In an exhilarating final homecoming game at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, the Buffaloes of West Texas A&M battled their way to victory over the Falcons of UT-Permian Basin. The Buffs have kicked, passed, and ran on Kimbrough’s turf since 1959 with a slew of devoted fans to cheer them on along the way. 

“We’re playing for people who have been here in the past, who come back and watch us every year and it’s kind of bittersweet,” said redshirt junior, Kevon Thomas. 

Returning home after a big win over Central Washington last week, the Buffs prepared mentally and physically coming into their homecoming game with confidence in their offense, defense, and special teams. 

“Going into this year we’ve had that mentality, it’s us against everyone else. We solidified what we can do,” redshirt senior, Michael Whitfield, said.      “We’re closer, we want everyone to be there for each other. We just want to play and that’s one of the biggest things.” 

UTPB kicked things off with an 82-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. The Buffs caught up with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Duke Carter IV with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter. Carter IV managed to have another impressive night, scoring a total of four rushing touchdowns. 

“The more carries he [Duke Carter] gets, the stronger he gets, said Hunter Hughes, head coach of the football team. “As the game goes on, he just continues to get better.” 

The Buffs would go on to score early in the second after a 49-yard drive ending with a 17-yard pass complete from Justin Houghtaling to Jordan Johnson.   After an impressive 66-yard punt return by Tobias Harris, the Buffs continue to lead the Falcons 21-7. However, UTPB wouldn’t stop there, scoring twice more tying it up 21-21 at the end of the first half. 

The Buffs defense came out strong in the second half, stopping UTPB before regaining the lead once again with a 1-yard touchdown run by Carter IV. This put the Buffs up 28-21 before the end of the third quarter. 

Carter IV continued to dominate, scoring his third touchdown of the night with a 7-yard run to put the Buffs up  35-21. Carter IV would score his fourth and final touchdown of the night after a 31-yard run, largely contributing to the Buffaloes’ 42-21 victory over UTPB. 

The Buffs managed to seal a win on the field that buff nation has called home for 60 years, adding to long lasting tradition and culture that the West Texas A&M football team has created throughout the years. 

“The history of Kimbrough speaks for itself with the types of games, the amount of games, and what they’ve done here,” Coach Hughes said. “I’m happy to be a part of it, it’s kind of like the closing of a chapter and the opening of a new chapter as we go on to this new stadium.”