The No. 21 WTAMU Buffalo football team hosted the West Georgia Wolves on Nov. 9 for Senior Night from Kimbrough Memorial Stadium. WT bounced back after a disappointing loss to Eastern New Mexico last week with a 63-23 rout of UWG.
The Buffs accumulated 167 yards on the ground and another 379 through the air for a total of 546 yards in the win. The Wolves gained 290 rushing yards and 145 passing yards for a total of 435 yards on the night. WT also recovered three fumbles in the course of the game.
“The big thing was that all three phases showed back up tonight,” Interim Head Coach Mike Nesbitt said.” “We have been playing spotty the last several games and it caught up with us last week.
Senior Aaron Harris would open the scoring for the Buffs with a 3-yard touchdown run with 6:24 remaining in the first to give WT a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. The Buffs offense exploded in the second quarter, starting with a seven yard touchdown pass from senior Dustin Vaughn to junior Anthony Johnson to make it a 14-0 game with 13:30 to go in the second. The Wolves got on the board on a five yard scoring run by Derick Seward with 10:27 in the half, making it a 14-7 WT lead.
The Buffs would string off 35 unanswered points through the remainder of the half into the third quarter, started by an eight yard touchdown pass from Vaughn to Johnson. Vaughn would throw a 62-yard touchdown pass to senior Torrence Allen and a three yard touchdown to senior Jace Jackson with 10 seconds until halftime to give WT a 35-7 lead at the break.
Senior Nathan Slaughter would catch a two-yard touchdown from Vaughn with 10:35 to play in the third to make it a 42-7 WT lead. Vaughn would connect with Johnson again, this time on a one yard score, to put the Buffs on top 49-7 with 6:33 left in the third. UWG would score again on a two-yard touchdown run by Quan Jones, cutting the Wolves deficit to 49-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
WT would respond with a 23-yard scoring run by Harris to increase the lead to 56-14 with 13:21 remaining in the game. Jones would score on a one-yard run but a failed point after attempt would leave the score at 56-20 in favor of the Buffs. After a 93-yard kickoff return by Slaughter made it 63-20, Lehman Howington added a 42-yard field goal for UWG to complete the scoring.
Vaughn finished the night 29 of 41 passing for 370 yards and six touchdowns. Vaughn also became the new all-time passing yards leader in the Lone Star Conference. Harris finished with 16 carries for 145 yards and two scores. Allen caught five passes for 97 yards and one touchdown and Johnson caught five passes for 52 yards and three scores.
WT is now 8-2 overall and 3-2 in LSC play. The Buffs will conclude the regular season on Nov. 16 as they travel to Wichita Falls to take on the Midwestern State Mustangs at 1 p.m.
