No. 7 Texans take on West Texas A&M

A perfect night for football here at Memorial Stadium as they No. 7 ranked Tarleton Texans take on the West Texas A&M Buffaloes in this huge LSC matchup. A win tonight would give the Texans the Lone Star Conference championship all to themselves. However, West Texas A&M comes in as one of the hotest teams in the LSC right now after going on a 4 game winning streak including wins over ACU, Eastern New Mexico, and Angelo State. It looks like its going to be a great night of football.

> Buffaloes get on the board first after using a combination of runs and quick screen passes to move the ball down the field with ease. The first drive covered 90 yards in 6 plays and was capped off by a 6 yards draw play by running back Keithon Flemming. The PAT was good to put WT up by the score of 7-0 with 8:32 left to play in the first quater.

> Tarleton strikes back quickly going 60 yards in just 5 plays. The touchdown came on a 2 yard run by fullback Keith Demby. The drive was highlighted by a deep ball down the left sideline from quarterback Scott Grantham to wide receiver Jahmeel Hobson for 55 yards. Lindholm added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:09 left in the first quarter.

> The Texan defense was able to force a WT fumble at the Tarleton 30 yard line. However, after a first down and then a Tarleton three and out the Texans pinned the Buffaloes at their own 2 yard line. Two plays later quarterback Taylor Harris dropped back and threw a slant pass to wide receiver Brittan Golden that he took 92 yards for a touchdown. The extra point put the Buffaloes up 14-7.

> The Texan defense forces another turnover, this time in their own endzone as quarterback Taylor Harris threw a short pass over the middle that was tipped several times before linebacker Matt Knicky came down with the ball and brought it out to Tarleton 2 yard line. The Texan offense will now look to drive down the field to put some more points on the board.

> The Texan defense was able to hold the WT offense to a nothing but a long field goal attempt that came up short. The offense then took over at their own 36 yard line. A couple of big completions from Grantham put the Texans inside the WT 10 yard line. On 3rd and 6 Grantham dropped back and threw a strike to the backside of Hobson. Hobson used great concentration to haul in the pass with the defender draped all over him. The extra point tied the game up at 14-14 with :43 left to play in the first half.

HALFTIME NOTES: WT running back Keithon Flemming has had a huge first half with 7 receptions for 72 yards and 9 rushes for 53 yards and a touchdown... Buffalo quarterback Taylor Harris has gone 20 for 22 for 305 yards passing in the 1st half... Evan Robertson has had a strong 1st half averaging just under 7 yards per carry on 7 rushes in the first half... Screen passes seem to be a huge part of both offenses tonight as they have provided huge sparks for both teams in critical situations. Second half is going to be huge and is coming up in just under 3 minutes.

> The Texan defense comes up with a huge stop but on the punt return wide receiver Devin Guinn had the ball slip through his arms and roll around on the ground until it was recovered by the Buffaloes on the Tarleton 15 yard line. Four rushes later by running back Keithon Flemming and he finally punches it in from 1 yard out to give the Buffaloes a 21 to 14 lead with 11:22 left in the 3rd quarter. On the ensuing kickoff Robertson brings the ball out to the Tarleton 28 yard line. The Texan offense is in need of a good drive here.

> Tarleton offense was unable to do anything on their drive and after the Tarleton punt the Buffaloes took the ball at their own 25 yard line. After 5 plays Taylor Harris dropped back and threw another short slant to wide reciever Brittan Golden. This time the slant pass covered 53 yards as he raced down the left sideline and dove into the endzone. With the extra point the Buffaloes now lead the Texans by the score of 28-14.

> The West Texas offense has stayed sharp in this 3rd quarter as they pull in front of the Texans by the score of 35-14. After a blocked punt by the Buffaloes they started at the Tarleton 25 yard line. Two false start penalties later quarterback Taylor Harris dropped back from the 35 yard line and fired a pass to wide receiver Stephen Burton. The extra point put the score at its current standing. Texan offense will look to remedy their 3rd quarter problems.

> The Texans finally realized that something needed to be done as they came out with some very aggressive playcalling to pull Tarleton within 14 points. The score now stands at 35-21 after a little trickery was called to catch the WT defense off guard. A swing pass from Grantham to Demby and then Demby threw a 51 yard pass to a wide open Devin Guinn. WT offense coming up.

> It didn't take the Buffaloes long as they get within the Texan 10 yard line after a 42 yard slant pattern to Stephen Burton. Keithon Flemming again punches the ball in from 1 yard out to give West Texas a 42-21 lead. The Texan offense desperately needs to get something going as they head into the final quarter.

> Keith Demby is giving the Texan offense a small spark here in the 2nd half. After a 48 yard pass to Jahmeel Hobson and a pass interference call on 4th down in the end zone, Demby ran the ball in from 3 yards out. The drive went 10 plays for 79 yards. Texan defense needs a huge stop!

> Texan defense comes up with the huge stop they need. WT punted the ball as it rolled dead at the Tarleton 42 yard line. After a huge 43 yard completion to Devin Guinn the Texans had the ball at the WT 15 yard line. An Evan Robertson 5 yard run and then Grantham hit Guinn in the end zone from 10 yards out. The drive covered 58 yards in just 3 plays as it pulled the Texans within 7 points. The score is now 42-35.

> The Buffalo offense seemed to turn on their light switch as they moved the ball with ease on their next drive. Taylor Harris and wide receiver Tyson Williams seemed to nearly just be playing pitch and catch on that drive with plays of 31 and 21 yards, the second of which gave the WT offense their seventh touchdown of the night. The touchdown gives the Buffaloes a 49-35 lead with 6:09 remaining.

> West Texas A&M is victorious in this one as they once again take down the Tarleton Texans by the score of 49-35. For the fifth straight year West Texas A&M has defeated the Tarleton Texans. A hard fought game throughout it just seemed that the Buffaloes were slightly more prepared for this one. Not everything is lost for the Texans however, as the selection show will give them what they are looking for. The selection show will be aired tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNews.

GAME NOTES: 1,078 total yards of offense were racked up in this one. The Buffaloes racked up 635 yards while the Texans gained 443 yards... West Texas A&M wide receiver Brittan Golden amassed 201 yards on 6 catches and 2 touchdowns... Devin Guinn also had a pretty good game with 161 yards on 8 catches and 2 touchdowns.