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CANYON, Texas – The
16th-ranked West Texas A&M football team continues its magical season with a
date in the NCAA Division II National Championship on the line as it travels to
No. 2 Winston-Salem State in the NCAA Division II Semifinals Saturday evening at
5:30 p.m. at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Buffs a
12-2 on the year, while the Rams are 13-0.
WATCH AND LISTEN TO
THE BUFFS - The game will be broadcast on the internet on ESPN3 as John
Sadak and Rene Ingoglia will have the call and Angela Mallen will be on the
sideline. The game will be broadcast on the radio throughout the Texas
Panhandle on KGNC-AM NewsTalk 710 with Neil Horn and Brice Edwards. There are
no live stats.
THE COACHES - WTAMU head coach Don Carthel, the winningest coach in terms of
winning percentage and wins in WT football history, brings a record of 79-21
(.787) is in his eighth season at the helm of the Buffalo football program. In
his 17th season, Carthel is 125-67-1 (.648). He surpassed Joe E. Kerbel in wins
Sept. 15 with his 69th win at the helm of the Buffaloes for the most in school
history in a 40-10 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville at Cowboys Stadium in
Arlington,
Texas.
Winston-Salem
head coach Connell Maynor is in his third season at the helm of the
Rams. He is 34-3 going 13-1 and losing in the NCAA Semifinals last season.
Maynor was named American Football Coaches Association Super Region One Coach of
the Year this week as he has led his team to another undefeated season to this
point. Maynor played at Winston-Salem State and North Carolina A&T and has
more than two decades of football experience including 10 years at Fayetteville
State as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, as well as working in
the Arena Football League where he was the offensive coordinator for the
Philadelphia Soul (2006-2008) and an Arena Bowl XXII championship in 2008. He
is a four-time Arena Bowl champion with two at Tampa Bay (1993-1994) and two in
Orlando at quarterback (1998 and 2000).
CARTHEL NAMED AFCA
REGION FOUR COACH OF THE YEAR - West Texas A&M head coach
Don Carthel was announced as American Football Coaches
Association Division II Region Four Coach of the Year Monday. Carthel earned
Co-Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year honors this season,
too.
GAME 15 - Saturday's game is the 15th of the
season for the Buffaloes and will be the most games played in a season in school
history as the previous most was 13 games in 2006-2008. The most games played
in a season in Division II is 16 set by Wayne State (Mich.) last season as the
NCAA runner-up to Pittsburg State (Kan.)
THE SIX-SEED -
This is the second year in a row that a six-seed has made it to the
NCAA Semifinals. Last season, Wayne State (Mich.) upset Winston-Salem State in
the semifinals 21-14 earning a berth in the NCAA
championship.
ReCAPPING CSU-PUEBLO - The Buffs' season
came full circle last week as WT and Colorado State-Pueblo hooked up once again
this season. The Buffs opened the 2012 season with a 44-34 loss at CSU-Pueblo
on Aug. 30, but that sour taste changed quickly on Saturday as WT dominated the
game from the get go. The Buffs silenced the 10,217 crowd as 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 3.0 sacks for 24 yards and a forced fumble. He now has a school-record
19.5 sacks on the season. Junior linebacker
Taylor McCuller had 15 tackles in the game including
eight solo stops as he broke the school-record for tackles in a season with 156
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 Nov. 24,
33-28.
WHERE NO BUFFALO HAS GONE BEFORE - Last
Saturday's game at CSU-Pueblo was the first time WT has ever played in the NCAA
Quarterfinals. The 33-28 win over Ashland last week was the first time the
Buffaloes had advanced past the second round in school history. With the win
at CSU-Pueblo, WT moved over .500 in postseason play for the first time at 6-5
all-time in the NCAA Tournament in six appearances in eight seasons all under
Carthel. WT has made the postseason each of Carthel's seven previous years
including two wins in the Kanza Bowl (2009, 2011). The Buffs' first NCAA
Tournament win came in 2006 with a 30-27 home, overtime win over Abilene
Christian, followed by a 43-17 loss at Chadron State in the second round after a
home defeat in 2005 to Pittsburg State (Kan.) in Carthel's first season. WT
defeated Washburn (Kan.) at home 49-39, in 2007 and followed with a 56-28 loss
at Northwest Missouri State. In 2008, the Buffs downed Central Washington in a
49-42 thriller at Kimbrough, followed by the record-shattering 93-68 loss at
Abilene Christian. WT then lost 55-35 at Central Missouri in the NCAA
Tournament in 2010. The Buffs are 3-1 at home in the NCAA Tournament and, with
the wins at Chadron State, Ashland and CSU-Pueblo this season, improved to 3-4
on the road in the NCAA Tournament.
