After suffering the worst loss of the season last week it would have been easy for the West Texas A&M football team to fold heading into the midway point of the season.
Instead, the Buffs took last week personal and bounced back getting a complete team effort in a complete domination of Western Oregon during a Lone Star Conference game in front of an announced crowd of 7,000 fans at Bain-Schaeffer Buffaloes Stadium in Canyon.
It’s the Buffs (2-3 overall) first win against the Wolves in program history after an 0-4 record entering the matchup as WTAMU moves to 2-1 in the LSC.
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The WTAMU defense was the story of this game. Though the boxscore won’t show a shutout, the defensive unit didn’t give up a point let alone a yard. The lone WOU touchdown came when the game was well out of hand on a pick six late in the fourth quarter by Dylan Camp.
The Buffs defensive unit completely took over from the opening drive and never allowed the Wolves momentum or a chance to breathe limiting the Wolves to 45 yards of offense for the game. WTAMU held WOU to only four first downs and 3-of-11 on third down opportunities.
“Give credit to defensive coordinator Justin Richter,” WTAMU head coach Josh Lynn said. “He took last week’s loss personal and it got the guys in positions to make plays. We were able to get a pass rush all night and get sacks. We knew we had to match their physicality and we did that. It was an outstanding effort from that unit.”
Canyon graduate and WTAMU linebacker Javin Cash along with defensive lineman Ashtyn Reynolds were menacing the entire night for the WTAMU defense. Cash flew all over the field making six total tackles with Reynolds spending the majority of his night in the Wolves backfield making two sacks to go with six tackles.
The WTAMU offense also did its job putting up one of its best performances of the season. The Buffs opened the first half holding the ball 20-plus minutes taking a 12-0 lead into halftime. In the second, the WTAMU offense continued to move up and down the field using many different weapons. The Buffs offense finished the game keeping the ball for 43 minutes to the Wolves 16-plus minutes. The WTAMU offense ran 95 plays to WOU’s 37 and stacked up 559 yards of offense.
“We challenged the offensive line,” Lynn said. “We didn’t give up a sack after six last week and they stepped up. Jayden (Hibbler) was awesome and can do a lot of different things with his versatility. He is a great addition to this team and he prepares very well. This was a complete team win and a fun win for us. We had a great crowd and great energy and I know we loved the black jerseys we wore.”
Quarterback R.J. Martinez finished the game very efficient going 37-of-46 for 313 yards and rushed for another 36 yards. The ground game saw a huge spark from Lubbock-Cooper grad Jayden Hibbler who rushed for 83 yards with a touchdown on 11 carries and backup quarterback Sean Johnson was utilized in multiple ways throughout the night as he ran for a team-best 96 yards on only six carries with a pair of 63 and 13 yards.
“We depended on the offensive line,” Hibbler said. “The playmakers made the plays the were suppose to and everyone did their job. We were prepared and worked hard this week. We know there is a lot more football and we want to keep playing like we did in this win.”
Take a look at the boxscore
For a look at the full boxscore of West Texas A&M’s win against Western Oregon, please visit https://gobuffsgo.com/sports/football/stats/2025/western-oregon/boxscore/11286