A career-high four rushing touchdowns by senior running back and three in the second half helped propel the No. 17 West Texas A&M football team to a 44-21 win over Eastern New Mexico in the annual Wagon Wheel Game at Blackwater Draw. With the win, the Buffs have won seven-straight in the Wagon Wheel series and improved to 7-1 overall this season and a league-best 6-0 in the Lone Star Conference. ENMU fell to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play. WT improved to 14-11 in the Wagon Wheel Game and 15-11 overall against ENMU.
“It’s a fun rivalry game and exciting to prepare for,” Buffalo head coach Don Carthel said. “It’s really special to the program for the next 12 months.”
WT amassed 454 yards of offense, including 132 on the ground and 322 through the air. Robinson led the game with 137 yards rushing on 16 carries for an 8.6 average. Junior quarterback Dustin Vaughan went 19 of 32 with two interceptions and two touchdowns to go along with 312 yards. Junior wide receiver Nathan Slaughter had 127 yards and one touchdown on seven carries, while redshirt freshman Jarrian Rhone had four receptions for 89 yards and a score.
“He’s always big (Khiry Robinson),” Carthel said of his running back. “He loves to play and he’s a great competitor. He practices well and it’s hard to get him off the field. He’s a warrior and he hardly goes down after the first hit.”
ENMU was just over its average in rushing at 205 yards for the game on 46 attempts. The Greyhounds had 391 total yards and 186 through the air. Muleshoe, Texas, native, senior quarterback Wesley Wood led the team in rushing with 92 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. He was 15 of 31 for 188 yards and two scores through the air. Chase Kyser led the way in receiving with 92 yard and two scores on seven receptions.
Defensively, the Buffs were led by 13 tackles from junior linebacker Taylor McCuller as he had five solo stops, eight assisted tackles and a game-high three quarterback hurries. Junior defensive back Curtis Slater had 12 tackles with a game-high nine solo stops and a fumble return. Junior defensive lineman and reigning Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week Ethan Westbrooks had five tackles, but tied his career-high with three sacks for 11 yards. He also had three sacks against Abilene Christian last week.
“They had two weeks to prepare,” Carthel said. “They put a lot of new stuff that they haven’t run all year. We had to be ready for what they had been doing and we had to make some serious adjustments.”
WT didn’t take any time at all getting on the board as Vaughan found Slaughter for 11 yards on a third and 10 from the 39. Robinson broke about six tackles as he ran 48-yards to the one yard line setting up Robinson on a 1-yard run for a 7-0 WT lead with 13:27 left in the first half. It was Robinson’s third rushing touchdown of the season.
After an ENMU punt, the Buffs went three-and-out, but junior punter Kevin VanVoris nailed a career-long 70-yard punt which was downed at the ENMU five. A nice pass from Wood to Jacob Johnson got the Greyhounds out of their own territory. ENMU went for it on 4th-and-eight from the WT 37, but Wood tried the quick kick which went into the back of one of the ENMU players as WT junior linebacker Taylor McCuller recovered it and ran to the ENMU 44 where WT took over.
Following a holding penalty on WT, on 3rd-and-15, Vaughan threw a screen pass to Rhone who picked up the first down and then Vaughan threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Slaughter for a 14-0 lead with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter.
A couple of dropped passes hindered WT’s next drive from deep in its own territory but VanVoris got the Buffs out of trouble with a 50-yard punt to the ENMU 43-yard line early in the second quarter. Wood’s pass on 3rd-and-sixwent incomplete as he felt pressure from junior defensive end Ethan Westbrooks at the WT 31. The Greyhounds went for it on fourth and Wood completed the pass to Chase Kyser for a first down at the WT 22. Wood, on third and seven, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kyser for a 14-7 score with 9:38 remaining in the first half. It was the first points the WT defense has allowed in over five quarters.
Vaughan answered as again on a third down, he threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Rhone on a slant over the middle as Vaughn threaded the needle between two defenders for the pass and score for a 21-7 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The Buffs got the ball back with one minute remaining and Vaughan threw deep to the end zone and it was picked by Jayson Serda who returned it 49 yards plus a facemask penalty on WT to boot. Wood then ran in from 33-yards out to pull ENMU within 21-14 with seven seconds remaining in the half. ENMU gets the ball to start the second quarter as it averted a potential 28-7 hole.
For the half, WT had 56 yards rushing on four carries, 185 yards passing from Vaughan as he was 11 of 19 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Robinson had 56 yards on the ground and a score, while Rhone had 89 yards and a score on four receptions. Junior linebacker Taylor McCuller had 10 total tackles in the first have, with five solo stops, while junior defensive back John McSheffery had nine total stops.
After punts by both teams, ENMU’s Derek Kendall-Campbell couldn’t handle the handoff from Wood as junior defensive lineman Shane Pennix got his paw in there and forced the fumble with junior defensive back Curtis Slater recovering.
Vaughan went up top on the ensuing play as he hooked up with Slaughter for a 42-yard pass, followed by a two-yard run by Robinson for his second rushing touchdown of the game and a 28-14 lead with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Robinson scored third touchdown of the game giving WT a 35-14 lead late in the third quarter as WT regained possession off a punt by the Greyhounds. Vaughan methodically moved the Buffs down the field from their 40 for the score as Robinson had two very nice runs breaking a number of tackles in the process. It was the first three rushing touchdown game for the Buffs since Kevin Thompson had three at Northeastern State on Oct. 2, 2010. It also marked Robinson’s fourth consecutive game of over 100 yards rushing as he finished the third quarter with 114 yards on 12 carries.
After ENMU had just five rushing yards and 22 total yards in the third quarter, Wood hooked up with Johnson for a 31-yard pass setting the Greyhounds up at the WT 33. Wood then threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Kyser for his second touchdown of the evening keeping ENMU in the game with 14:09 remaining at 35-21 on a four play, 65-yard drive.
Down two touchdowns and third and two from ENMU’s 15, the Greyhounds were stopped for no gain and then hurried to the line and looked as if they were going to go for it, but let the play clock run down and then used their second timeout. Out of the timeout, they decided to punt and it was blocked back out of the end zone by junior linebacker Eric Finefeuiaki for a safety and a 37-21 Buff lead. It was the second blocked punt of the season for the Buffs which resulted in a safety. It also was the fourth safety of the season for the Buffs and second in as many games as Pennix recorded one last week against Abilene Christian.
Vaughan and the Buffs drove down the field on the ensuing free kick from ENMU as Slaughter had a diving catch for 26 yards at the goal line. Robinson then took it in from one yard out four his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. The last time the Buffs had a four game Keithon Fleming ran four for four versus Central Washington on Nov. 15, 2008.
The Buffs came up with a red zone stop on the next ENMU possession as Kyser couldn’t come up with the catch at the goal line on fourth and two.
WT continues on the road next week as it travels to the Peach State to take on West Georgia next Saturday night at 7 p.m. CT.
