CANYON, Texas – 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.
 
The Buffaloes wasted little time getting on the board as they marched 75 yards on 11 plays capped off by an RJ Martinez three-yard rushing touchdown for the 7-0 lead. Mines answered on their second possession of the game as Braelon Tate turned the corner and found the endzone from 10 yards out to make it 7-7.
 
WT continued to move the ball down the field as Martinez broke free for a 41-yard touchdown to lead 14-7. The Orediggers would respond on their next drive as they went 68 yards on eight plays finished off by a Pierce Richards eight-yard touchdown reception from Joseph Capra.
 
The Oredigger defense would force a punt on WT's next drive that setup a Nick Stone eight-yard catch from Capra for the 21-14 lead. The Buffs would tie up the game later in the first half as a Brennan Ray 22-yard catch on fourth down led to a Martinez four-yard keeper at 21-21. Mines came up with a big play on their next possession with a 38-yard touchdown from Capra to Richards for the 28-21 lead.
 
The Buffs wouldn't go into the locker room without cutting into the lead as Levi Crowder hit a 32-yard field goal as time expired to make it 28-24. Mines used their special teams to extend the lead on their first drive of the second half with a 39-yard field goal by Preston Kyle at 31-24.
 
WT would go on their longest drive of the night later in the third quarter as they marched 75 yards on 19 plays finished off by a one yard dive up the middle by Gene Sledge to tie the game at 31-31. The Oredigger defense came up with the biggest play of the night just two plays into the final quarter as Justin Vaughn forced a fumble in the endzone that rolled out of the back of the endzone for a safety and the 33-31 lead.
 
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.
 
The Buffs hit the road next Saturday as they open Lone Star Conference play in Silver City, New Mexico against the Western New Mexico Mustangs with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. CT at Altamirano Field.