ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The eighth-ranked Central Washington University Football Team (8-2, 8-0 LSC) will wrap up the regular season this Saturday as they head back to the Lone Star State, this time to Canyon, Texas to face the West Texas A&M Buffaloes (4-6, 4-4 LSC) for a noon PST kickoff from Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.
 
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QUOTING CWU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH SCOTT POWER:
 
"You just look at their recent scores, 69 against Western New Mexico, 62 against Sul Ross, 41 against Eastern New Mexico. They've had to work through some quarterback things dealing with some injuries there which certainly doesn't make things easier for you. West Texas is a very proud program, I've worked with a number of guys that have worked with or crossed through there and all of them are proud of what was accomplished when they were there. That's a place that's won championships before, they've made playoff runs before, and this is going to be their last game and however many seniors they have it'll be the last time they step out on that turf together, so we know we're going to get their best shot. It's a staff that has won before, I've worked with their offensive coordinator at Stephen F. Austin for three years, so I know how he'll go about his business. We'll need to be prepared to play well because I know they'll have their guys ready to go."
 
LAST WEEK:
 
CWU set the tone immediately when Cale Allen intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown just six seconds into the game. Justin Brennan then connected with Isaac Torres for a 62-yard touchdown less than four minutes later to put the Wildcats ahead 14-0. Western New Mexico added a field goal, but David Weber answered with a 30-yard field goal to give CWU a 17-3 first-quarter lead. The Wildcats added another score just before halftime when Brennan found Torres for a 24-yard touchdown, extending the advantage to 24-3. CWU broke the game open in the third quarter, scoring three touchdowns in a span of just over 10 minutes. Brennan and Torres connected for a nine-yard touchdown, followed only 10 seconds later by a 51-yard scoring strike back to Torres. Brennan added a four-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Woodward late in the quarter to make it 45-3. Western New Mexico scored its lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but Justice Taylor capped the Wildcats' scoring with a one-yard rushing touchdown with 4:44 remaining. The 52-10 victory gave the Wildcats a memorable Senior Day celebration and secured at least a share of the conference title and the LSC automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
Brennan led the Wildcats' offense, completing 11 of 16 passes for 240 yards and five touchdowns, with one interception. Torres was the primary target, accounting for 220 of Brennan's passing yards and four of his five touchdown passes on eight receptions. CWU also produced an impressive performance on the ground, rushing for 338 yards on 37 carries and averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. Bumgarner led the way with 143 yards on 12 carries while Ki'Marree Washington added a career-high 117 yards on just six carries with Taylor finishing with 21 yards and the only rushing touchdown for the 'Cats.
 
Defensively, Brycen Indell led CWU with 12 tackles, including half a tackle for loss. Isaiah Strong and Connor Goff each recorded eight tackles and a pass breakup, with Strong adding half a tackle for loss. Brian Kuhn finished with six tackle and a five-yard sack. Brady Phillips added six tackles, while Cooper MacPherson contributed five tackles and a tackle for loss. Allen made one of the game's biggest plays, returning his game-opening play interception 24 yards for a touchdown, and Kam Watkins-Hunter added another interception to give CWU two interceptions on the afternoon. Riah Tua recorded four tackles, including a three-yard sack, while Hudson Hardy added four tackles and a tackle for loss. The Wildcats also received three tackles apiece from Isaiah Paul, David Jones, and Chris Hauss.
 
On special teams, Weber converted all seven of his extra-point attempts and made a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter, but missed his 40-yard attempt. Weber also handled seven kickoffs for 453 yards while Austin Ferencz added one kickoff for 65. Weber also punted once for 27 yards. Juergens returned three punts for 43 yards while Featherstone returned one kickoff for 33 yards, and Andrew Molloy added a two-yard return.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS:
 
West Texas A&M is 4-6 on the season with a 4-4 LSC record. They went 0-2 in nonconference games, falling at home to then #11 Western Colorado 52-21 then falling at then #7 Grand Valley State 56-14. They opened LSC play with a bang defeating Angelo State on the road by a 27-19 score, but then dropped their next three games, falling at home to Midwestern State 41-31, then at Texas A&M-Kingsville 28-21, then against then #23 UTPB at home 24-17. They bounced back rattling off three-straight victories, first at Eastern New Mexico in the Wagon Wheel game by a 41-27 score then taking down Western New Mexico at home for the Buffs Homecoming game by a 69-14 score before heading back on the road to defeat Sul Ross State 62-33. Last week they traveled to the Pacific Northwest were they fell at Western Oregon 38-10.
 
