West Texas A&M (0-2) at Western New Mexico (1-1)
Date	Saturday, September 13th | 7:00 p.m. CT
Location	Silver City, New Mexico | Ben Altamirano Field
Live Statistics	Link
Live Video	FloCollege (Pay-Per-View)
Radio	KGNCNewsNow.com | Listen Locally: 710 AM | 97.5 FM
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M jumps into Lone Star Conference action this weekend as they travel to Silver City, New Mexico to take on the Western New Mexico Mustangs with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. CT at Ben Altamirano Field.
 
WNMU HEAD COACH BILLY HICKMAN
Billy Hickman is in his third season at the helm of the Western New Mexico football program after serving the 2022 campaign as the offensive coordinator in Silver City. Hickman is 5-18 during his time at Western New Mexico. The Bakersfield, California native played college football at Bakersfield College and Tabor College. 
 
A LOOK AT THE MUSTANGS
Western New Mexico enters the weekend with a 1-1 overall record following a 69-55 shootout loss to New Mexico Highlands last Saturday in Las Vegas, New Mexico. WNMU overcame a 35-7 deficit to tie the game at 55-55 in the fourth quarter before a pair of late touchdowns by the Cowboys. The Mustangs opened their season on August 30th with a 35-21 win over Adams State.
 
Redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Ackerley leads the explosive Western New Mexico passing attack as the Tempe, Arizona product was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week following a 529 yard and seven touchdown performance against New Mexico Highlands. The seven touchdown passes tied an LSC single-game record while setting a new WNMU mark. For the season he has completed 46-of-75 passes for 756 yards and nine touchdowns with just one interception.
 
Deuce Zimmerman has caught a team-best 14 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns as the Anchorage, Alaska native finished last week's loss at New Mexico Highlands with nine catches for 92 yards and a pair of scores. Gabriel Levy carries the load in the backfield with 110 yards on 27 carries with a score for the junior from Tucson, Arizona.
 
Cole Lalama leads the way on the defensive side of the ball for the Mustangs as the junior linebacker from Queen Creek, Arizona has registered 15.0 total tackles (13 solo) with 2.5 of them coming for a loss to go along with a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. 
 
The Mustangs rank second in all of NCAA DII Football in passing offense (378.5) while sitting third in first downs (55), fifth in total offense (510.0) and 13th in scoring offense (45.0). Defensive they are fourth in the nation in turnover margin (+3.00) and fourth in turnovers gained (7).
 
Western New Mexico was tabbed ninth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll following a 2-9 campaign a year ago where they went 1-4 at Ben Altamirano Field.
 
WEEK 2 MATCHUPS
Week 2 will feature all games on Saturday and the first conference matchups of the season with West Texas A&M playing at Western New Mexico while Eastern New Mexico hosts the reigning LSC Champion Rams of Angelo State. Texas A&M-Kingsville travels to Maryville,, Missouri to take on Northwest Missouri State while Stephen F. Austin hosts Sul Ross State, Western Oregon makes their way to San Luis Obispo, California to take on Cal Poly. UT Permian Basin, Central Washington and Midwestern State are idle this week.
 
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES REWIND
West Texas A&M battled back to tie the game before the Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines took the lead for good with a fourth quarter safety to pull out a 33-31 victory over the Buffs at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon.
 
RJ Martinez finished the night completing 33-of-47 passes for 273 yards to go along with 133 rushing yards on 23 carries with three scores. Drew Zamar caught a team-high six passes for 101 yards. Miles Hill led the way defensively as the Bixby, Oklahoma product registered 11 total tackles (seven solo) with one of them coming for a loss, David deMenezes had eight tackles followed by Javin Cash, Ashton Reynolds and Hunter Corbin with six each.
 
PUTTING UP YARDS
The 416 yards of total offense by the Buffs on Thursday against Colorado School of Mines were the most by the program since a 465-yard performance in the Wagon Wheel Game at Eastern New Mexico on October 19, 2024. WT has averaged 411.5 yards of offense per game this season which ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference and 39th nationally.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
West Texas A&M hits the road for the second time this season as the make the 496-mile trip to Silver City, New Mexico. The total mileage for the 2025 campaign is 3,088 miles with 1,652 of those coming next weekend as the Buffs travel to Ellensburg, Washington to take on Central Washington.
 
THE LONE STAR STATE
The 2025 Buffalo football roster features 137 student-athletes with 102 playing their high school football in the state of Texas.
 
SIZE UP FRONT
The West Texas A&M offensive line features 20 student-athletes that boast a total of 6,065 pounds of blocking power for an average size of 303.3 pounds per lineman.
 