A WIN OVER WINSTON-SALEM
STATE WOULD...
Give the Buffs a 13-2 record which would be the most wins in a season in
school history
- Earn a berth in WT's first NCAA Championship in football against either
Valdosta State or Minnesota State
- Give WT a 7-5 record in the NCAA Tournament all-time in six appearances
- Be the fourth consecutive road win in NCAA Tournament play
- Be the fifth win over a ranked team this season (4-2)
- Mark the fourth time a Lone Star Conference Team has made the championship
and first since 1994 (2-1)
- Be the fourth win in the NCAA Semifinals for a LSC and first win since 1994
(3-8)
- Tie for the most games played in a season at 16 with Wayne State (Mich.) in
2011
- Give the Buffs their 480th win in school history and a 480-482-21 record
- Become the first team to defeat an undefeated team in its final game of the
season three times in the same season since Northwest Missouri State in 2007 and
just the second time in NCAA history
ABOUT WINSTON-SALEM
STATE - The Rams enter with a 13-0 mark after a hard-fought 21-17 win
over Indiana (Pa.) Saturday in the NCAA Quarterfinals. WSSU's standout
quarterback Kameron Smith passed to Ricky Rozier with 3:51 remaining putting
WSSU on top. However, Indiana (Pa.) had one last chance and a pass deflection
on the final play of the game inside the WSSU 10 by Casey Davenport sent the
Rams to the semifinals for the second consecutive season. The Rams are led by
Smith who is 183 of 299 for 2,810 yards and 40 touchdowns on the season with
just nine interceptions. He ranks second nationally in passing efficiency at
177.68 and 40th nationally in total offense at 258.00. The ground attack is led
by Maurice Lewis as he has 851 yards on 164 carries and 11 touchdowns. Jameze
Massey is one of two receivers who have over 1,000 yards on the year as he has a
team-high 54 catches for 1,099 yards and 13 touchdowns. Jahuann Butler leads the
team with 1,114 yards and has 12 scores on 53 receptions. Massey ranks 29th
nationally in yards per game at 91.6 per contest. Massey ranks 43rd nationally
in all-purpose yards at 134.3. Defensively, the Rams are led by Carlos Fields
who leads th team with 97 total tackles, including 55 solo stops. He is second
on the team with seven tackles for loss. Daniel Mungin leads the team with 5.5
sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss, while Larry Hearne has a team-high four
interceptions on the year.
IN THE NCAA'S - The Buffs
have continued their outstanding play each week in the playoffs as they are
averaging 35.0 points per game and allowing 23.7 in the three games. WT has
rushed for 557 yards (185.7) and thrown for 991 (330.3), while holding the
opposition to 304 yards on the ground (101.3) and 742 (247.3) through the air.
WT is averaing 516 yards per game in total offense, while allowing just 348.7
yards per game. Senior running back
Khiry Robinson
leads the team with 469 yards on the ground and three scores, while junior
quarterback
Dustin Vaughan
has throws for 991 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions on 78 of
119 for a 153.73 passing efficiency. Juniors
Torrence Allen and
Nathan Slaughter have had huge games thus far at wide out
as Allen leads the team in the playoffs with 390 yards and three scores for a
130.0 average, while Slaughter has 272 yards and two touchdowns for a 90.7
average. Defensively, the Buffs are led by junior linebacker
Taylor McCuller who has a team-high 38 tackles with 20
solo stops. Junior defensive lineman
Ethan Westbrooks
has been a beast with six sacks to lead the team and eight tackles along with
four quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.
