Behind new energy off a bye week and a new quarterback in the pocket, the West Texas A&M Buffaloes finally got the offensive juice they have been looking for during a 42-17 Homecoming win against Western New Mexico in front of an electric crowd at Bain-Schaeffer Buffaloes Stadium on Saturday night.

The Buffs (2-4 overall) snap a nasty four-game losing streak while moving to 2-2 in the Lone Star Conference. WTAMU gets its first home victory since Oct. 14 of last year against the Mustangs and push their Homecoming win streak to seven straight.

“We needed to start fast, and we did,” WTAMU head coach Josh Lynn said. “We ran the ball, we threw the ball and did what we needed to.”

The Buffaloes put up a season-best 632 yards of total offense against the Mustangs (2-5 overall, 0-5 in LSC). WTAMU hit its season average of total offense by halftime with 320 yards and racked up 29 first downs.

The offensive barrage happened in two separate quarters for the Buffs with 21 points coming in the opening quarter and 21 points happening in the third quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Kanon Gibson earned his first start of the year replacing Sean Johnson after the first five games. Gibson, who saw time as a freshman last season, went right to work finding an immediate connection with wide out Zorian Stanton.

On the second offensive play of the game, Gibson delivered a strike to Stanton who went 59-yards for a score. Following a two-point conversion, the Buffs went up 8-0.

After a WNM touchdown, Gibson was back at it leading a 10-play, 87-yard march that was capped off by a Gibson to Tucker Swoboda 13-yard connection for a 14-7 lead. Gibson then ended the first quarter finding Stanton once more on a 13-yard touchdown extending the lead, 21-7.

The Mustangs battled back in the second quarter cutting the deficit 21-17 at the half.

The WTAMU once more came alive in the second half behind Gibson scoring 21 unanswered points. Gibson kept it himself on a two-yard touchdown, then found TJ Moore Jr. for a 46-yard pitch and catch and highlighted the third with a 72-yard bomb to Swoboda putting the game away at 42-17.

“We knew we needed to get the receivers going,” Lynn said. “Gibson did what we needed him to do. I’m proud of him. Kanon hasn’t had an easy road. He got beat out at the first of the year. A lot of guys would have been upset, but he kept working and getting better. We gave him a shot and he delivered.”

Gibson picked apart the Mustang secondary going 19-of-27 for 374 yards passing with five touchdowns. Gibson tacked on 36 yards rushing with another score.

“The offensive line was great for us,” Gibson said. “We dominated the line of scrimmage. It’s been a rough road, but Sean Johnson is a great leader and taught me to get better. I just stayed ready and waited for my moment.”

Stanton had a career night hauling in eight catches for 187 yards all in the first half. Swoboda added three catches for 92 yards with a pair of TDs. The Buffs also got the run game going with Tre’Jon Henderson rushing for 105 yards on only 13 carries.

Minus a lull in the second quarter, the WTAMU defense held WNM in check. The Buffs limited the Mustangs to 258 total yards with only 42 of those coming in the second half.

Senior linebacker JT Cavender was in on 13 tackles, eight of those solo as teammate Josh Beaird also made 13 tackles.

“We stubbed our toe in the first half,” Lynn said. “We played a lot better in the second half and made a great adjustment. We still have penalties to clean up, but I’m very happy with the defensive effort and we need to keep this momentum going.”

Next up

The Buffs hit the road to face LSC rival Eastern New Mexico in the 60th edition of the Wagon Wheel game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium in Portales.

For a look at the full box score, please visit https://gobuffsgo.com/sports/football/stats/2024/western-new-mexico/boxscore/10742