THE SERIES
The Buffaloes and Mustangs meet for the 15th meeting on Saturday night in Silver City as WT holds a 10-4 advantage in the series that dates back to 1992.
 
Last year's meeting came in Canyon during Homecoming on October 12, 2024. The Buffs would score 21 points in the first and third quarters on their way to a 42-17 win over Western New Mexico. 
 
West Texas A&M is 3-2 all-time at Ben Altamirano Field with their last trip to Silver City coming in 2022. That game saw the Mustangs score with just seven seconds remaining using a Devin Larsen two-yard touchdown run to stun the Buffs, 41-37. 
 
HEAD COACH JOSH LYNN
Josh Lynn is now in his third season at the helm of the West Texas A&M Football program after being named the 29th head coach in WT history. 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 Playoffs.
 
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINE
WT Football welcomes four new faces to the full-time coaching staff as Justin Bane was named the new Offensive Coordinator for the Buffs. Mike Bethea will work with the linebackers while Adrian Duncan (running backs) and Cole McDowell (tight ends) also joined the offensive staff. Justin Richter was promoted to Defensive Coordinator in January following two seasons as the defensive backs/co-special team coordinator for the Buffs.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Buffaloes have been tabbed sixth in the 2025 LSC Preseason Poll announced during the league's annual Media Day in McKinney, Texas.
 
Defending LSC champion Angelo State claimed 23 of the possible 30 first place votes for a total of 292 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Central Washington (four first place, 257), UT Permian Basin (two first place, 229), Texas A&M-Kingsville (one first place, 211), West Texas A&M (157), Midwestern State (139), Eastern New Mexico (88), Western New Mexico (53), Sul Ross State (51).
 
Braden Fuller of Angelo State was named the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while UTPB's Tristan Exline was tabbed the LSC Player of the Year accolades.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday night's contest will be broadcasted on FloCollege. The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August of 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month). Additionally, those who use an .edu email address from an LSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year ($5.99/month). 
 
BACK ON THE AIRWAVES
West Texas A&M Athletics announces the return of radio broadcasts for the 2025-26 campaign. 
 
Members of Buff Nation will now be able to listen to Kent Johnson, Lucas Kinsey and Brice Sheets in partnership with Alpha Media. Football pregame begins 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Thursday night's broadcast is available online (GoBuffsGo.com / KGNCNewsNow.com) as well as locally in the Texas Panhandle on 710 AM and 97.5 FM.
 
ON THIS DAY
The Buffs are 5-1 all-time during games played on September 13th.
 
1975 - at Lamar - W, 10-8
1980 - at Oklahoma State - W, 20-19
1986 - Central Oklahoma - W, 35-28
1997 - at Southwestern Oklahoma State - W, 34-7
2008 - Azusa Pacific - W, 75-13
2014 - Tarleton State - L, 31-27
 
THIS IS THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE
Boasting 83 NCAA national team championships, the LSC is one of the most formidable Division II conferences and tied as the largest in the division. The league, which was founded in 1931 and headquartered in Richardson, Texas, spans three states (Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma). The LSC opens its 94th year of competition this fall and is coming off a successful 2024-25 year with NCAA Division II national championships in women's golf (DBU) and softball (UT Tyler).
 
HERD ELEVATED TO DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
West Texas A&M's Jesse Herd was elevated to the Director of Athletic Performance for the Buffs and Lady Buffs announced last week. The Jacksboro, Texas native is in his second season leading the Sports Performance efforts of Buffalo Football.
 
LSC HALL OF HONOR
West Texas A&M graduate and professional kicker Sergio Castillo has been selected as the 2025 inductee to the Lone Star Conference Hall of Honor. 
 
Castillo is the all-time leading scorer in WT football history (437) and holds the LSC career record for most extra points made and attempted (251-for-255). Over his collegiate career from 2011-2013, Castillo connected for 62 field goals – with a long of 56 yards – and had a string of 64 straight extra-point attempts made, which is also a league record. He was a part of the 2012 LSC championship team and helped the Buffs reach the NCAA Division II national semifinals in 2012 and national quarterfinals in 2013.
 
HOME OF THE NJCAA DI FOOTBAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon serves as the host of the NJCAA Division I Football National Championship Game in 2025, 2026, and 2027. The four-year agreement began last season with Hutchinson CC picking up a 28-23 victory over Iowa Western Community College. The championship is a partnership between West Texas A&M, the Amarillo Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Canyon Chamber of Commerce.