MULLANE A NFF
NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AND WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL FINALIST - Senior
offensive lineman
Aaron Mullane was
named one of 15 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athletes and he is
a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy which goes to the absolute best
student-athlete in the nation. Mullane, a native of Amarillo, Texas, has a 3.84
overall grade-point average and a 3.95 overall in the science discipline as he
is a biology and chemistry double major. He graduates in December and has
applied to six medical schools already. The $18,000 postgraduate scholarship he
will receive will certainly help fulfill his dreams of being a physician. He,
along with the other 14 scholar-athletes, will be honored at the 55th NFF Annual
Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, Dec. 4, 2012.
There, one of the 15 honorees will be awarded the 23rd William V. Campbell
Trophy as it is the Academic Heisman of college
football.
VAUGHAN NAMED CAPITAL ONE/CoSIDA ACADEMIC PLAYER OF
THE YEAR - Junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan
was named Capital One/CoSIDA Academic Player of the Year Wednesday as he not
only has excelled on the field, but also in the classroom with a 3.9 grade-point
average in biology/pre-med. He was named the Lone Star Conference Academic
Player of the Year and becomes the first CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American
for WT since Emily Brister earned first team honors in 2008 and 2009 in women's
basketball. No WT student-athlete has ever been named Academic Player of the
Year until Vaughan. In addition to Vaughan, junior wide receiver
Nathan Slaughter earned first team honors, along with
senior offensive lineman
Aaron Mullane.
Junior defensive back
John McSheffery
was a second team honoree. It is the first time WT has ever had a first team
All-American in football and Vaughan, Slaughter and Mullane are the second,
third and fourth first team selections in school history as Emily Brister of
women's basketball was the only other first team selection in 2009 and
2009.
FOKETI TABBED FINALIST FOR GENE UPSHAW AWARD -
Senior offensive lineman
Manase Foketi is
a finalist for the 2012 Gene Upshaw Lineman of the Year Award. Foketi has
played and started all 13 games for the Buffs who are playing in the NCAA
Quarterfinals this weekend for the first time in school history. He transferred
to WT after three years at Kansas State. Foketi protects the blind side for a
Harlon Hill Finalist in junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan. He graded out above 95% in each of the
14 games thus far.
SEVEN BUFFALOES NAMED DAKTRONICS ALL-REGION -
Led by junior defensive lineman
Ethan Westbrooks
who was named Daktronics Super Region Four Defensive Player of the Year, the
Buffs had seven players named to the Dakotronics All-Region teams as three were
named to the first team and four garnered second team honors for the most of any
team in the region. Along with Westbrooks, junior kicker Sergio Castillo, Jr.,
and senior offensive lineman
Manase Foketi
earned first team honors, while junior wide receiver
Torrence Allen, junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan, junior linebacker
Taylor McCuller and senior offensive lineman
Aaron Mullane were named second
team.
NATIONAL BUFFALOES - For the season, the Buffs
rank highly in a number of areas on both sides of the ball, including seventh
nationally in passing offense at 343.64 yards per game. They are seventh in
total offense at 487.29 yards, 14th in scoring offense averaging 40.07 points
per game, 38th in rushing defense allowing 126.50 yards on the ground, 32nd in
total defense at 338.13, eighth in passing efficiency at 162.01, lead the nation
in sacks at 4.14 and are sixth in tackles for loss at 9.14 per
game.
ROAD WARRIORS - The Buffs have been road warriors
this season as the Winston-Salem State game will be their then game away from
home this season (9-1). The Buffs are 8-1 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral
site games. WT has won eight-straight road games and eight away from Kimbrough
dating back to the 44-34 loss against CSU-Pueblo Aug. 30 in the season-opener.
