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CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M returns to the friendly confines of Buffalo Stadium one final time in 2019 when they host Midwestern State on Saturday, Nov. 16, as part of Senior Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. where the Buffs will honor their 17 seniors pregame.
 
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
Electric. Dangerous are just two words that opposing coaches may use to describe Tobias Harris, who broke the school record for punt return yards in a single season and career in Saturday's win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. The sophomore is one of the top returners in the nation as he ranks third in punt return average in all levels of college football, trailing only Alabama's Jaylen Waddle and Trinity's (TX) Chris Stewart. He also ranks second in Division II in combined kick return yards, 10 behind Missouri Western's Trey Vaval. 
 
In Saturday's win over the Javelinas, The Buffs have two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since Nov. 8, 2008. Keithon Flemming and Wayne McKnight were the last Buffs to do it before Logan Vallo and Nick Gerber went over 100 yards for the first time in their careers. Gerber also ran for career-high three touchdowns making him the first person to accomplish that feat since Brandon Blair did it against the Javelinas in 2018. 
 
Chazz Slatinsky picked off TAMUK's Koy Detmer Jr. in the end zone to secure the victory for the Buffs, giving the senior safety his first interception in more than two years. The Forney products last interception came against Adams State on Oct. 14, 2017 where picked off two passes while recovering a fumble en route to being named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Hayden Dennis and Frank Honang a.ka. The Bash Brothers are the first Buffs to record over 100 tackles in the same season since 2012. Honang enters the final regular season game of his career with 109 tackles, which ranks him fourth in the conference and ninth in the nation. Dennis also ranks in the Top 15 in the nation in tackles with 105. 
 
After overcoming a 17-point first half deficit, the Buffs improved to 8-3 in games decided by seven points or less under third-year head coach Hunter Hughes. 
 
SCOUTING MIDWESTERN STATE
Midwestern State enters Saturday's regular season finale 5-5 overall and 3-4 in LSC play. The Mustangs are coming off a 28-13 victory over Western New Mexico ending a two-game losing streak.
 
The Mustangs are scoring 26 points per game with 359.5 yards of total offense. They have used four different quarterbacks this season with Triston Williams getting a majority of the snaps. The sophomore has completed 87-of-198 passes for 1,522 yards and 14 touchdowns. He had his best game of the year against TAMUK where he threw for 354 yards and six touchdowns. 
 
Quinton Childs and Lazarus Fisher have both been used in the backfield this year with Childs rushing for a team-high 734 yards on 147 carries. The senior had a strong start to the season where he rushed for over 100 yards twice including 174 yards against UT Permian Basin. Fisher has carried most of the load late with a career-high 92 yards against Western Oregon. 
 
Xavier Land leads the team in receptions and receiving yards while Kylan Harrison has pulled in a team-high seven touchdowns. Land has 39 receptions for 597 yards and four scores with Harrison chipping in 19 receptions for 424 yards.
 
Marcus Wilkerson is the leading tackler for the Mustangs with 70. The senior defensive back has also recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble. Melik Owens has recorded a team-high 12.5 tackles for loss including seven sacks. 
 
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
WT is 16-15 all-time against MSU Texas with their last win coming on Oct. 22, 2016 in Canyon. Nine of the 16 Buff victories have come away from home since the series began on Oct. 18, 1947.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Buffs finished the regular season 4-1 on the road including three straight wins. After falling to nationally ranked Tarleton in Stephenville, WT battled back to defeat UT Permian Basin followed by a dominant display against Eastern New Mexico to bring the Wagon Wheel back to Canyon. In three of those of four wins, WT trailed by 10 or more at halftime. 
 
SOJKA GETTING THINGS DONE
Junior Chase Sojka has a team-high 29 receptions for 321 yards this season. The junior transfer from East Texas Baptist has been a welcomed attention to the squad as he has recorded at least one reception in nine straight games. He has gone over 50 yards receiving twice this season including a seven catch, 80-yard performance against Western New Mexico. 
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Over the past two games, the Buffs have run the ball 103 times for 516 yards and six touchdowns. The 53 carries and 313 yards against TAMUK on Saturday were the most in the Hughes era.
 
WT continues to lead the nation in kickoff return defense holding opposing teams to 13.29 yards per return. A mixed of sky kicks and good return coverage has allowed them to be one of two teams in the nation to allow less than 14 yards per return. 
 
The Buffs are 18-of-25 (72.0%) on fourth down conversions this season, which is the seventh-best percentage in DII football. They have converted a fourth down in all but two games this season including a  6-for-6 performance against Angelo State. 
 
Hughes is the ninth head coach in program history to record a winning record in their third season at the helm. Since the program was reinstated in 1992, only three coaches have finished year three with more wins than losses. 
 
Geremy Alridge-Michell ran for 16 touchdowns in 2015, marking the last time a Buff rushed for more than 10 scores. Gerber and Jordan Johnson are within striking distance with eight apiece. 
 
THIS DAY IN BUFF HISTORY
WT is 4-3 all-time in games played on Nov.  16 dating back to 1957 when they lost to Drake (not the rapper) 19-20 in Des Moines, Iowa. 
 
Saturday will be the Buffs and Mustangs second meeting on this date with WT winning 19-12 in 2013 behind the four field goal performance from All-American Sergio Castillo.
 
AFCA DIVISION II POLL
The Buffs were back to receiving votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division Coaches Poll. They received three votes following their comeback victory over the Javelinas. Tarleton remained at third picked up two first-place votes while Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked 23rd. Angelo State fell out of the poll following their loss to Eastern New Mexico.
 
AROUND THE LSC
Tarleton can clinch the outright LSC title and automatic bid into the NCAA Division II playoffs with a win at Western New Mexico. Texas A&M-Commerce and Angelo state faceoff with playoff implications on the line while the Buffs look to hand MSU Texas their first losing season under Maskill. TAMUK and UTPB face off in Odessa while ENMU makes the trip to Western Oregon. 
 
WT HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Third-year head coach Hunter Hughes is 16-16 since taking over the program in 2017. The 2011 FootballScoop.com Division II Coordinator of the Year is 0-2 against the Mustangs following a 24-23 loss in overtime last season. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The WT Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and pay-per-view webstream for the game. A new partnership with BlueFrame Technology and the Lone Star Conference has been established with the LSC Digital Network debuting this fall. Fans can purchase a $5 single-day pass or a $50 season pass that includes every home WT event during the 2019-20 season. A free audio stream will be provided by WT with Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets on the call. For more information, visit the Football Schedule Page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs will await the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 17, to see if they are one of the seven teams from Super Region 4. The show will be broadcast at 4 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.