CANYON, Texas (Football) – Shawn Vasquez continued to run the ball at will behind great protection by the offensive line, but despite leading all TAMUK players with 107 rushing yards, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (1-7, 0-6 LSC) fell victim to costly penalties as West Texas A&M University (5-3, 4-2 LSC) defeated the Javelinas, 48-21, on Saturday afternoon at Happy State Bank Field at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.
 
The Hogs outrushed the Buffaloes 301-196 but were tagged 99 yards on 11 penalties. WT took advantage of those miscues to keep steady in the jam-packed Lone Star Conference standings. West Texas holds the second slot in the LSC with tiebreakers over Midwestern State and Angelo State. However, Tarleton State University earned a win earlier today and holds the edge over the Buffs.

With the loss, the Javelinas will finish the Lone Star Conference regular season in seventh or eighth place, assuring themselves a road game on Saturday, Nov. 8.
 
"Our guys played hard and we have to give a great team like West Texas A&M credit," said head coach Jaime Martinez. "Some of our penalties were detrimental as we drove down the field, but our guys were going after it on both ends. The defense was getting back there and forcing the quarterback to make plays and offensively, we were able to pound the ball up the field. We hung in there with a quality football program and had a chance, but ultimately, we have to limit our mistakes."
 
The 107 yards rushing are a new career-high for the Javelina newcomer and his touchdown late in the third quarter now gives him three on the year. Trey Mitchell added 78 yards on the floor and finished 16-of-27 passing. Patrick LaFleur was the main target offensively with eight catches for 79 yards. Joe Te'o added 68 yards on the floor and a score of his own.
 
After two quick incomplete passes, the Buffs connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead seconds into the game. With 3:42 remaining in the opening quarter, WT capped off a nine-play, 80-yard drive with a 13 yard rushing touchdown to tack on seven more points.
 
A long drive led by Mitchell's legs brought Kingsville into WT territory and Joe Te'o ended the 10-play, 80-yard drive (4:36) with an 11 yard touchdown score to cut the Javelinas' deficit to 14-7 just a minute into the second quarter. The touchdown was his second of the season.
 
The Buffaloes tacked on another rushing touchdown to extend its lead back to two touchdowns with 9:13 left in the first half. Ending the half with a 55-yard field goal, West Texas enters the locker room with a 24-7 advantage. Mitchell rushed for 84 yards on 15 attempts in the first half and went 9-of-16 with 88 yards and an interception, Vasquez added 41 rushing yards and LaFleur caught five passes for 57 yards. Defensively, Trevor Moses continues his stellar freshman campaign with seven tackles, one for a loss, Trevor Pesek followed with five and Emond Hobbs added four. Braedon Robinson and Joshua Toki joined Moses with a tackle for a loss and Darius Lively forced a quarterback hurry.
 
A bad snap began the second half for the Javelinas, forcing Max Lehnig to rush the punt, allowing the Buffs to slightly alter the play and take over with great field positioning. WT went 55 yards in 1:24 to take a 31-7 lead with 11:29 remaining in the third quarter. After going 45 yards and entering TAMUK territory, WT threw its first interception of the afternoon, a low ball to Pesek (second INT of season) to allow the Hogs to take over on its own 15-yard line with 4:46 left in the third. However, a low snap led to a second blocked punt that rolled its way to the end zone for a WT special teams touchdown.
 
Vasquez continued his streaky play and capped off a six-play, 75-yard drive with a 49-yard touchdown run with seven second remaining in the third for TAMUK's second touchdown of the contest.
 
West Texas A&M added 13 points in the fourth quarter, but the Hogs continued to fight as Te'o rushed for a career-long 54 yards to bring the Blue and Gold inside the red zone. Alex Rios found Jordan Thomas in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown with 4:30 remaining in the game.
 
Pesek and Moses registered double-digit tackles for the third time this season with 12 and 11, respectively. Lively finished with two quarterback hits and Kyle Williams recorded his first solo sack of the season (1.5 total in 2014). Hobbs added eight and Marquis Cardinal Jr. finished with 40 rushing yards.
 
The Javelinas host Midwestern State University on Saturday, Nov. 1 for its Kingsville Community Appreciation Night/Hertz Rent-A-Car Senior Night at 7 p.m. at the historic Javelina Stadium.
 
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