CANYON, Texas - With four games remaining on their schedule, the Central Washington University football team looks to expand from their 17-10 Homecoming victory against Midwestern State as they travel to take on the West Texas A&M Buffaloes this Saturday, Oct. 22, in Canyon, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PST, 7:00 p.m. local time at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.
 
"[West Texas A&M] has a lot of movement up front, a lot of blitzes up front and they keep you on your toes. If we can handle all the different looks they give you, I think we'll be in good shape," Head Coach Chris Fisk said. "They've shown streaks of being the best offense in the Lone Star and hopefully we can keep them off their toes a little bit too."
 
GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Oct. 22
5:00 PM PST / 7:00 PM CST
At West Texas A&M
Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium
Canyon, Texas
WATCH
LIVE STATS
 
PREVIEWING WEST TEXAS A&M
The Buffaloes enter the weekend with a 4-3, 2-3 record and are coming off a 13-27 loss at Western Oregon. They're tied for fourth in the LSC conference standings.
 
Saturday's matchup between WT and CWU will be the first since 2019. The Crimson and Black lost by a score of 41-48 on Oct. 5, 2019, in Canyon, Texas. The Wildcats are 1-4 all-time against the Buffaloes.
 
WT averages almost 28 points per game along with 432 yards of offense each game. Most of those yards come through the air, led by Quarterback Nick Gerber. Gerber has 149 completions for 1,634 passing yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. Gerber's 1,634 passing yards is third in the conference.
 
The Buffaloes also have a big-time receiving threat, Noah Bogardus. He leads the conference in receiving yards (628). Bogardus' season stat line also includes 38 receptions, three touchdowns and just under 90 yards per game.
 
Jarrod Compton is West Texas' leading rusher with 411 yards and five rushing touchdowns. He's averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
 
Defensively, senior Linebacker Christopher Thomas leads the Buffaloes with 60 total tackles, second in the conference in total tackles. Thomas also has four sacks on the year.
 
Defensive Backs Ty Dillon and Preston Steszewski are turnover machines. Steszewski has four interceptions while Dillon has three. Gage Smith also has three turnovers on the year with two forced fumbles and one interception.
 
LSC STANDINGS UPDATE
Entering the weekend, the Wildcats have a 4-2, 4-1 record. They currently sit at third in the conference standings behind #3 Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Both schools are undefeated and will face off this Saturday, giving the Crimson and Black an opportunity to move up the standings with a win.
 
HOMECOMING RECAP
Last Saturday, the Wildcats capped off Homecoming week the right way, beating the Midwestern State Mustangs by a final score of 17-10.
 
"I'm proud of the kids for rebounding after a tough week against Western Oregon. The guys made plays all night on both sides of the ball," Coach Fisk said postgame. "It feels great to get a win, it's what homecoming is all about. The activity and buzz around campus all week, the alumni coming back, we got to see a ton of former players and hopefully we made the Wildcat alumni proud."
 
JJ Lemming had a stellar performance for the Crimson and Black, going 26 for 36 with 227 yards and two touchdowns in the absence of Quincy Glasper. His performance earned him the honors of Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Tai-John Mizutani led Wildcat receivers with a great night. He registered a team-high 85 yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions. Marcus Cook had two receptions for 46 yards. Demonte Horton had five receptions for 42 yards and one touchdown.
 
On defense, Tanner Volk was the star of the night. He had a team-leading seven tackles and one interception. Four Wildcats logged six tackles (Brett Accimus, Daeon Hudson, Jahleel Breland, Chase Loidhamer).
 
After forcing a quick MSU punt, the Wildcat offense started hot. On their first drive, Lemming led the team 65 yards, hitting Mizutani for an eight-yard strike to give CWU an early 7-0 lead.
 
CWU's first drive of the second quarter ended in a 38-yard field goal from Jude Mullette to make it 10-0. The Mustang's offense started to get it going and eventually tied the score at 10-10 going into the half.
 
Late in the third quarter, Lemming drove the offense down the field once again. This time he found Horton for a three-yard touchdown. The score was 17-10 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Opening the fourth quarter, Midwestern State had the ball. On 2nd and 14 from the CWU 32-yard line, Volk jumped in front of a pass from Hollins at the CWU six-yard line, intercepting it and returning it to the CWU 22-yard line.
 
The interceptions killed any offensive momentum for the Mustangs. CWU ran the clock out, winning the game with a final score of 17-10.