CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M opened their 2021 season on a high-note on Thursday night as they accounted for 534 yards of total offense while scoring the most points in a single-game since 2013 in a 73-0 rout of Texas College in front of over 5,000 fans at Buffalo Stadium.
 
Nick Gerber finished the night going 10-of-11 for 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns for a QB rating of 265.5. Markell Stephens-Peppers caught a team-high three passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns while Khalil Harris led the way on the ground with seven rushes for 111 yards and two scores. WT ran the ball 39 times on the night for 384 yards for an average of 9.8 per attempt.
 
Defensively, the Buffs allowed just five first downs and 102 yards of total yards. Ayrton Payne led the way with five total tackles (four solo) to go along with an interception followed by Jonathan Hernandez with four tackles (two solo) in the win.
 
The Buffs wasted little time getting on the board as Harris took the opening offense play 69 yards to the end zone with just 19 seconds taken off of the block. The WT defense forced a quick three-and-out followed by a four-play drive highlighted by a one-yar Jordan Johnson touchdown run, the 15^th of his career to extend the lead to 14-0.
 
WT forced another punt as Hesston Marshall returned the kick 50 yards to the Texas College 12 yard line, the Buffs needed just two plays to add to their lead as Harris carried the ball on both snaps as the Frisco native finished off the drive with a five-yard TD for his second score of the night. 
 
Gerber added to the WT lead later in the opening quarter as the Levelland product found Stephens-Peppers over the middle for an eight-yard TD grab to run the lead to 28-0. Gerber and Stephens-Peppers connected again on the next possession as Stephens-Peppers found his way behind the TC secondary for a 36-yard touchdown catch to extend the lead to 35-0.
 
The West Texas A&M defense was dominant in the first half as they allowed no first downs and just two yards of total offense while the offense continued to click with rushing touchdowns by Jarrod Compton and Isaiah Smallwood to go along with a Gage Urias 19-yard field goal as time expired to send the teams into the locker room with WT leading 52-0.
 
Marcus Lindsay made his mark in his first career game in Maroon & White as the Denver native bounced off of defenders on his way to a 16-yard touchdown run. The defensive pressure continued in the third quarter as Payne forced the first turnover of the night with an interception with 7:22 left in the quarter, the Buffs turned that into a Hesston Marshall 16-yard TD run to make it 66-0.
 
WT added to their lead late in the fourth as Smallwood found the end zone for the second time, capping off a nine-play drive with a three yard TD rush to give the Buffs a 73-0 win. It marks the most points scored by the Buffs under head coach Hunter Hughes and it is highest scoring outing by WT since October 26, 2013 against McMurry (90-57). 
 
The Buffs return to the gridiron next Saturday as they head to Odessa, Texas to open Lone Star Conference play against UT Permian Basin at Ratliff Stadium with kickoff set for 6 p.m.