PUEBLO, Colorado – The West Texas A&M football team exacted
some revenge Saturday with a dominating performance on both sides of the ball as
it upset top-ranked Colorado State-Pueblo at the Netta and Eddie DeRose
ThunderBowl with a 34-13 win in the NCAA Quarterfinal. With the win the Buffs
improved to 12-2 on the year, while CSU-Pueblo ended its season a
12-1.
The Buffs, who avenged a season-opening 44-34 loss to these same
Thunderwolves Aug. 30, silenced the announced crowd of 10,217 midway through the
first half. However, the Buffs had a nice contingent of fans of approximately
800 who made the five-hour trip from Canyon.
West Texas A&M should
find out where and when it will play top-seeded out of Super Region One and
second-ranked Winston-Salem State Sunday.
WT was led by junior
quarterback Dustin Vaughan
who passed for 324 yards and three scores on 24 of 38 passes with one
interception. Senior running back Khiry Robinson
tallied 181 yards on the ground and had two catches for 14 yards with a score.
Junior wide receiver Nathan Slaughter
came up with catch after catch after catch as he tallied 170 yards receiving and
two touchdowns on seven receptions.
Defensively the Buffs dominated the
CSU-Pueblo this time as it held the high-powered Thunderwolves' rushing offense
to just 32 yards on the ground as CSUP had 265 yards on the ground in the first
meeting in August. CSUP quarterback Ross Dausin didn't have a lot of time in
the pocket as the relentless WT defense sacked him seven times for 46 yards led
by junior defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks
who had 2.5 sacks for 21 yards and a forced fumble. He now has a school-record
19 sacks on the season. Junior linebacker Taylor McCuller
had 14 tackles in the game including eight solo stops as he broke the
school-record for tackles in a season with 155 as Joe Calhoun had 151 in
1995.
WT amassed 517 yards of offense as they had 193 yards on the
ground and 324 through the air and held CSUP to just 225 yards of total
offense. For the second straight week, the Buffs have knocked off an undefeated
and top five ranked team as WT won at No. 4 Ashland last week
33-28.
There was an energy and a confidence from the opening kick on
the Buffalo sideline as the teams traded punts for the first three possessions
and the Buffs turned the ball over on downs on a 4th and 1 from the
CSU-Pueblo 45 midway through the first quarter.
The WT defense came up
big with a stop as junior linebacker Bryan Johnson
came up with the first sack of the game forcing a punt.
That's went the
WT offense started clicking as the Buffs marched a season-high 94 yards on three
plays in just 1:19 of time as Vaughan completed two passes to Nathan Slaughter for 91 yards, including a 74-yard strike
on a flea-flicker as Slaughter caught it on the near side and reversed field for
a 7-0 lead.
The Thunderwolves went 3-and-out on their next possession as
the momentum began to grow and the 800 or so WT fans continued to get louder and
louder. The Buffs started inside the CSUP 40 as Vaughan completed pass to
redshirt freshman Jarrian Rhone for
3 yards and a first down on a 3rd and three to the 18. After the
change of the quarter, Vaughan and Slaughter hooked up once again for a 14-0
lead on a 13-yard pass and score.
The Thunderwolves went 18 plays in
8:03, but the bend, but don't break WT defense came up huge once again as senior
defensive lineman came up with a huge nine-yard sack on Dausin on a
3rd and six from the WT eight yard line forcing a field
goal.
The Buffaloes came right back with an 8-play, 71-yard drive as
Vaughan and Slaugher hooked up once again on a 40-yard pass down the CSUP 31.
Another 10-yard pass to Slaughter put the Buffs on the 17. On 3rd
and goal from the goal line, Vaughan threw a pass to Robinson in the end zone
for a 21-3 lead.
WT took over late in the second quarter after senior
defensive back Jordan Smith
picked off Dausin for Smith's third interception of the season. The Buffs
marched from their own 21 to the CSUP 28 as junior kicker Sergio Castillo, Jr.,
kicked a 45-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining in the half for a 24-3
lead.
CSUP drove to the WT 47 on the opening possession of the third
quarter and punter Brandon Kliesen, who ranks second nationally in punting,
placed the ball at the WT 1. On the first play from the one, the snap went wide
of Vaughan, but Robinson was there to collect it and managed a two yard gain
avoiding a disaster.
WT punted from its 22, but CSU-Pueblo return
specialist Kieren Duncan returned the punt 46 yards to the WT 27 as the home
crowd began to come to life.
The Buff “D” stepped up once again with
good pressure on Dausin as he was sacked by Westbrooks and sophomore linebacker
Shane Sobnosky for a seven yard loss as the Thunderwolves
were on the doorstep. Greg O'Donnell kicked his second field goal of the game
for a 24-6 score with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter.
A big pass
interference penalty on CSUP kept the ensuing Buff drive alive as they marched
to the CSUP 33 where Castillo kicked a 50-yard field goal for a 27-6
advantage.
WT put the game out of reach on the defensive side as
Westbrooks sacked and forced a Dausin fumble as junior linebacker LeBrandon Mosley picked up the loose ball and ran in from
26-yards out on the ensuing CSUP possession for a 34-6 lead late in the third
quarter. It was first fumble returned for a touchdown by the Buffs since Chris Metcalf returned one 25 yards versus Texas
A&M-Kingsville in Cowboys Stadium earlier this season.
The longest
run of the game from the Thunderwolves came late in the third as Matthews
scampered 33 yards to the WT 42 on the next possession. Following the change of
the quarter, CSUP marched down field on the shoulders of Matthews and Dausin
connected on an 18-yard strike to Josh Sandoval for a score and a 34-13 Buff
lead with 12:01 remaining.
Great clock management by the Buffs followed
as they went on a season-high 16 play, 89-yard drive getting to the CSUP 6 as a
Vaughan pass was intercepted in the end zone with 4:26 remaining.
Box Score
COURTESY WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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