Canyon, TX - Texas A&M-Kingsville could not keep up with West Texas A&M's offense as it fell, 53-48, Saturday at Bill Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.
The Javelinas (3-6, 2-5 LSC) generated 495 total yards of offense and scored seven touchdowns, but they were equaled out by the Buffaloes (5-4, 5-2 LSC) 493 total yards of offense. Texas A&M-Kingsville was able to win the time of possession battle by five minutes, but surrendered chunk plays to the Buffalo passing attack which ultimately led to their undoing.
Quarterback
Jack Turner tossed 357 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns,
Lawrence Starks was a welcome addition back into the backfield with 97 yards and three touchdowns and
King Phillips continued his monster season, racking up 12 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Jakari Landry had himself quite the day defensively, racking up 16 total tackles with half a sack.
Kerry North joined in on said sack to go with four tackles and
Tre Robbins grabbed his first INT of the season, making it now 10 unique Hogs to catch an interception this season.
The contest kicked off in disastrous fashion for the Javelinas, as West Texas ran the opening kickoff back all the way to the Javelinas 26-yard line. WT would punch it in one play later, then get a defensive touchdown on the ensuing Javelina drive to get up 15-0 in quick fashion.
CJ Thompson gave the Javelinas the response they needed, taking the kickoff 99 yards back for the first special teams TD for the Javelinas this season.
Both teams traded stalled drives before WT got back up by double-digits thanks to a 43-yard TD pass. The Javelinas responded with an 11-play drive capped off with a
Edward Chumley TD and a successful two-point try to make it 14-22. WT added a field goal just before the quarter expired to make it an 11-point game after a wild first 15 minutes.
The Javelina offense got back to work, as they once again responded with a long touchdown drive, this time capped off by Starks, to pull within five points. The defense gave the Javelinas the stop they needed, as Landry and North combined on a sack that would eventually lead to a Robbins interception to give the Javelinas the ball back.
Turner and the offense wasted no time getting into the endzone, as Turner found
Kevin Holmes Jr. on a screen pass for a 22-yard TD to take the lead from the Buffaloes. As in theme with the game, WT responded quickly with a 19-yard strike to give them 32 points at the half.
As the second half began, the Javelina offense was on the field first, and once again punched it in the endzone with a short Starks TD run. The defense got another stop against the Buffs, but the Hogs could not cash it in midway through the third quarter. West Texas once again got back in the endzone quickly, this time with a 55-yard TD pass to take back the lead from the Hogs with just one quarter left.
It would be the Javelinas who opened up the fourth quarter scoring, as Starks completed his hat-trick day with another short TD run to take back the lead. West Texas once again found the endzone, this time on a three-yard QB scramble to make it a 46-42 ball game. The Javelina offense then made a critical error to put WT inside the TAMUK 25-yard line, which immediately led to a West Texas A&M touchdown to go up 11. The offense acted quickly, getting down the field and punching it in thanks to a ridiculous hurdle from Phillips to get the Javelinas back within five.
After the defense did their part and stuffed the Buffs as they tried to run out the clock, the offense was given one last chance to punch it in to win the game. The Javelinas got down to the WT 44, but the Buffs bowed up and stopped the comeback attempt for the Hogs.
Texas A&M-Kingsville returns home for senior day against Western New Mexico on Nov. 8, fans of the Javelinas can watch live on FloCollege or follow the game at JavelinaFB on X.
Quick Hitters:
- This game between the Javelinas and West Texas A&M was the highest scoring game in the series history, just beating out the 2004 matchup that ended 69-21.
- Both Turner and Phillips entered the top five in single-season categories for the Javelinas. Turner reached top four in single season passing yards (2,684) while Phillips is fifth with 63 receptions.
- The combined sack between North and Landry now makes in 10-straight games the Javelinas with a sack for the Javelina defense.
