CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M's final game in Kimbrough Memorial Stadium will be talked about in the Texas Panhandle for many years to come as the Buffs scored in the final two minutes to defeat Texas A&M-Kingsville 35-31 in front of 6,137 fans on Saturday night. Brandon Blair's 78-yard touchdown run with 1:28 remaining in the game capped off an incredible comeback from a Buffs team that guaranteed a winning record for the first time since 2016.
THE BASICS
The Matchup: West Texas 35, Texas A&M-Kingsville 31
Records: West Texas A&M (6-4, 4-3 LSC), Texas A&M-Kingsville (3-7, 1-6 LSC)
Venue: Kimbrough Memorial Stadium
Location: Canyon, Texas
The Buffs scored on the opening drive of the game for the first time in the Hughes Era when Blair took a 3rd and 3 handoff up the middle for 58 yards for his first rushing touchdown of the season. At the time, it was the Buffs second longest-play from scrimmage for the season. The Javelinas would get on the board with a pair of Julio De La Garza field goals.
WT would extend their lead on another long run when Marshawn Brown broke loose for 65 yards with 4:26 remaining before halftime. Justin Hougthaling opened the drive with an 11-yard pass to David Leonty followed by a 5-yard run by Brown. The freshman would then take it to the house on the next play for the Buffs second rushing touchdown over 50 yards of the game. The Javelinas would respond on the next drive to tie the game in the final minute of the quarter on a 8-yard pass from Koy Detmer Jr. to Jeff Carr before converting the two-point conversion.
After allowing 10 straight points to the Javelinas to open the second half, WT would get a spark with less than three minutes remaining the third quarter when Houghtaling found a streaking Semaj Mitchell down the left side of the field for a 78-yard touchdown. It was the junior's first career receiving touchdown reception. On the next offensive possession for the Javelinas, Henry Paul forced a fumble that was recovered at the TAMUK 22-yard line by Lance Hyder. WT would score four plays later on a 7-yard run by Blair to take a 28-24 lead with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter.
TAMUK's Detmer Jr. would orchestrate an 8 play, 79-yard drive capped off with a 25-yard throw to Aaron Dillworth to help the Javelina's retake the lead at 31-28 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game. After two straight empty possessions, WT's defense would give the offense one more shot to tie or win the game with 2:20 minutes after forcing a Javelina punt. The drive started with Houghtaling finding Mitchell for 5 yards followed by a run by the sophomore quarterback for three yards. Blair would proceed to send the Buff Faithful into a frenzy on the next play with a 78-yard touchdown run up the middle.
Kevon Thomas would all but seal the deal for the Buffs with his second interception of the season on the Javelinas next play from scrimmage. The redshirt junior read Detmer Jr.'s eyes perfectly to record the Buffs first interception in three games and give WT their first win over the Javelinas in their past three meetings.
Blair had a career-night with 182 yards and three touchdowns on a 16 carries while Brown added 73 yards with a touchdown on five attempts. Houghtaling completed 6-of-15 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown with Mitchell recording a game-high two catches for 83 yards.
Christopher Thomas had a game-high 11 tackles, nine of those solo, while Tobias Harris had a career-high eight tackles. Eric Collins had five tackle to go with his 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sack.
UP NEXT
WT finishes the regular season on the road against #18 MSU Texas on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Wichita Falls, Texas.
