PORTALES, NEW MEXICO – West Texas A&M Football (2-5, 2-2 LSC) ensured the Wagon Wheel will reside in Canyon as they took down rival Eastern New Mexico 41-27 Saturday evening.
Tory Simmons and
Contae Cason combined for 217 rushing yards to lead WT's offense.
WT instantly found energy in the game as
Isaiah Orlandi took the opening kickoff 53 yards to the Greyhounds 23-yard line to put the offense in great position for early points.
Alan Anaya would make a 29-yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead. On their opening defensive drive, WT made a splash play of their own as
Caleb Giles picked off a pass following a tip as they shutdown ENMU's drive that neared the red zone. West Texas A&M would punt on their ensuing drive, but the defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth down to get the ball right back.
The start of WT's third drive in the first quarter saw the Buffs play with pace and attack the Greyhounds on the ground. 48 of their 56 yards on that drive came on the ground as
Contae Cason and
Tory Simmons had rushes of 11 yards (twice by Cason) and 16 yards (Simmons) to get into the red zone. At their eight-yard line,
Jayden Macedo fired a strike to
J.B. Mitchell III in the back left corner for the touchdown as WT took a 10-0 lead.
The Buffs defense got off the field early on their next drive as it only took 57 seconds from their five plays. Back on the field facing a tired defense, West Texas A&M was able to capitalize as
Trace Clarkson caught a 69-yard touchdown on a crossing route where he outran a pair of defenders on 40+ yards of YAC for the touchdown. Anaya made the extra point as WT led 17-0. That score would hold at the end of quarter one as the Buffs defense consistently shutdown ENMU's offense.
On their drive to start the second quarter, sniffed out a quarterback sneak in the red zone on fourth down and made another key defensive stop. WT got back to running the rock on their ensuing drive as Simmons ripped off a big 64 yard run as multiple offensive lineman reached the second level on their blocks. Simmons cutaway past the defense and ran all the way down to the 10-yard line. His running mate in Cason would sub in and score on the next play with a rush where he broke multiple tackles and weight-roomed his way into the endzone. Leading 24-0 and playing with great confidence, the defense again made a fourth down stop as
Miles Hill broke up a pass for an incompletion as the energy continued to flow for the Buffaloes.
The offense continued to roll on their next drive as WT marched down to the red zone. On a shotgun pass at the 14-yard line, Macedo dropped a dime to the end zone for
Geramyah Porter who toe-tapped in for the touchdown as the lead grew to 31-0. The Buffs found the end zone one more time before the end of the half as
Langston Anderson came away with a back-shoulder touchdown on a tremendous catch and throw by
Colt Mercer. West Texas A&M would lead 38-0 and take that lead into the halftime locker room.
Out of the break, Eastern New Mexico produced a 75-yard touchdown drive as they put their first points on the board as the score moved to 38-7. On their first drive of the half, a 34-yard run by Cason would lead to an 18-yard field goal by Anaya. The Greyhounds would score two-more touchdowns in the quarter as the score was set at 41-21 headed into the fourth.
WT punted on their first drive of the quarter. ENMU would drive back into the red zone, but a six-yard sack by
Dominick Toulon was crucial in pushing them back and would lead to a turnover on downs after a fourth down stop. While the Buffaloes would be kept off the scoreboard the rest of the way, they would eat up time defensively as games end approached. ENMU scored once more, but had their extra point blocked as the score set at 41-27. That score finalized as the Buffaloes snapped their three-game losing streak and took down their rival to bring home the Wagon Wheel once again.
Top Buffs
- Contae Cason produced 115 yards (100 rushing, 15 receiving) and a rushing touchdown in the game. He added a rushing score and ran 5.0 yards per carry. This was a season-high in rushing and all-purpose yards for Cason and his second straight game with a touchdown.
- Tory Simmons led the Buffs in yards with 117 as all 117 came on the ground. Simmons added a 64-yard rush as he ran 10.6 yards per carry. This was Simmons' second game over 100 rushing yards this season.
- Caleb Giles led the Buffs defense with 14 solo tackles, a sack, and an interception. This was a season-high in tackles for Giles and his first sack and interception of the season.
Buffalo Bits
- West Texas A&M is now 21-19 all-time against Eastern New Mexico and extended their winning streak to three games.
- The Buffs led the game in rushing yards (254-124), yards per carry (5.5-2.6), yards per completion (15.9-13.6), passing touchdowns (4-2), yards per play (6.4-5.6), red zone percentage (100%-40%), sacks (5-1), and field goals made (2-0).
- Jayden Macedo started at quarterback and passed for 170 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 16 yards. This was his first start of the season.
- Trace Clarkson led the Buffs in receiving with 97 yards off four catches. He also caught his third touchdown of the season. This was Clarkson's fourth game with 97+ receiving yards this season.
- Miles Hill made 14 solo tackles in the game to go with one TFL and a pass breakup. This was a season-high in tackles for Hill.
- The offensive line was instrumental in the Buffs rushing attack as they rushed for 5.5 yards per carry while only allowing one sack on passing plays.
- Quincy Eutsay recorded two sacks and six tackles (five solo, one assisted). He is now up to four sacks on the year.
- Dominick Toulon and Johnny Taylor III each recorded their third sacks of the season. Taylor III also blocked a kick.
- J.B. Mitchell III, Geramyah Porter, and Langston Anderson all caught touchdowns in the game. This was Mitchell's third score of the season while it was the first for Porter and Anderson.
- Camden Raymond made eight tackles (six solo, two assisted) and added a quarterback hit.
- Colt Mercer threw for 18 yards and one passing touchdown.
- Phoenix Tusa and Herschel Craig III both added TFL's.
- Cam Manahan, Dayton Navy, Campbell Packebush, Keiondre Lewis, Jayden Niumata, SaMaury Alexander, Kameron Brown, and Ian Amegatcher all recorded pass breakups.
- Alan Anaya made both of his field goals and all five of his extra points.
- James Ingham punted for 227 yards with three landing inside the 20-yard line.
- Isaiah Orlandi produced a 53-yard kick return on his lone returner.
Up Next
West Texas A&M will be back in action on Saturday, October 24 as they host Western New Mexico for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
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