Over the weekend, the No. 16 Tarleton State University Texan football team traveled to Canyon, TX to face the No. 22 West Texas A&M University Buffalos. The Texans came out victorious in a fight to the finish 31-27 win.

The Texans, who defeated the West Texas A&M Buffalos in the 2013 season, were looking to get their first win in Canyon since 2004.

In regard to the offensive line, under the new direction of Offensive Coordinator Coach Mason Miller, Coach Cary Fowler said in his weekly radio show, “They made the defensive line at West Texas A&M quit. It was an unbelievable performance by our offensive line.”

The beginning of the match-up deemed to be a defensive one, with neither team scoring until the end of the first quarter when the Texans held West Texas to a field goal.

With the first quarter out of the way, the Texans began their offensive attack with junior quarterback Eric Matthews running for a 13 yard touchdown for the Texans. Shortly after, Matthews left the game with an apparent injury. The Buffs answered with their own touchdown run shortly after. The Texans were able to tie up the score 10-10 before heading into halftime with a field goal from junior kicker Blake Barnes.

Returning for the third quarter, the Texans continued their offensive attack with a 10 yard run from junior quarterback Colin Strahan. The Buffs answered with a touchdown and field goal, leading the Texans 20-17 going into the fourth quarter.

The Texans seemed unbothered by the three point deficit, and with two runs from sophomore running back Cody Burtscher, the Texans defeated West Texas, 31-27.

A key player in the Texans’ win was sophomore Damien Ward, who led the Texans with two sacks for a total loss of 14 yards.

Next up the Texans (1-0) will travel to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Sept. 20 to play in the Lone Star Conference Festival against Florida Institute of Technology at 5p.m.