CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M finished non-conference play with a 48-41 victory over Central Washington on Saturday evening in front of 9,124 fans at the first homecoming game at Buffalo Stadium. The Buffs lead by as much as 24 points in the first half en route to opening the season 4-1 for the first time since 2013.
The Buffs were up 6-0 in the opening minute of the game on Jordan Johnson's 18-yard touchdown run. LaDarian Hudson picked off CWU's Canon Racanelli on the second play of the game near midfield returning to the visitors 18-yard line. J. Johnson found a hole on the first play of the drive for his team-leading fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
The Wildcats would cut into the lead on the next drive with a 36-yard field from Gavin Todd to cap off a 9-play, 54-yard drive. The visitors would drive down the field on their third possession of the game but would come away empty handed as the Buffs defense forced another field goal, which was missed from 31 yards.
WT's offense would get things rolling on the ground following the missed field goal. Duke Carter IV picked up a first down with an 11-yard run followed by a 10-yard from Jarrod Compton. The redshirt freshman was not done there as he broke loose for a career long 44-yard touchdown on the next play to make it 13-3 for the Buffs.
The Buffs special team would add to the lead in the final seconds of the first quarter when Donevin Manuel blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. It was Manuel's third career blocked punt of his short and first since Eastern New Mexico last year. WT forced a three-and-out before making 27-3 on Carter IV's 1-yard rushing touchdown at 10:18 in the second quarter. Nick Gerber connected with Juwan McCall three times on the drive including a 36-yard play down the left side. Carter IV would finish off the drive behind a strong push from the offensive line for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.
The visitors would find the endzone for the first time of the game with less than seven minutes remaining before halftime on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Racanelli. To Tony Archie. The Buffs added to their scoring total on the next possession with Gerber connecting with Semaj Mitchell from nine yards out to make it 34-10. Compton and Carter IV combined for 29 yards on the ground before Mitchell showed off his athleticism with a catch at the edge of the endzone with a defender in his face.
The Buffs continued to find success through the air at the start of the second half as Gerber connected with McCall for a 50-yard touchdown at 7:57 in third quarter. J. Johnson converted a third-and-one with a run up the middle before the redshirt sophomore gunslinger connected with McCall for 50 yards on second down to make it 41-10. CWU responded with a touchdown of their own on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Christian Moore.
After seeing their lead shrink to 16 points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Buffs responded with their final touchdown of the contest to make it 48-25. Carter IV opened the drive with an 11-yard run on second down followed by completions to Chase Sojka and McCall. Carter IV busted loose for an 18-yard run on first down with Compton getting his second rushing touchdown from 14 yards on third-and-goal.
Mike Jones came up big for the Buffs defense with under seven minutes remaining in the contest after the Wildcats' Michael Roots ran for 57 yards to the WT 13-yard line. The senior picked Moore off in the endzone for his first interception of the season a second of his career.
The Wildcats would make things interesting in the final minutes of the contest scoring 16 unanswered in the final 4:21. Moore would throw a pair of touchdowns to make it a one score game with under 11 seconds remaining but Eric Collins recovered the onside kick to seal the victory for the Buffs.
Gerber completed 18-of-31 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns while running twice for a loss of five yards. Compton went over 100 yards on the ground for the first time in his career with 117 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. Carter IV chipped in 87 yards on 23 attempts and a touchdown.
McCall went over 100 yards for the second straight game with seven receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. J. Johnson added three receptions for 46 yards with Sojka also pulling in three catches for 24 yards.
Chazz Slatinsky recorded a career-high 16 tackles along with a tackle for loss and two breakups. Hayden Dennis and Frank Honang both recorded 11 tackles with Dennis recording his first career sack. Collins, Nathan Foreman, Gerred Johnson and Christopher Thomas also recorded tackles for loss.
WT returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 12, against UT Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas. The Buffs are 3-0 all-time against the Falcons.
