Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue	Links
Saturday, October 19	1:00 p.m. CT	Eastern New Mexico	Portales, N.M.	Loy Family Foundation Stadium	Stats | FloSports | Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M makes the short drive down Highway 60 on Saturday afternoon as they battle the rival Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds in the 36th edition of the Wagon Wheel Game, kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. CT at Al Whitehead Field inside of Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium.
 
WNMU RECAP
The Buffaloes picked up a Homecoming victory for the seventh straight year last Saturday night as they compiled 632 yards of total offense on their way to a 42-17 LSC victory over the Western New Mexico Mustangs in front of over 8,000 fans at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon.
 
LSC NEWS & NOTES
Western Oregon, Angelo State, Midwestern State, West Texas A&M and UT Permian Basin all earned wins in Week 6 of Lone Star Conference football. All were home victories except UTPB's 14-13 win over No. 9-ranked Central Washington.
 
WOU and ASU each have a four-game winning streak and are atop the conference standings at 4-0. Eastern New Mexico is producing 431.8 offensive yards per game, followed by CWU (408.5 ypg) and UT Permian Basin (390.7 ypg). The Greyhounds are scoring a league-high 30.3 points per game and have scored 24 touchdowns – tied with CWU and UTPB.
 
WEEK 7 MATCHUPS
Week 7 will again feature all 10 teams and all Saturday games. Eastern New Mexico, UT Permian Basin, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Sul Ross State and Midwestern State all host league foes this Saturday.
 
A LOOK AT THE GREYHOUNDS
The Hounds enter the weekend with an overall record of 2-4 with an 0-4 mark in Lone Star Conference action following a 49-20 loss at Western Oregon last Saturday to extend their losing skid to four contests.
 
Junior quarterback Mario Sanchez guides the triple-option attack for the Greyhounds as the Denver City product has completed 22-of-42 passes for 458 yards and four touchdowns, he has also carried the ball 68 times for 394 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore linebacker Matthew Quartieri leads the way defensively for the Hounds with 56 total tackles (27 solo) to go along with one sack and an interception.
 
ENMU HEAD COACH KELLEY LEE
Kelley Lee returned to Eastern New Mexico in January for his second stint as the head coach in Portales. Lee holds an overall record of 30-23 for the Greyhounds.
 
Lee led the Hounds to their first Division II bowl game victory against Southern Arkansas in the 2019 Heritage Bowl. Lee served as the ENMU offensive coordinator for five seasons under Josh Lynn before taking over the reins in Portales in 2017. 
 
THE SERIES
The Greyhounds are 19-18 in the rivalry that dates back to 1945. WT is 8-8 all-time in Portales including 2-2 at Al Whitehead Field on the campus of ENMU. This weekend marks the 36th edition of the Wagon Wheel game with ENMU leading that series 18-17. 
 
HEAD COACH JOSH LYNN
Josh Lynn is now in his second season at the helm of the West Texas A&M Football program after being named the 29th head coach in WT history.
 
Lynn is no stranger to the Wagon Wheel rivalry as he won a pair of games against the Buffs during his time as a tight end at ENMU (1999, 2000) followed by two wins as the head coach in Portales (2013, 2014).
 
Lynn, widely regarded as one of the nation's up-and-coming head coaches, came to Canyon following six seasons at the University of Nebraska-Kearney where he led the Lopers to an overall record of 35-25 including a run to the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Division II Playoffs. Lynn coached 61 all-conference selections during his time in Kearney while being named the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2021.
 
WT FOOTBALL WEEKLY REPORT
West Texas A&M Athletics has partnered with Panhandle Sports Star 1029 FM ESPN along with The Lumberyard to present the West Texas A&M Football Weekly Report.
 
Host Lucas Kinsey will be joined by Josh Lynn along with student-athletes and assistant coaches in the one-hour show. The show, presented by The Lumberyard, will take place at Feldman's Wrong Way Diner (2100 N 2nd Ave.).
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
Central Washington picked up 20 of the possible 30 first place votes for a total of 286 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Angelo State (six first place, 260), defending LSC Champion UT Permian Basin (four first place, 244), Texas A&M-Kingsville (202), Midwestern State (153), West Texas A&M (149), Eastern New Mexico (128), Western Oregon (118), Western New Mexico (68) and Sul Ross State (42).
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's contest will be broadcasted on FloSports. The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history.
 
Fans have two different subscription options: $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year ($8.33/month).
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
 
The Buffs and Lady Buffs finished third in the 2023-24 Division II LEARFIELD Director's Cup standings. It marked the sixth straight and eighth overall time that WT finished inside of the Top-10 including the fifth straight inside of the Top-5.
 
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 4-7-1 all-time on games played on October 19th.
 
1946 - at UTEP - L, 26-20
1957 - at New Mexico State - W, 35-7
1963 - Memphis - L, 29-14
1968 - UT Arlington - W, 41-0
1974 - at Tulsa - L, 17-14
1984 - at Southern Illinois - W, 24-17
1985 - at Illinois State - T, 29-29
1996 - Texas A&M-Commerce - L, 31-0
2002 - Texas A&M-Commerce - L, 18-17
2006 - Abilene Christian - L, 49-33
2013 - Angelo State - W, 34-30
2019 - Angelo State - L, 17-14
 
ALL ABOUT THE WHEEL
The 36th Wagon Wheel game takes place on Saturday afternoon at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium in Portales. ENMU joined the Lone Star Conference in 1984 followed by then West Texas State in 1986.
 
The Wagon Wheel game was born in 1986 as ENMU Campus Union Director Dallan Sanders and then Greyhound football coach Don Carthel discussed creating a rivalry series. Two wagon wheels were donated as the traveling trophy, one by the Ranch at Dora New Mexico and the other by WTSU Board or Regents member and former Buff Tom Christian.
 
There have only been two meetings between the two universities outside of the Wagon Wheel Game. The first in 1945 as West Texas State Teachers College defeated Eastern New Mexico College, 57-6. The other came in 2014 as ENMU defeated the Buffs, 55-45 during the LSC Playoffs.
 
THIS DAY IN SPORTS
1923 - Ban Johnson persuades American League owners to prohibit boxing matches inside of AL ballparks
 
1933 - The Berlin Olympic Committee votes to introduce basketball starting in 1936
 
1962 - American boxing legend Evander Holyfield is born in Atmore, Alabama
 
1966 - Hall of Famer Bobby Orr makes his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins
 
1991 - The longest NCAA football game is played (3:52) as Rhode Island beats Maine, 52-30 in six overtimes