WT is averaging 31.3 points per game while allowing 33.2 points to their opponents each contest. The Buffs average 154.4 rushing yards and 266.8 passing yards per game to total 421.2 yards per game. Opponents are averaging 172.2 rushing yards and 304.7 passing yards per game to total 476.9 yards per contest. West Texas A&M is outperforming their opponents on third downs, converting on 43.36 percent of their third down attempts while allowing 42.04 percent conversions to their opponents. The Buffs have converted on fourth down attempts 10 of their 26 attempts this season while opponents have converted on 16 of their 32 attempts. Opponents average a significant amount of time with the ball, averaging 34:10 minutes per game with the ball compared to the 25:45 minutes WT spends with the ball. The Buffaloes have accumulated 62 penalties for 564 yards for an average of 56.4 penalty yards per game compared to the opponents 73 penalties for 686 yards and an average of 68.6 penalty yards per game.
 
Quarterback Ryan Gafford took over duties for the Buffs last week at WOU. So far this season he's completed 52 of his 95 passes for 759 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions. Tory Simmons and Contae Cason have led the rushing attack for WT with Simmons leading the charge with 661 rushes and seven touchdowns on 97 attempts while Cason has added 433 yards and six touchdowns on 94 attempts. Trace Clarkson has been the primary target for the WT quarterbacks, making 69 hauls for 900 yards and six touchdowns. J.B. Mitchell III and Joseph White have been endzone threats with Mitchell III making 34 catches for 469 yards and five touchdowns and White adding 280 yards and five touchdowns on 24 catches.
 
Miles Hill is the leader on the Buffs defense with 93 tackles while adding 3.5 tackles for loss, a half a sack, three pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries. Quincy Eutsay is the leader at getting in the backfield, leading WT with 7.5 tackles for loss for a total of 37 yards with 4.5 coming as sacks for 27 yards while adding a team-high 11 quarterback hurries. Dayton Navy and Ian Amegatcher lead the team with two interceptions each while Caleb Giles, Anthony White, and Eutsay all have made one interception each. Cam Manahan leads the team with eight pass breakups while Navy and Amegatcher each have seven pass breakups. Five different Buffaloes have forced a fumble while Phineas Allen has made two fumble recoveries with three more players making a fumble recovery each. WT has five blocked kicks this season with Herschel Craig III blocking two of them while Campbell Packebush earning a safety.
 
James Ingham has made 42 punts this year for a total of 1,872 yards with 14 landing inside the opponents 20-yard line and 12 sailing for over 50 yards. Alan Anaya is 6/8 on his field goal attempts this year with his longest coming from 38 yards out. Drew Cox is the primary kicker for kickoff duties, making 47 kickoffs for a total of 2,901 yards. White has made all nine punt returns for the Buffs this season, returning them for a total of 80 yards. Isaiah Orlandi has nine kick returns to lead the team for 275 yards and a touchdown while Geramyah Porter has made six kick returns for 121 yards and White has added five kick returns for 107 yards.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Wildcats will await their fate as they have already sealed a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament, but their seeding and whether they will host or travel is still up in the air. The top four teams in each super region earn hosting duties in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the final four teams traveling to the top four teams based off of various categories, not based off of seeding in the region.
 
The Wildcats are currently ranked fifth in Super Region 4 with a 62.002 NPI value. Harding holds the top spot in the region heading into this weekend with an NPI value of 67.461 and they face Arkansas Tech at home this weekend. Colorado State Pueblo and Western Colorado follow Harding at second and third in the region this week with NPI values of 64.297 and 62.837 and they will battle for a right to stay in the top four for first round hosting duties as the loser could slip to that fifth or below spot and have to travel in the first round. In the fourth and final hosting spot is Northwest Missouri State who has an NPI value of 62.775 and they face Pittsburg State in a neutral site in Kansas City, Mo. while a pair of their conference counterparts follow the 'Cats in sixth and seventh in the region in Emporia State and Washburn with NPI values of 60.544 and 58.859 with ESU traveling to Fort Hays State and Washburn hosting Missouri Southern State. Rounding out the top eight in the region is fellow LSC member Midwestern State who has an NPI value of 58.408 and conclude their regular season at Eastern New Mexico.