CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M won its season opener on Saturday afternoon at Buffalo Stadium, defeating Oklahoma Panhandle State 58-7. The Buffs finished the game with 663 yards of total offense, their first time over time over 600 yards since 2014.
Nick Gerber finished the night 16-of-17 passing for 187 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 60 yards on five carries including a 29-yard scamper in the third quarter. Brandon Blair rushed for a team-high 115 yards and a score marking the second time he has gone over the century mark. Markell Stephens-Peppers was one of eight players to catch a pass as the sophomore had a career-high five catches and 82 yards and a score.
Tre'Von Mosley and Eric Collins were part of a defense that limited the Aggies to nine first downs and 190 yards of total offense. They each recorded a team-high eight tackles, one sack and a tackle for loss. Mosley also forced a fumble in his first career game. Cleon Jackson finished with four tackles, including a pair of sacks.
After forcing a 3-and-out on the opening drive of the game, WT opened the scoring with a two-play, 61 yard-drive capped by a 48-yard touchdown pass from Gerber to Stephens-Peppers. Another Aggie punt led to another scoring drive for the Buffs, this time on a 3-yard pass to from Gerber to Jordan Johnson.
OPSU moved the ball all the way down inside the WT 30-yard before Gage Smith tackled Danny Valverde Jr. short of the first down marker on fourth down. WT moved the ball down the field on the next possession but a fumble in the red zone derailed another scoring drive.
Gerber would get this third touchdown pass on the final play of the first quarter following another Aggie punt. The junior lofted a ball perfectly into the back of the endzone for Devin Neal to push the lead to 21-0.
The ground game would take over in the second quarter with Prince Ugwu scoring his first career touchdown for the Buffs on a 2-yard run with 10:39 remaining before halftime. OPSU would get on the board following Aaron Coash's first punt of the season on a 5-yard run from Jamalrian Jones.
WT would respond on the next possession with their fifth scored of the game and fourth through the air on a 61-yard pass from Caleb Arreola to Chase Sojka. On third-and-4, Arreola avoided the rush before finding a wide open Sojka down field for the Shreveport, La. natives first touchdown in Maroon and White.
Gerber was back under center to start the third quarter and led them on another scoring drive. Jarrod Compton did all of the heavy liftin on the drive with three carries for 41 yards including an 11-yard score which including a spin away from an Aggie defender. It was Blair's turn on the next drive with 71 yards on three carries including a 40-yard touchdown. Mauricio Gonzalez would connect on his first field goal of the year at the end of the third quarter sending a 20-yarder straight through the uprights.
Isaiah Smallwood finished the scoring for the Buffs midway through the fourth quarter with a 72-yard touchdown run, the longest run by a Buff since Duke Carter IV's 79-yard run against Central Washington in 2018. Seth Hogan started the drive with consecutive carries before the redshirt freshman busted loose for his first career touchdown.
The Buffs return to action next Saturday, Sept. 26, against Lone Star Conference rival Angelo State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in San Angelo.