WT, under Carthel, is 41-11 away from Kimbrough in his eight seasons, including
a 4-0 record in neutral site games. Carthel won 11 of his first 12 games away
from home in 2005 and 2006, while winning 20 of his first 23 (2005-2008). The
eight road wins and nine total wins away from home are the most in school
history.
GEOGRAPHY LESSON - The trip to Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, this weekend will be the seventh different state the Buffs have
played a football game this season. WT has played games in Colorado (twice),
Texas, New Mexico, Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio and North Carolina. They also flew
into Rapid City, S.D., and chartered a bus down to Chadron, Nebraska, for the
game.
RACKING UP THE FREQUENT FLYER MILES - Since the
playoffs have started, WT logged almost 4,500 miles in its first two road games
to Chadron State and Ashland University. The trip to CSU-Pueblo was another 680
miles there and back and the trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., is 2,288 miles there
and back. For the four playoff games, the Buffs have traveled 8,024.04
miles.
RUSHMORE BUFFS - The West Texas A&M
football team had a great opportunity to visit one of the nation's greatest
historical landmarks prior to the Chadron State game as it visited Mount
Rushmore in South Dakota following the team's charter flight into Rapid City,
S.D.
COMING FROM BEHIND - The Buffaloes battled back
from a 14-0 first quarter deficit Nov. 17 at Chadron State and battled back from
a 28-19 deficit in the third quarter Nov. 24 at Ashland to go along with a 21-19
deficit at halftime. It was the fifth time this season that the Buffs trailed
and battled back for the win. Nov. 24 marked the second week in a row that the
Buffs have trailed in the third quarter to come back for the win. Last week, WT
never trailed in its 34-13 win at Colorado
State-Pueblo.
SLAUGHTERING - Junior wide receiver
Nathan Slaughter had an outstanding game against
CSU-Pueblo Saturday as he tallied a career-high 174 yards on seven catches and
two touchdowns in the 34-13 win. He had a 74-yard catch, which was a
career-high, as he took the flea-flicker from junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan and ran sideline-to-sideline for the
score. It was his first 100 yard receiving game since tallied 133 at Eastern
New Mexico (Oct. 20) and the third of the season.
STOPPING THE
RUN - The Buffs' rushing defense has been solid all season and Saturday
was no exception as WT held the high-powered rushing attack of CSU-Pueblo to
just 32 yards on 33 carries. CSU-Pueblo had 265 yards rushing against WT in the
first meeting in August. Since then, have held seven teams under 100 yards
rushing, including just three yards against Abilene Christian (W, 36-0, Oct.
13), 15 yards at Incarnate Word (W, 24-0, Sept. 22), 49 yards at Angelo State
(W, 35-9, Oct. 6). In all, WT is 7-0 when holding teams under 100 yards
rushing. The Buffs rank 38th nationally in rushing defense at 126.5 yards per
game which is second in the Lone Star Conference.
SACKS FOR
WESTBROOKS - Junior defensive lineman
Ethan Westbrooks has a school-record 19.5 sacks on the
year which ranks him first nationally. He needs just one sack to tie the NCAA
Division II record for sacks in a season set by Charlie Cook of LIU Post in
2001. Westbrooks currently in tied with Damien Gilyard of LIU post as he had
19.5 in 2004. Westbrooks has recorded three sacks in back-to-back games and has
four games of tallying three sacks. In the first six games of the season he had
just four sacks and has followed with 15.5 in the last eight
games.
ROBINSON RETURNS TO FORM - After Ashland put on
a concentrated effort to stop the run and held senior running back
Khiry Robinson to just 58 yards rushing Nov. 24, he came
back with another stellar performance in the playoffs as CSU-Pueblo had no
answer for him Saturday. Robinson racked up 176 yards rushing on 26 carries and
caught two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown. Through the three playoff
games, Robinson has 469 yards rushing on 77 carries for a 156.3 average and
three scores. He has caught five balls for 74 yards and a touchdown. He set a
career-high with 235 yards rushing on 30 carries and three scores in a 38-30 win
at Chadron State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Nov.
17.
