Tammy Luksich
Sports Editor

The West Texas A&M Buffaloes earned their first win of the season against the Southwestern Oklahoma Bulldogs in front of a crowd of 3,000 fans in Weatherford, Okla. The Buffs improve their overall record to 1-3(1-1 LSC), while the Bulldogs fall to 0-4 (0-2 LSC).

“We played four quarters this game,” Don Carthel, head coach, said. “We stayed focused and handled ourselves well. That 0-3 was ugly, and I’m glad to get that monkey off our back.”

Getting the monkey off their back seemed to provide the same relief for some of the players.

“We were starving for a win,” Kevin McCluskey, inside line backer, said. “Everything came together and we played good sound football.”

The game seemed promising for the Buffs going into the half with a 31-0 lead. The Bulldogs were able to get on the board with 8:59 to play after SWOSU linebacker John Kaye intercepted a pass from Buff quarterback Taylor Harris. Kaye returned the interception to the 5-yard-line.

The next play SWOSU’s Daniel Barwick made a path into the end zone making the score 34-7.

In the third quarter, Buffs backup quarterback Tanner Marsh saw some playing time as he led the charge into the red zone after a 21-yard connection to wide receiver A.J. Ruffins.

The next play wide receiver, Brittain Golden was Marsh’s target as he was brought down on the SWOSU 2-yard-line.

Finally, running back Tevin Mitchell scored the first touchdown of his collegiate career after diving into the end zone. Placekicker James Chandler booted a field goal for the Buffs to earn the extra point, making the score 41-7.

“Its always good to get those guys in there and get them in the mix,” McCluskey said. “You never know when you’ll need them and it’s good to get them some experience.”

With 10:55 left to play, the Bulldogs struck back with another touchdown after a four-yard run from Dashon Carter-Mayes. The Bulldogs then saw Jody Sawyer sneak into the end zone for a two-point conversion to make the score 41-15.

Offensively, Harris completed 20-of-31 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown. Marsh was 13-of-27 for 116 yards. Running back Kelvin Thompson led the ground game efforts for the Buffs, after rushing for a career-high 132 yards and 17 carries.

Thompson also added six catches for 39 yards. Brittain Golden was another Buff with a career-high performance. Golden finished with 137 receiving yards.

The WTAMU defense held SWOSU to 157 yards. The defense also forced three turnovers, 11 tackles for loss and six sacks.

Next up, the Buffs will host LSC opponent Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 26. Game time begins at 6 p.m. from Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.