The #19 ranked WTAMU Buffs finished up their regular season schedule Saturday Nov. 13 against East Central on “Senior Day”.
WT made sure that their seniors left on a high note with a 52-21 victory over the Tigers.
Both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game. On WT’s second possession, the Buffs drove 48 yards in seven plays that culminated with Jay Tillman recovering a botched snap in the end zone to give the Buffs a 7-0 lead with 6:21 left in the first quarter.
On the Buffs’ next drive a 22-yard pass from Quarterback Taylor Harris to Tyson Williams helped ignite another scoring drive. Harris eventually connected with Tillman from nine yards out on a screen pass for the touchdown to give the Buffs a 14-0 lead with just 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Harris struck again. WT marched 63 yards in 10 plays, culminating with Harris finding Tillman again for the touchdown, this time from 14 yards out. With 10:49 left in the first half, the Buffs held a 21-0 lead.
WT covered ground very quickly on their next drive, going 72 yards in two plays. The drive was finished off by Harris finding Brittan Golden for a 37-yard touchdown pass. With 7:56 left before halftime, WT held a 28-0 lead. This score remained at the half.
ECU finally got on the scoreboard at 9:54 of the third quarter. Quarterback Tyler Vanderzee found Cleotha Euwins from 16 yards out for the touchdown making the score 28-7.
WT took only 53 seconds to respond and covered 87 yards in the process. Harris found Stephen Burton for a 20 yard touchdown reception to make the score 35-7 with 8:53 left in the third quarter.
The Buffs added a 40-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo at the 4:56 mark of the third to increase their lead to 38-7.
The Tigers trimmed the lead near the end of the third when Vanderzee found Euwins again, this time from 38 yards away for the touchdown. At the end of the third quarter the score was 38-14.
Harris connected with Williams early on in the fourth for a 72-yard gain. This led to a one-yard reception from Burton to make the score 45-14 with 9:02 left in the game.
ECU’s defense got on the board when Tyler McGrew returned a fumble 67-yards for the touchdown after backup quarterback Dustin Vaughn was sacked. With 6:02 left in the fourth it was 45-21 Buffs.
WT struck one more time when Tommy Hampton scored on a rush from four-yards out on a drive that covered 75 yards in five plays. This made the final score 52-21 Buffs.
QB Taylor Harris went 43-65 passing for 572 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. Wide Receiver Tyson Williams caught 12 passes for 203 yards while his counterpart Stephen Burton made 14 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Jay Tillman compiled two touchdowns and Brittan Golden added a touchdown of his own.
WT compiled a school-record 735 yards of total offense on the day. Included in this was 605 yards passing in the game.
WT’s overall record now stands at 8-3 overall and 8-2 in LSC play. The Buffs will play Central Missouri in Warrensburg Miss., Nov. 20.
