West Texas A&M (1-3, 1-1) at Texas A&M-Kingsville (2-2, 2-0)
Date	Saturday, October 3rd | 7:00 p.m.
Location	Kingsville, Texas | Javelina Stadium
Live Statistics	Link
Live Video	FloCollege
Radio	KGNCNewsNow.com | Listen Locally: 710 AM | 97.5 FM
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes hit the road this weekend as they make the long road trip to South Texas to take on the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. in Lone Star Conference action at Javelina Stadium.
 
TAMUK HEAD COACH SCOTT PARR
Scott Parr is now in his second season leading the historic Texas A&M-Kingsville football program. Parr was the head coach at Navarro College from 2019-21, leading the Bulldogs to the Southwest Junior College Conference Championship 2019, Tarleton State, Baylor and Sam Houston State. 
 
The Plainview product is no stranger to WT as he served as the Offensive Coordinator for the Buffs from 2006-09. The Buffaloes broke 64 school and Lone Star Conference records during that span as his offense was ranked in Division II Top 10 in scoring, passing and total offense for three seasons (2007-09).
 
A LOOK AT THE JAVELINAS
The Javelinas enter the weekend with an overall record of 2-2 with an unbeaten mark of 2-0 in Lone Star Conference action. TAMUK opened LSC action with a 56-22 home win over Eastern New Mexico two weeks ago in Kingsville followed by a 52-14 road win at Western New Mexico last Saturday night.
 
Mills Dawson guided the Javelinas offense as the sophomore from Jackson, Louisiana has completed 98-of-154 passes for 1,088 yards and six touchdowns with four interceptions. Dawson ranks 14th in the nation in total offense per game (291.3) while sitting 19th in passing yards and 10th in passing yards per game (272.0).
 
Christian Kretz has become the go-to option on the outside for the Hogs as the senior from Temecula, California has caught 27 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. Kretz ranks 17th nationally in touchdowns (4) and 21st in receiving yards (403). Edward Chumley leads the way in the backfield, carrying the ball 70 times for 392 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Senior linebacker Julian Payne has registered a team-best 26 total tackles (17 solo) with two and a half of them coming for a loss, the Missouri City, Texas product has three interceptions to go along with a pair of pass breakups. TAMUK's defense enters the weekend 10th in the country with seven interceptions while forcing 11 total turnovers, the seventh most in the nation.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday night will mark the 41st all-time meeting on the gridiron between the Buffs and Javelinas in a series that dates back to 1939. Texas A&M-Kingsville leads the series 20-19-1 as the Buffaloes are 9-10-1 all-time in South Texas.
 
HEAD COACH JOSH LYNN
Josh Lynn is now in his fourth 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 six new faces to the coaching staff. Kevin Bleil was named the new Offensive Coordinator for the Buffs in February while Kendrick Marshall will work with the linebackers and serve as Special Teams Coordinator. Vic Wharton III (cornerbacks), Blake Crandall (wide receivers), Ben James (offensive line) and Avery Morrow (running backs) also joined the staff. Garrett Meyer has been added to the full-time staff and will work with the tight ends while Koby Schroeder (defensive line) returns for his second season as a graduate assistant.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Buffaloes have been tabbed third in the 2026 LSC Preseason Poll announced during the league's annual Media Day in McKinney, Texas.
 
Defending LSC Champion Central Washington claimed 16 of the possible 30 first place votes for a total of 276 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Western Oregon (nine first place, 247), West Texas A&M (one first place, 217), Angelo State (one first place, 215), UT Permian Basin (two first place, 203), Texas A&M-Kingsville (162), Eastern New Mexico (one first place, 125), Midwestern State (112), Western New Mexico (58) and Sul Ross State (35).
 
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 three different subscription options: $24.99 per month, $119.88 per year ($9.99/month) or a family plan for $12.99/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.
 
BACK ON THE AIRWAVES
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.
 
