15 (40.0%) against a Texas A&M-Commerce that was ranked sixth in the nation. They did most of the damage through the air with pass plays of 17, 19, 22 and 46 yards.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
Fourth-year head coach Darren Wilkinson led Texas A&M-Kingsville to its first Lone Star Conference victory of the season last week against Western New Mexico to improve to 3-6 overall and 1-5 in LSC play.
Koy Detmer Jr. has been the man behind center for the Javelinas in every game this season throwing for 1,779 yards and 15 touchdowns. The BYU transfer threw for a career-high 320 yards and four touchdowns in the season opener double-overtime loss to Texas A&M-Commerce.
Nick Perlean had his best game of the year against WNMU rushing for 153 yards on 24 carriers. For the season, he has a team-high 574 yards and five touchdowns. Jeff Carr has also seen significant time in the backfield with 432 yards and three touchdowns. Aaron Dilworth, Tyler Wilson and Torrey Thomas all have over 20 receptions with Dilworth leading the team with 26. The Corpus Christi, Texas native has caught a touchdown past in consecutive games for the second time this season.
Tre'Michael Tutt is the leading tackler for the Javelinas with 65 including 7.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Brandon Jones has been the most disruptive force on the defense with 13.5 of his 58 tackles going for a loss including 4.5 sacks.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Saturday's game will be the 34th all-time meeting with Texas A&M-Kingsville holding a 18-14-1 advantage. Prior to dropping the last two games, West Texas A&M had won 10 of 12 from 2005-2015. The teams met for the first time in Kimbrough Memorial Stadium on Sept. 28, 1985 in a 27-17 victory for the Buffs.
LAST TIME VS. TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
After scoring nine points in the first half, West Texas A&M were shutout in the final 30 minutes of play in their 37-9 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 7, 2017 at Javelina Stadium.
The turning point of the game came right before halftime with WT trailing by four points. They forced a Javelina punt but a penalty followed by a sack-fumble returned for a touchdown gave the Javelinas a two score leading heading into halftime.
Justin Houghtaling connected on 7 of 17 of his passes for 125 yards including a 20-yard touchdown to Kailan Noseff in the second quarter.
Trevor Myklebust had a season-high 15 tackles with Keimone Davis and Carter James chipping in 12 and 10 respectively.
A LOOK BACK AT TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
Two rushing touchdowns had the Buffs within four points at halftime, 17-13, but were unable to overcome a slow start to the second half in Saturday's loss to Texas A&M-Commerce.
Justin Houghtaling was a perfect 5-of-5 during WT's 12 play, 83-yard drive that was capped off with Marshawn Brown's first career touchdown run. It gave the Buffs their first lead over the Lions in more than 11 quarters.
Marshawn Brown and David Leonty scored their first career touchdowns, both coming in the first half. Brown also rushed the ball for a team-high 29 yards on five carries.
For the first time in his career, Joseph Barron was the top tackler for the Buffs with eight and a tackle for a loss. Eric Collins chipped in six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Since being named the starter against nationally-ranked Central Washington, Justin Houghtaling has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation. The sophomore signal caller's 64.0% completion is the best in the Lone Star Conference and 18th in the nation. He also ranks fifth in the LSC in passing efficiency at 127.3.
John Cummings enters the final two games of his career needing only 18 more punts to tie Kevin Brinkley's record for most punts in a single season. The Plano, Texas native has punted the ball 60 times for 2,604 yards (43.4/avg) and a long of 71 yards. 31 of his punts have been inside the 20-yard line while recording 14 punts of 50 yards or more. He has been a huge reason why the Buffs rank ninth nationally in net punting and 30th in punt return defense.
For the fourth straight week, freshman linebacker Christopher Thomas ranks in the Top 50 nationally in total tackles. The Humble, Texas natives 82 tackles are the 46th in Division II and third-most in the Lone Star Conference. With 18 more tackles, he would become the first Buff to record 100 tackles since Carter James had 125 in 2014.
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 Joe Kerbel and Clark Jarnagin era.
AFCA DIVISION II POLL
For the first time in over a month, West Texas A&M did not receive votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Top 25. Tarleton stayed at No. 8 after defeating No. 18 MSU Texas in overtime while Texas A&M-Commerce now sits 16th.
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 5-4 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.
