CANYON, Texas Western Colorado got off to a slow start on Saturday (Sep. 3) against West Texas. Leading to them losing 44-7 on the road in Canyon, Texas.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: West Texas def. Western Colorado 44-6.
Records: Western Colorado 0-1, West Texas 1-0
Location: Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium, Canyon, Texas.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Texas got things going early, scoring 20-points in the first quarter, off a 27-yard touchdown pass, 45-yard rushing touchdown and 4-yard touchdown pass. The Mountaineers had a drive going following the Buffs opening drive touchdown. However, they would stall out in the redzone - resulting in kicker Alec Fonseca coming on and drilling a 20-yard field goal.
• Fonseca would drill another 20-yard field goal in the second quarter with 9:32 left to play. But West Texas would respond, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown rush after an eight play drive. Western Colorado defense slowed down the Buffs offense in the second quarter – only giving up seven-points.
• At halftime, the Mountaineers trailed 6-27.
• In the third quarter neither team was able to score. Yet, the Buffs set themselves up to score as the third quarter was coming to an end. Western Colorado defense held strong on the goal line, leading to West Texas having to kick a 22-yard field goal – which was good – that gave them a 30-6 lead.
• Before the game ended, West Texas scored two more times. First on a 4-yard rushing touchdown – extending their lead to 37-6 - after recovering a fumble on the Mountaineers 17-yard line.  The last time on a two play drive that resulted in a 58-yard passing touchdown.

FIELD NOTES

• Quarterback Connor Desch finished the game with 96-yards passing (10-of-21) and 1 interception.
• Braeden Hogan was the leading rusher and receiver for Western Colorado, rushing for 43-yards on 15 attempts and racking up 34 receiving yards on three catches.
• West Texas had 479-yards – 229-yards rushing, 250-yards passing - of total offense.
• Defensively for the Mountaineers, Kendall Lightfoot led Western in tackles recording nine total tackles, 1.5 being tackles for loss and one being a sack.
• Ethan Sanchez-Maxwell had the lone turnover for the Mountaineers, picking off West Texas quarterback in the endzone and returning it 35-yards.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will be head back to Texas next week, taking on Texas Permian Basin on Saturday (Sep. 10) at 5 PM MT.