CANYON, Texas – The Buffs return home this weekend as they host the Central Washington Wildcats in Lone Star Conference action with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon on Saturday night.
 
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
CWU enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-2 with a 4-1 mark in LSC action following a 17-10 victory over Midwestern State last Saturday in Ellensburg.
 
The Wildcats held the Mustangs scoreless in the second half as they finished the night with 325 yards of total offense with 23 first downs and a pair of forced turnovers. Tai-John Mizutani led the way offensively for CWU as the junior from Honolulu caught 10 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
 
JJ Lemming guides the CWU offense as the junior from Steliacoom, Washington has completed 47-of-72 passes for 436 yards and three touchdowns to go along with one interception during his five appearances this season. Tre'Jon Henderson has carried the ball 117 times for 612 yards and nine touchdowns out of the backfield while Daeon Hudson anchors the Wildcat defense with 48 total tackles (27 solo) to go along with three sacks.
 
CWU HEAD COACH CHRIS FISK
Chris Fisk is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Central Washington football program, entering Saturday with an overall record of 19-10.
 
The Wildcats registered an 8-3 record last season on the way to the program's 11th GNAC Championship and a trip to the NCAA Postseason for the first time in five seasons.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday night marks the sixth all-time meeting on the gridiron between the Buffs and Wildcats. WT holds a 4-1 advantage in the series that dates back to 2008. It marks CWU's third trip to Canyon and the second to Buffalo Stadium as they fell to the Buffs 48-41 back in 2019 on Homecoming.
 
HEAD COACH HUNTER HUGHES
Hunter Hughes is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Buffaloes as the Nashville, Tennessee native holds an overall record of 31-25 during his time in Canyon. A 1991 graduate of Middle Tennessee State, Hughes has coached 37 All-Lone Star Conference selections during his time in Maroon & White. 
 
Hughes came to Canyon in December of 2016 following a decade as the Defensive Coordinator at Colorado State-Pueblo where the ThunderWolves made five NCAA Playoff appearances including a run to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Title.
 
THIS IS LSC FOOTBALL
The season kicks off Thursday, September 1st and the Lone Star Conference has 10 teams set to compete in 2022 with the addition of Central Washington, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon as affiliate members. Each team will play nine conference games to determine the LSC Champion.
 
WEEK SEVEN RECAP
The West Texas A&M Buffaloes took a two-game win streak into Monmouth, Oregon but they came away empty-handed as Western Oregon registered a 20-14 Lone Star Conference victory at McArthur Field.
 
Nick Gerber finished the afternoon completing 32-of-51 passes for 242 yards and a pair of interceptions. Brian Okoye led the WT backfield with 12 carries for 65 yards while Noah Bogardus caught six passes for 81 yards. 
 
Defensively, Ty Dillon and Carson Otworth registered eight tackles each with Otworth also registering an interception.
 
WHERE THE BUFFALOES ROAM
West Texas A&M is home to one of the premiere college football facilities in the country as Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium opened on September 7, 2019 to a capacity crowd of 10,145 fans as the Buffs toppled Asuza Pacific, 35-16. The state of the art facility included Hellas Matrix FusionH XP2 artificial turf along with seven ground-level suites and the Fairly Group Club.
 
AFCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Grand Valley State picked up a 22-21 victory over previous #1 Ferris State on Saturday as the Lakers moved atop of the AFCA Top-25 poll this week with 29 first place votes. Angelo State (one first place, 713) ranks second followed by Shepherd (672), Ouachita Baptist (650), Pitt State (598), Ashland (596), Ferris State (583), Delta State (534), West Florida (511) and Virginia Union (486) to round out the top ten.
 
The LSC was represented by Angelo State (2nd) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (15th). Super Region Four (LSC/RMAC/NSIC) features ASU (2nd), Sioux Falls (11th), TAMUK (15th), Colorado School of Mines (T-18th) and Augustana (21st).
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
 
The 2021-22 campaign saw WT claimed six Lone Star Conference Championships, three LSC Tournament crowns, two Regional Championships and four Top-5 track and field finishes including the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Women's National Championship.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game will be broadcasted on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. For more information, visit the Football Schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.
 
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 6-5 all-time on October 22nd as they have won their last two games played on this day. WT is 4-2 at home on October 22nd with only three of the 11 total contests coming against current Division II institutions.
 
1949 - Trinity (W, 55-20)
1955 - Hardin-Simmons (L, 19-18)
1960 - at Hardin-Simmons (W, 21-0)
1966 - New Mexico State (W, 17-14)
1977 - at Lamar (W, 29-7)
1983 - at Wichita State (L, 31-30)
1988 - at Texas A&M-Commerce (L, 32-7)
1994 - at Abilene Christian (L, 51-50)
2005 - Angelo State (L, 58-53)
2011 - Eastern New Mexico (W, 52-21)
2016 - Midwestern State (W, 35-27)