The West Texas A&M Buffaloes (3-4) defeated the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas (1-7) in a hard fought defensive battle played in the rain, 24-14. The win puts the Buffs in a position to make the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament if they get a win against Eastern New Mexico.

The Buffs defense shined in a low scoring game against the Javelinas, forcing five turnovers and also tallying five sacks for the game. The Buffs secondary in particular played well, tallying up three interceptions against the Javelinas.

“That’s our mentality to go out every week and get as many turnovers as possible. That’s kind of our mantra. Try to get the ball back to the offense,” Hunter Streuling, a sophomore defensive back for the Buffs, said. “The other team can’t win without the ball. I think we had four on defense and one on special teams. Five turnovers you usually have a good chance to win the game.”

The pass rush for the Buffs was also in full effect this week, getting the five sacks and also seven tackles for a loss on the day. The pass rush from the Buffs front seven provided the rest of the team, especially the secondary, with the opportunity to come away with turnovers. Senior defensive lineman Jacob Laguna said he thought that the Buffs should have had more sacks on the game.

“We should have had more, to be honest with you,” Laguna said. “It was a little rainy. I remember I even missed one. I reached out, and the guy slipped right off me. I mean, our defensive line was getting off the ball, and doing what Coach Watson said, and we were running our D really well.”

Head Coach Mike Nesbitt said he was extremely excited with his team’s production on defense and the high amount of turnovers for the game. He also talked about senior defensive lineman John Sheehy’s 65 yard interception touchdown touchdown return

“I was really excited with how the defense played,” Nesbitt said. “It took two quarters for John Sheehy to get his breath back and his legs back after he ran back that touchdown. John goes out, runs the touchdown back. Every time we would try to sub personnel, Sheehy thought he was supposed to come out.”

The West Texas A&M Buffaloes will now go on to face the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico for the Wagonwheel. Sophomore linebacker Daelin Young said there was no pressure after losing last year’s game and what it would mean to take back the Wagonwheel.

“We just want to focus and get the win and come home with the Wagonwheel,” Young said. “If you watched the film, these guys are better than they were last year. I believe we deserve this win, and with the Wagonwheel, we can do a lot of things with it.”

Coach Nesbitt said there were a lot of different uses for the Wagonwheel, and even suggested a few.

“My uses for the Wagonwheel would be a great décor out in front of your house, if you have ranch house, you can use it,” Nesbitt said.