The Mountaineer football team electrified its home crowd under the lights and took down West Texas A&M 45-28 in the season opener on Aug. 28.
Western Colorado University’s dominant second-half defense proved to be the difference against the Buffaloes. The Crimson and Slate limited their opponents to half their output from the first half, while senior quarterback Drew Nash led the eighth-ranked Mountaineer offense to a scoring flurry late in the game.
“It was a pretty tight game, and I’m proud of the way the guys fought,” said Western head coach Jas Baines after the game. “Things weren’t going our way the entire time, but our guys kept fighting and believing and making plays in the second half that ultimately won us the game.”
West Texas opened the contest with a quick, five-play touchdown drive. But the Mountaineers bounced right back and Caden Measner's 17-yard touchdown catch tied the game. Western stretched the lead to 21-7 after a Kai Goetze receiving touchdown and scramble from Nash — but the Buffaloes fired back with a two-touchdown sucker punch to tie the game at the break.
The Mountaineers returned to the gridiron on the heels of an inspiring halftime talk, and opened with a lengthy, eight-minute scoring drive. Nash dished a six-yard swing pass to Jace Perez, who waltzed into the end zone and regained the Mountaineers lead.
The Buffaloes responded with a four-play, 80-yard push to pull back level. But it would be the final West Texas scoring drive of the evening, as the Mountaineers stymied the rapid attack. Nash concluded a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a 1-yard scramble into the end zone, and then the Western defense took over.
The Mountaineers limited West Texas' potent attack to just 130 yards of total offense in the second half. Western’s Gabe Schubarth called game with a 50-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to hand Western a 42-28 advantage. Then, the Mountaineer defense forced a pair of fumbles to shut the door on the visiting Buffaloes.
Nash finished the game with a game-leading 95 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The senior quarterback completed 18-for-28 through the air, totaling 190 yards, and added three touchdowns with no interceptions. Nash was named player of the week by the National Football Foundation, Colorado Chapter the following day.
The Mountaineers will now head out on a two-game road trip, facing Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas on Sept. 6, and fierce RMAC rivals Adams State in Alamosa on Sept. 20. Western will return to the Mountaineer Bowl to face New Mexico Highlands University on Sept. 27.
(Gregg Petcoff is the assistant athletics director for communications at Western Colorado University and can be reached at gpetcoff@western.edu.)
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