Big second half gives West Texas A&M a 42-17 homecoming win

Joe Garcia III

Match Review: Football | Oct 12, 2024 10:33 p.m

CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffaloes picked up their seventh straight homecoming win on Saturday night as they racked up 632 yards of offense en route to a 42-17 Lone Star Conference victory over the Western New Mexico Mustangs in front of over 8,000 spectators Fans gathered at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon.

The Buffs wasted no time getting on the scoreboard Canon Gibson found Zorian Stanton from 59 yards on the second play of the game, followed by one James Ingham completed passage Josh Beard for the two-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead. WNMU responded on its first possession when a short field was converted into points by a four-yard rush from Josh Magana, making the score 8-7.

WT extended its lead on its next possession by covering 87 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 13-yard touchdown grab Tucker Swoboda for the 14:7 lead. The Buffs made a big play on defense with the Mustangs leading the way Cam Manahan When he intercepted a WNMU pass in the end zone to give the Buffs the ball back late in the first quarter, WT turned it into points when a Gibson caught Stanton from 13 yards out for a 21-7 lead.

The Mustangs took the lead early in the second quarter when a 12-play drive was capped by a 31-yard field goal by Zach Gordon. WNMU put together another long drive on their next possession, as a 64-yard drive spanned seven plays and was capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Magana to Demarion Postell that made it 21-17 with a header the locker room scored.

The Buffalo defense came up with a big stop as the Mustangs were on their way to taking the lead JT Cavender The Buffs chased Magana in the backfield on fourth-and-short to give the ball back to WT, capping an 11-play drive with a two-yard keeper by Gibson for a 28-17 lead. The Buffs would extend their lead on the next possession, as Gibson noted TJ Moore Jr. on the first play of the drive from 46 yards to make the score 35-17.

WT continued its great third quarter on its next drive as Gibson placed a deep ball perfectly into the hands of Swoboda, who raced down the sideline from 72 yards out to give WT a 42-17 lead.

Gibson finished the night completing 19 of 27 passes for 374 yards and five touchdowns and also carried the ball 10 times for 36 yards and a score. The sophomore becomes the first WT quarterback to throw at least five touchdowns since Ben Arbuckle threw for six scores against Oklahoma Panhandle State on September 15, 2016.

Stanton led the team with eight catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns, while Swoboda caught three balls for 93 yards and scored two scores of his own. Tre’Jon Henderson carried the ball 13 times for 105 yards. Defensively, Cavender was all over the field for the Buffs as the senior had 13 total tackles (eight solo) and three of them were for a loss.

The Buffs hit the road next Saturday, making the short drive down Highway 60 to 36^Th edition of the Wagon Wheel Game against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. CT at the Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium in Portales, New Mexico. ENMU crashed onto the road in western Oregon on Saturday afternoon between 49 and 8 p.m.