CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M couldn't find a rhythm offensively on Thursday night as they fell to the #5 Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines, 41-13 in front of 4,224 fans at Marv Kay Stadium in Golden, Colorado.
 
The Orediggers wasted little time getting on the board as their first drive spanned just five plays capped off by a 47-yard rushing touchdown by Landon Walker for the early 7-0 lead. 
 
Mines added to their lead following a West Texas A&M three-and-out as a 27-yard Evan Foster touchdown pass to Max McLeod made it 14-0. The Buffs responded on their next drive as they marched 75 yards down the field on seven plays capped off by a 27-yard Sean Johnson pass to Zorian Stanton.
 
The two teams traded drives before Mines added to their lead in the second quarter, using a 10-play drive that spanned 75 yards as Foster found Brayden Duerkson from two yards out to extend the lead to 20-7. CSM would take advantage of a short punt on WT's next possession to setup a six-play drive capped off by a Braelon Tate six-yard rush to make it 27-7.
 
The Buffs responded with a long drive of their own before halftime as they completed a 15-yard touchdown pass but an offensive pass interference call took the points off the board and sent the team into the locker room with Mines leading 27-7.
 
The Orediggers added to their lead on the first possession of the second half on a 60-yard drive finished off by a Landon Walker three-yard touchdown on the ground to make it 34-7. The Buffs wouldn't go down without a fight as they responded with a 12-play march down the field finished off by a six-yard keeper by Johnson at 34-13.
 
Mines extended their lead to start the fourth quarter as an 11-play drive was finished off on the ground by Max Barnes from seven yards out to make it 41-13.
 
Johnson finished the night completing 17-of-31 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown to go along with an interception, the junior carried the ball 13 times for a net of 60 yards with another score. Stanton caught five passes for a team-high 84 yards and a score while Tyrie Tipton also caught five balls for 47 yards. WT registered 295 yards of offense with 196 of them coming thru the air.
 
Defensively, the Buffs were led by Zach Schlager with seven total tackles (five solo) with one of them coming for a loss followed by Cam Manahan with six tackles. The Buffs finished the night allowing 447 yards on 66 plays for an average of 6.77 per play including 21 first downs by the Orediggers.
 
The Buffs will play their first home game of the season next Saturday as they host the Western Colorado Mountaineers in a regional showdown starting at 7:00 p.m. at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon.