CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M recorded their first shutout since 2013 with a 56-0 victory over North American on Saturday night at Buffalo Stadium in Canyon. The Buffs outgained the Stallions 514-203 to improve to 3-2 overall and 7-2 at Buffalo Stadium. 

Nick Gerber completed 8-of-9 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns in limited action. Brett Leach went 4-for-5 in his college debut for 40 yards while rushing for 19 yards and a touchdown. Eight Buffs combined for 345 yards on the ground including a team-high 75 from Seth Hogan. The Monahans native carried the ball a career-high 11 times including his first career touchdown. Jarrod Compton had a team-high four receptions while Chase Sojka had 86 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions. 

Tre'Von Mosley and Satchel Escalante had a game-high seven tackles with Escalante also scoring a defensive touchdown for the second straight game. Chris Thomas also chipped in six tackles. 

North American drove all the way to the WT 22 on the opening drive of the game before Thomas and Mosley stopped Kierre Huey-Cazenave on fourth down. Following a 6-yard run from Khalil Harris, Gerber found a wide open Sojka for a season-long 78-yard touchdown. The Buffs would stop the Stallions on fourth down on the next possession before making it a 14-0 game on a Brandon Blair 11-yard rush. 

Gerber would find Sojka for his second score of the game on their third possession of the game. The junior quarterback found Jordan Johnson for a third down conversion followed by a 32-yard run from Harris to put the Buffs in the red zone. Sojka would become the first Buff since Semaj Mitchell against Angelo State in 2019 to record multiple receiving touchdowns on the next play as he was wide open in the back of the endzone. 

Following another defensive stop, WT would start the drive in the red zone which resulted in a Blair 7-yard touchdown to make 28-0 in favor of the Buffs. Escalante would score his second touchdown in as many games on the next possession after picking up a fumble and returning it 27 yards to the end zone. They would score another touchdown before the end of the half on a 3-yard run from Hogan.

Leach would get his first career snaps at quarterback to begin the second half leading the Buffs on a 9-play, 67-yard drive capped off with a 4-yard run from the freshman. WT would score their final touchdown of the contest on the next possession on a 11-yard run from Christian Combs. 

After a bye week, WT will host Missouri Western on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Buffalo Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.