SOLID SERGIO - Junior place kicker Sergio Castillo,
Jr., tallied his second kick from 50 or more yards Saturday in the Buffs' 34-13
win at CSU-Pueblo. He went 2 for 2 in field goals with a 45-yarder and the
50-yarder. For the season Castillo is 19-21 in field goals and 68-69 in
extra-points for a team-high 125 points. Castillo is 37 of 44 all-time in field
goals and 173-176 in extra points. He is third all-time in scoring in school
history with 284 points. Castillo had a 56-yard field goal earlier this year
which is the second-longest field goal in school history (58) and the longest in
the Lone Star Conference this season. Castillo ranks ninth nationally this
season in field goals averaging 1.36 per game and he is 24th nationally in
scoring at 8.93 points per game.
GETTING IN THE BACKFIELD -
The Buffs have been strong all season in tackles for loss as they rank
sixth nationally averaging 9.14 tackles for loss per game and lead the
conference. Saturday, WT had 12 tackles for loss for 61 yards as it is the
sixth game this season it has tallied double-digit tackles for loss. For the
season, the Buffs have 128 tackles for loss for an astonishing 549
yards.
1,000-YARD RUSHER/RECEIVER COMBO - Along with
Robinson who has 1,516 yards rushing, junior wide receiver
Torrence Allen had seven receptions for 142 yards at
Chadron State Nov. 17 pushing him over the 1,000-yard mark as he has 1,356 yards
this season on 81 receptions to lead the team. Allen ranks 11th nationally in
receiving yards per game at 104.31 and 33rd nationally in receptions per game
(6.23) which are both tops in the conference. The last time WT had a 1,000-yard
rusher and 1,000-yard receiver in the same season was 1994 with Norman White
running for 1,122 and Brad Bailey having 1,552 receiving yards. Robinson is
14th nationally in rushing at 123.67 to lead the conference and is tied for 21st
in scoring at 9.00 points per game.
A FOR ALLEN -
Junior wide receiver
Torrence Allen
had a career day Nov. 24 as he made catch-after-catch to help lead the Buffs to
a historic second round win in the NCAA Tournament. Allen caught a career-high
13 balls for a career-high 185 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. It was
the first three touchdown performance for a WT player since Britton Golden had
three touchdowns in a game twice in 2011. The 185 yards receiving are the most
for a Buffalo player this season.
STRONG VAUGHAN -
Junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan
completed a career-high 35 passes and a career-high 50 attempts in the Buffs'
33-28 win at No. 4 Ashland. Vaughan tallied 398 yards for his eighth game this
season of throwing over 300 yards and tallied four touchdowns for his fourth
game of four touchdowns or more this season.
STOUT ON “D” -
Buffalo defense held the high-powered Ashland offense in check for the
most part Nov. 24 as Harlon Hill finalist senior quarterback Taylor Housewright
struggled throwing a career-high three interceptions and a fumble on the second
to last play of the game. Housewright threw two touchdowns and 166 yards, but
was 20 of 34 passing and was sacked four times by the top-ranked team in the
country in sacks.
STRONG SECONDARY - The West Texas
A&M secondary came up with a season-high three interceptions at Ashland.
Junior
Curtis Slater tallied the first interception in
the game and the fourth of the season, while senior
Jordan Smith and sophomore
Torian Oakley each added a pick later. Oakley and
Chris Ceazer where tied for first and third,
respectively, in tackles Nov. 17 at Chadron State. Oakley had a game-high nine
solo stops with two assisted tackles for a team-high 11 total stops and a pass
breakup, while Ceazer had eight solo stops and 10 total tackles. The three
interceptions at AU were the most in a game for the Buffs since four pick versus
Central Missouri Nov. 27, 2011, in the Kanza Bowl.
VAUGHAN
FINALIST FOR HARLON HILL - Junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan was one of eight finalists for the 2012
Harlon Hill Trophy The list was comprised of four quarterbacks, three running
backs and one receiver. Six of the finalist, including Vaughan, helped lead
their teams into the NCAA Division II playoffs. Despite not being invited as
one of the final three to the 27th Annual Harlon Hill Trophy Presentation
Banquet, Friday, December 14 at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center in Shoals,
Ala., Vaughan is the only player among the final eight still
playing.
