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Nov. 17, 2007

Final Stats

CANYON, Texas - Trailing 14-0 at halftime, the No. 4 West Texas A&M football team found itself in desperate need of a second half wakeup call to keep its undefeated season and National Championships hopes alive. The Buffs got that spark from junior Wayne McKnight, who took the half's opening kick off back 83 yards, deep into Washburn territory to set up WT's first score of the night and propel the Buffs to a thrilling 40-39 come-from-behind victory over No. 25 Washburn in the first round of the NCAA-II football playoffs at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

The Buffs, who remain perfect on the season at 12-0, now advance to the semifinals of the playoffs' Southwest Region where they will face second-seeded Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo. Kick off for the second round match-up from NWMSU's Bearcat Stadium is set for Noon on Saturday, Nov. 24 

The playoff comeback is the second in as many years for the Buffs, who rallied from an 18-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat LSC rival Abilene Christian in the first round of the 2006 postseason.

Washburn, which entered the contest as the region's number six seed after posting eight wins while navigating the difficult MIAA schedule, controlled the first 30 minutes of the action. The Ichabods registered the afternoon's first points on a one-yard run by Eric Butler in the first quarter and took all the momentum into halftime as quarterback Jordan Brill was able to find Jake Lebahn on a 19-yard touchdown with only nine seconds remaining before intermission.

Following some stern words by WT coaches, it was the Buffs who came alive in the second half. McKnight's return set up a 33-yard field goal by Jon Roberts to open the WT scoring, but another touchdown pass from Brill put the Buffs in a 21-3 hole. From that point, WT junior wide receiver B.J. Vickers took over.

The Venice, Calif., native pulled down a 30-yard scoring reception from junior quarterback Keith Null at the 9:09 mark of the third quarter to jump start the WT scoring machine, which posted touchdowns on four straight possessions in the period. Vickers finished with a career-high 148 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Another big play in the passing game from Vickers came on the next possession as he and Null connected on a 79-yard bomb to pull the Buffs within six points at 21-15.

The back-and-forth action continued as Washburn's Ra'Shawn Mosley, who finished with 98 yards on the ground for the Ichabods, broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown to regain the two-score advantage for the visitors from Topeka, Kan.

But Null and the WT offense were just getting starting as the junior signal caller found Carl Johnson on a 10-yard scoring strike and then hit Anthony Clark for a 31-yard touchdown to pull the Buffs within a point at 29-28.

However, a fourth quarter miscue by Null appeared to give momentum back to Washburn as an errant pass was picked off by WU's Michael Wilhoite and returned 27 yards for the fifth Ichabod touchdown of the afternoon.

Null would quickly recover, however, as he found Vickers for his third touchdown of the day before a 36-yard field goal by Washburn's Kyle O'Neal set the stage for the dramatic finish. Getting the ball back with only 3:43 left to play and trailing 39-34, the Buffs got another stellar return from McKnight, who took the kick off back 52 yards to the WU 37-yard line.

From there Null took control, as after a two-yard rush by Keithon Flemming, Null completed three straight passes, the last being a leaping grab by tight end Kolo Kapanui in the end zone to put the Buffs on top for the first time in the game.

After a failed two-point conversion attempt, WT led 40-39 and was in need of another big stand from its defense to secure the win. Junior Brandon Swain delivered the big play as he used a bull rush move to register his third sack of the game and force a fumble, which was recovered by the Buffs with just 1:59 to play.

The Ichabods stood strong until the end and appeared to be in a position to get the ball back for a final attempt at victory, but Null found Charly Martin for a diving 14-yard reception on a 4th-and-10 try to allow the Buffs to run the clock out and secure the second playoff win in school history.

For the day, Null completed 38-of-58 passes for a career-high 498 yards and tied a school record with six scoring passes.