2025 REWIND
The Buffs made an appearance in the program's seventh bowl game in 2025 as they defeated Arkansas Tech in the Heritage Bowl Powered by Riot. WT finished the season riding a four-game win streak with an 8-4 overall record. Josh Lynn guided the Buffs to the most victories in a season since 2021 as well as the most LSC wins since 2012.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE NEWS & NOTES
ll 10 Lone Star Conference football teams were in league action during Week 3. No. 16 Central Washington, Midwestern State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Permian Basin and West Texas A&M all prevailed.
 
MSU is tops in the league in total offense (544 yards per game), while Sul Ross State is tops in defense (345.7 yards per game). MSU is scoring a conference-best 47 points per game and UTPB is allowing a league-low 21.7 points per game. CWU (35.3 yards per game) is the least penalized team in the LSC.
 
AFCA DIVISION II TOP 25 POLL
Reigning National Champion Ferris State picked up all 31 first place votes for a unanimous total of 775 points atop of the poll followed by Harding, Kutztown, CSU Pueblo, Minnesota State, Grand Valley State, Western Colorado, Slippery Rock, Indiana (Pa.) and Emporia State to round out the top ten.


SIZE UP FRONT
The West Texas A&M offensive line features 17 student-athletes that boast a total of 4,945 pounds of blocking power for an average size of 290.1 pounds per lineman.
 
ON THIS DATE
The Buffaloes are 5-5 in games played on October 3rd and Saturday night marks the first game on this date since the pandemic shortened 2020 campaign.
 
1948 - Houston - W, 28-13
1953 - at Arizona - L, 38-6
1959 - at North Texas - L, 28-6
1964 - UTEP - W, 14-0
1970 - East Carolina - W, 42-30
1987 - East Central - W, 27-17
1992 - Western New Mexico - L, 30-20
1998 - Angelo State - W, 37-7
2009 - at Midwestern State - L, 31-19
2020 - at Stephen F. Austin - L, 34-6
 
LSC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
WT freshman wide receiver Isaiah Orlandi was named the LSC Special Teams Player of the Week announced by the league's offices on Monday.
 
Orlandi took back a fourth-quarter kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown during the Buffs' game against Midwestern State. Orlandi's kickoff return – just the third in the league this season – brought the Buffs to withing 41-31 with 6:09 to play. He finished with 122 yards on three kickoffs. The yardage is tops for a single game in the conference this year.
 
THE NEXT OPPONENT
West Texas A&M returns to Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium next weekend as they host the UT Permian Basin Falcons on "West Texas Classic" night. The Falcons currently sit tied atop of the LSC standings. The Buffaloes hold a 5-4 advantage in the series with the Falcons that dates back to 2016.
 
ADDING UP THE MILES
West Texas A&M hits the road for the third time this season as they make the 648 mile trip to Kingsville, Texas. The 2026 schedule features six road games for the Buffs that will total 4,395 miles between institutions for a total travel schedule of 8,790 miles.
 
The annual Wagon Wheel Game takes place on October 17th in Portales (106 miles) before a road trip to Sul Ross State (385 miles) on Halloween night. WT makes their final trip of the regular season on November 7th as they battle Western Oregon (1,744 miles) in Monmouth.
 
LSC NEWS & NOTES
Central Washington, UT Permian Basin, Midwestern State, Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville were all victorious in Week 4 of Lone Star Conference football. All but CWU won on the road. UTPB is now 3-0 in league play. CWU, MSU and TAMUK are also unbeaten at 2-0. ASU improved to 1-1.
 
Week 5 will feature four conference games (Western Oregon at Midwestern State, Central Washington at Angelo State, West Texas A&M at Texas A&M-Kingsville and Eastern New Mexico at Sul Ross State). UT Permian Basin has a non-conference road matchup in Tahlequah, Oklahoma against Northeastern State while Western New Mexico is idle.
 
MSU is tops in the league in total offense (576.3 yards per game), while ASU is tops in defense (356.5 yards per game). UTPB is scoring a conference-best 47.8 points per game and allowing a league-low 18.8 points per game. CWU (48.5 yards per game) is the least penalized team in the LSC.