VAUGHAN USES HIS FEET - Dustin Vaughan showed against Chadron State how he not
only can use his arm, but also his feet as he had a career-high 69 yards rushing
on 10 carries with a career-long 20-yard scamper at Chadron State. Vaughan has
a career-high 145 yards rushing on the season for a 10.4 average per game on 63
carries.
BUFFS PLACE 10 ON FIRST TEAM ALL-LSC - Five
Buffaloes earned specialty awards as the Lone Star All-Conference Team was
announced last week. Junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan
was named Offensive Player of the Year, while senior running back
Khiry Robinson was named Offensive Back of the Year.
Junior wide receiver
Torrence Allen
shared Receiver of the Year honors, while junior defensive lineman
Ethan Westbrooks was named Defensive Player of the Year
and head coach
Don Carthel was named
co-Coach of the Year. All four players were first team selections along with
senior offensive linemen
Aaron Mullane and
Manase Foketi, junior place kicker Sergio Castillo, Jr.,
senior defensive lineman
Tyrell Higgins
and junior safety
Curtis Slater all
were on the first team. The Buffs had seven second team selections and nine
honorable mention honorees for a total of 26 players named to the all-conference
squads.
DEFENSE STANDS TALL - After a 14-0 deficit at
the end of the first quarter by Chadron State, the Buffalo defense clamped down
and the offense picked it up holding as the Buffs outscored the Eagles 38-16 the
rest of the way and outgained them 454-316 in total offense the rest of the way,
including 234-49 on the ground. The defense had three key sacks for 32 yards
and five tackles for loss for 39 yards in the final three quarters, while
holding the Eagles to just 2 of 11 on third down for the game and 0 of 2 on
fourth down. Last week, the Buffs were down 28-19 in the third quarter, but
outscored the Eagles 14-0 the rest of the way. WT held AU to 166 yards passing,
four turnovers, a crucial missed field goal and four
sacks.
STRONG ON THE GROUND - WT amassed a season-high
311 yards rushing at Chadron State on 43 attempts for a 7.2 average. It was the
most rushing yards in a game by the Buffs since 300 at New Mexico Highlands on
Aug. 25, 2005.
GOOD ON 3RD DOWN - The Buffs were 9 of
14 against Chadron State with a number of key pickups to keep drives alive and
pull out the come-from-behind win. In the playoffs, WT is 23 of 44 for 52
percent on third down and leads the league this season in third down conversions
at 83 of 177 for a 46.9 average. Conversely, the Buffs are third in the
conference in opponent third downs, holding teams to a 34.3 average on the
pivotal down on 72 of 210. In addition, they are holding teams to 16 of 44 on
third down in the playoffs for just 36 percent.
FIRST AND TEN
BUFFS - The Buffs lead the conference in first downs with 323 for a
23.1 average per game.
STRONG LEGGED VAN VORIS - Junior
punter Kevin Van Voris had three punts at Chadron State for 153 yards and a 51.0
average, including a career-long 74-yarder. Van Voris is 28th nationally in
punting at 40.71 yards. He has 51 punts on the year for 2,076 yards with five
touchbacks, 10 fair catches, 18 inside the 20 and eight of over 50 yards along
with two over 70 yards.
IN THE “RED” ZONE - WT is
second in the conference in red zone scoring on 56 of 64 chances for an 87.5
average with 42 touchdowns and 14 of 14 in field goals. The touchdowns have
been pretty balanced at 18 rushing scores inside the 20 and 24 passing.
Conversely, the defense is third in the conference on 32 of 40 for an 80 percent
average. The opposition has scored 26 touchdowns with six field goals. The
Buffs have two red zone interceptions and one fourth down stop, along with five
missed field goals by the opponents.
GETTING THE STOP ON 4TH -
The Buffs lead the conference in fourth down defense holding opponents
to just 7 of 20 for a 35.0 average.
