West Texas A&M (2-5, 2-2 LSC) ensured the Wagon Wheel will reside in Canyon as they took down rival Eastern New Mexico 41-27 Saturday evening. Tory Simmons and Contae Cason combined for 217 rushing yards to lead WT's offense.

WT instantly found energy in the game as Isaiah Orlandi took the opening kickoff 53 yards to the Greyhounds 23-yard line to put the offense in great position for early points. Alan Anaya would make a 29-yard field goal for the early 3-0 lead. On their opening defensive drive, WT made a splash play of their own as Caleb Giles picked off a pass following a tip as they shutdown ENMU's drive that neared the red zone. West Texas A&M would punt on their ensuing drive, but the defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth down to get the ball right back.
 
The start of WT's third drive in the first quarter saw the Buffs play with pace and attack the Greyhounds on the ground. 48 of their 56 yards on that drive came on the ground as Contae Cason and Tory Simmons had rushes of 11 yards (twice by Cason) and 16 yards (Simmons) to get into the red zone. At their eight-yard line, Jayden Macedo fired a strike to J.B. Mitchell III in the back left corner for the touchdown as WT took a 10-0 lead.
 
The Buffs defense got off the field early on their next drive as it only took 57 seconds from their five plays. Back on the field facing a tired defense, West Texas A&M was able to capitalize as Trace Clarkson caught a 69-yard touchdown on a crossing route where he outran a pair of defenders on 40+ yards of YAC for the touchdown. Anaya made the extra point as WT led 17-0. That score would hold at the end of quarter one as the Buffs defense consistently shutdown ENMU's offense.
 
On their drive to start the second quarter, sniffed out a quarterback sneak in the red zone on fourth down and made another key defensive stop. WT got back to running the rock on their ensuing drive as Simmons ripped off a big 64 yard run as multiple offensive lineman reached the second level on their blocks. Simmons cutaway past the defense and ran all the way down to the 10-yard line. His running mate in Cason would sub in and score on the next play with a rush where he broke multiple tackles and weight-roomed his way into the endzone. Leading 24-0 and playing with great confidence, the defense again made a fourth down stop as Miles Hill broke up a pass for an incompletion as the energy continued to flow for the Buffaloes.
 
The offense continued to roll on their next drive as WT marched down to the red zone. On a shotgun pass at the 14-yard line, Macedo dropped a dime to the end zone for Geramyah Porter who toe-tapped in for the touchdown as the lead grew to 31-0. The Buffs found the end zone one more time before the end of the half as Langston Anderson came away with a back-shoulder touchdown on a tremendous catch and throw by Colt Mercer. West Texas A&M would lead 38-0 and take that lead into the halftime locker room.
 
Out of the break, Eastern New Mexico produced a 75-yard touchdown drive as they put their first points on the board as the score moved to 38-7. On their first drive of the half, a 34-yard run by Cason would lead to an 18-yard field goal by Anaya. The Greyhounds would score two-more touchdowns in the quarter as the score was set at 41-21 headed into the fourth.
 
WT punted on their first drive of the quarter. ENMU would drive back into the red zone, but a six-yard sack by Dominick Toulon was crucial in pushing them back and would lead to a turnover on downs after a fourth down stop. While the Buffaloes would be kept off the scoreboard the rest of the way, they would eat up time defensively as games end approached. ENMU scored once more, but had their extra point blocked as the score set at 41-27. That score finalized as the Buffaloes snapped their three-game losing streak and took down their rival to bring home the Wagon Wheel once again.