West Texas A&M University Athletics

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes struggled to get off the field defensively on Saturday night as the Midwestern State Mustangs claimed their first win inside of Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in front of over 6,000 fans during Lone Star Conference play in Canyon.
 
The Buffalo defense came up with the first big play of the game during MSU's first possession as Kameron Brown jumped on a loose ball to setup a Knox Porter 33-yard touchdown pass three plays later to Trace Clarkson for the 7-0 advantage. The Mustangs responded their next drive as they marched 74 yards on 13 plays capped off by a Kaden Brown 17-yard pass to Fabian Baez at 7-7.
 
The teams would trade punts on the next few possessions before the Mustangs took their first lead of the game with 4:50 left in the half on a Baez 10-yard pass in the back of the endzone from Brown for the 14-7 lead. WT would punt on their next drive before another MSU fumble, this time caused by Dayton Navy and recovered by Phineas Allen but the Buffs couldn't convert the turnover into points.
 
WT would use a blocked field goal by Herschel Craig III that was recovered by Miles Hill later in the quarter to setup a 38-yard field goal by Alan Anaya with time expiring to cut the MSU lead to 14-10. The Buffs took the momentum after halftime with Tory Simmons breaking free for a 31-yard gain followed by a two-yard touchdown by the senior for the 17-14 lead.
 
Midwestern State would score on their next two possessions as Kenji Johnson found the endzone twice for the 27-17 advantage. The Buffs would respond on their next drive as Porter found J.B. Mitchell III down the middle of the field from 27 yards out to make it 27-24 headed to the fourth quarter.
 
MSU started the fourth quarter on a high note as Brown connected with Case Peacock from six yards away just two plays into the final period for the 33-24 lead. WT turned the ball over on down on their next drive to setup a Brown 11-yard rushing touchdown along with a successful two-point conversion at 41-24. The Buffs wouldn't go down without a fight as Isaiah Orlandi returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score to make it 41-31 with 6:08 remaining.
 
Porter completed 19-of-32 passes for 295 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Simmons led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 70 yards and a score. Clarkson caught a team-best seven passes for 97 yards and a score while Mitchell III also found the endzone with two catches for 35 yards. Hill led the Buffs on defense with 15 tackles (11 solo) followed by Mun'Terris Ellis with 10. 
 
The Buffaloes hit the road next 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.