BLOCK PARTY - The
Buffs tallied their sixth blocked kick of the season at Texas A&M-Commerce
(Nov. 10) as junior defensive back
Curtis Slater got
his hand on the punt on the opening possession of the game. Junior linebacker
Eric Finefeuiaki returned the punt for a touchdown. It
was the second blocked punt returned for a touchdown by the Buffs this
season.
McCULLER TACKLES - Junior linebacker
Taylor McCuller continued his impressive season as he has
a school-record 156 tackles on the year with a team-high 67 solo stops.
McCuller ranks fourth on the team in tackles for loss with 11.5 for 31 yards and
he has 3.5 sacks for 11 yards. He has five quarterback hurries, one fumble
recovery and one forced fumble. McCuller had a career-high 20 tackles earlier
this season at West Georgia and leads the team with nine games of double-digit
tackles, including seven in the last eight games. He ranks ninth nationally in
tackles at 11.14 per game which is second in the
conference.
FIRST IN THE NATION IN SACKS - The Buffs
are First in the Nation in sacks averaging 4.14 per contest. For the season WT
has 58 sacks for 370 yards.
ALL-PURPOSE ROBINSON - Khiry Robinson had a season-high 260 all-purpose yards
with 235 yards rushing and 25 receiving at Chadron State Nov. 17. He leads the
conference and is 10th nationally in all-purpose yards at a 175.33 clip with a
total of 1,897 with 1308 rushing, 405 receiving, 158 in punt returns and 26 in
kick returns. The 26 yards returning kicks Nov. 3 was the first time in his
career. Robinson ranks 9th nationally in all-purpose
runners.
WORD UP - With injuries to a number of wide
receivers this year, the younger receivers really have stepped up and picked up
the slack as redshirt freshman
Jarrian Rhone has
been very impressive so far, while true freshman Word Hudson had a career-high
five receptions for 90 yards and his first collegiate touchdown, which tied the
game at seven in the first quarter at West Georgia (Oct. 27). It was Hudson's
second collegiate game and Hudson earned his first career start versus
Midwestern State. For the season, he has 11 receptions for 149 yards and a
touchdown. Rhone has played in all 14 games with seven starts. He has 48
catches for 534 yards and three touchdowns, while Hudson has played in eight
games with one start.
2012 TEAM CAPTAINS - Team
captains for 2012 include senior offensive lineman
Aaron Mullane (Amarillo, Texas/Tascosa HS),
senior defensive back
Jordan
Smith (Killeen, Texas/Killeen HS), senior defensive lineman
Aaron Wampler (Lubbock, Texas/Frenship
HS), junior linebacker
Taylor
McCuller (Red Oak, Texas/Red Oak HS), junior defensive back
Curtis Slater (Houston, Texas/Cy-Ridge
HS), junior QB
Dustin
Vaughan (Corpus Christi, Texas/Calallen HS), junior
linebacker
Kyle
Voss (Belton, Texas/Belton HS) and junior offensive lineman
Craig Watts (Killeen, Texas/Killeen
HS)
FEAR THE BEARD - A number of players decided after
spring practice to not shave until the end of the 2012 season this year and to
look as
Casey O'Conner put it “A Braveheart look.”
O'Conner, along with
Marc Waller,
Aaron Wampler,
Lawrence Lehauli
and
Jacob Laguna all have full
beards.
VAUGHAN RANKS HIGHLY - Junior quarterback
Dustin Vaughan has had an impressive campaign as he ranks
sixth nationally in passing efficiency at 162.08 and seventh in total offense at
334.86 yards per game. Both are tops in the
conference.
VAUGHAN THIRD IN CAREER PASSING - In just
over two full seasons at quarterback, junior
Dustin Vaughan has thrown for 7,955 career yards as he is
third all-time in school history. Taylor Harris (2007-2010) leads the school
annals with 9,799 yards. Vaughan has 4,543 passing yards this season which is
third-most in a season in school history as he already has a career-high
touchdowns for a season with 44 touchdown passes and just 11
interceptions.
COURTESY WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
