# 2009 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team

The 2009 West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team represented West Texas A&M University during the 2009 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC). The Buffaloes were led by fifth-year head coach Don Carthel and played their home games at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, Texas.
West Texas finished the season with an overall record of 7–5 with a conference record of 6–3. For the first time under Carthel, the Buffs failed to receive an invitation to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Instead, the team was invited to the inaugural Kanza Bowl, where they defeated Nebraska–Omaha by a score of 31–25.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result |
| August 29 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 1 Grand Valley State* | No. 11 | Kimbrough Memorial StadiumCanyon, TX | L 23–37 |
| September 5 | 6:00 p.m. | Central Oklahoma | No. 13 | Kimbrough Memorial StadiumCanyon, TX | L 17–24 |
| September 12 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 6 Central Washington* | | Tomlinson StadiumEllensburg, WA | L 10–34 |
| September 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at SW Oklahoma State | | Milam StadiumWeatherford, OK | W 41–15 |
| September 26 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 10 Texas A&M–Kingsville | | Kimbrough Memorial StadiumCanyon, TX | L 16–23 $^{OT}$ |
| October 3 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Midwestern State | | Memorial StadiumWichita Falls, TX | L 19–31 |
| October 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Eastern New Mexico | | Kimbrough Memorial StadiumCanyon, TX (Wagon Wheel) | W 34–24 |
| October 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 1 Abilene Christian | | Shotwell StadiumAbilene, TX | W 32–21 |
| October 24 | 6:00 p.m. | Angelo State | | Kimbrough Memorial StadiumCanyon, TX | W 43–15 |
| October 31 | 7:00 p.m. | at Northeastern State | | Doc Wadley StadiumTahlequah, OK | W 66–23 |
| November 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Tarleton State | | Memorial StadiumStephenville, TX | W 49–35 |
| December 5 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. Nebraska–Omaha* | | Hummer Sports ComplexTopeka, KS (Kanza Bowl) | W 31–25 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| AFCA | 11 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Game summaries
### No. 1 Grand Valley State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Lakers | 7 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 37 |
| No. 11 Buffaloes | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, Canyon, Texas
* Date: August 29
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 15,093
* Referee: Robert Dalton
* GV box score
| Statistics | GV | WT |
| First downs | 16 | 25 |
| Total yards | 382 | 426 |
| Rushing yards | 156 | 44 |
| Passing yards | 226 | 382 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 29:38 | 30:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Grand Valley State | Passing | Brad Iciek | 17/25, 226 yards, 3 TD |
| Grand Valley State | Rushing | James Berezik | 19 rushes, 95 yards |
| Grand Valley State | Receiving | Mike Koster | 7 receptions, 68 yards, TD |
| West Texas A&M | Passing | Taylor Harris | 34/46, 306 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| West Texas A&M | Rushing | Kelvin Thompson | 10 rushes, 54 yards |
| West Texas A&M | Receiving | Tyson Williams | 8 receptions, 92 yards, TD |

### At No. 6 Central Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| No. 6 Wildcats | 14 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 34 |
at Tomlinson Stadium, Ellensburg, Washington
* Date: September 12
* Game time: 2,977
* Game weather: Sunny, 83 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 2,977
* Referee: Jeff Sadorus
* Box score
| Statistics | WT | CWU |
| First downs | 12 | 22 |
| Total yards | 230 | 366 |
| Rushing yards | 56 | 110 |
| Passing yards | 174 | 256 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 26:41 | 33:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Texas A&M | Passing | Taylor Harris | 23/38, 174 yards, TD |
| West Texas A&M | Rushing | Kelvin Thompson | 16 rushes, 81 yards |
| West Texas A&M | Receiving | Stephen Burton | 7 receptions, 59 yards |
| Central Washington | Passing | Ryan Robertson | 21/36, 256 yards, 4 TD |
| Central Washington | Rushing | Randall Eldridge | 15 rushes, 64 yards |
| Central Washington | Receiving | Johnny Spevak | 9 receptions, 121 yards, TD |

### At No. 1 Abilene Christian

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 3 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 32 |
| No. 1 Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Shotwell Stadium, Abilene, Texas
* Date: October 17
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear, 60 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 12,875
* Referee: Eddy Shelton
* Box score
| Statistics | WT | ACU |
| First downs | 21 | 18 |
| Total yards | 383 | 301 |
| Rushing yards | 25 | 189 |
| Passing yards | 358 | 112 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:11 | 31:49 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Texas A&M | Passing | Taylor Harris | 34/48, 358 yards, 2 TD |
| West Texas A&M | Rushing | Keithon Flemming | 11 rushes, 72 yards, 2 TD |
| West Texas A&M | Receiving | Stephen Burton | 8 receptions, 115 yards |
| Abilene Christian | Passing | Mitchell Gale | 14/25, 112 yards, 2 INT |
| Abilene Christian | Rushing | Daryl Richardson | 22 rushes, 100 yards, 2 TD |
| Abilene Christian | Receiving | Dennis Campbell | 3 receptions, 43 yards |

### Vs. Nebraska–Omaha (Kanza Bowl)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buffaloes | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Mavericks | 0 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 25 |
at Hummer Sports Complex, Topeka, Kansas
* Date: December 5
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 41 °F (5 °C)
* Game attendance: 3,032
* Referee: Danny Harris
* Box score
| Statistics | WT | UNO |
| First downs | 14 | 22 |
| Total yards | 352 | 367 |
| Rushing yards | 70 | 115 |
| Passing yards | 282 | 252 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 16:50 | 43:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| West Texas A&M | Passing | Taylor Harris | 15/29, 282 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| West Texas A&M | Rushing | Keithon Flemming | 14 rushes, 42 yards, TD |
| West Texas A&M | Receiving | Brittan Golden | 5 receptions, 119 yards, TD |
| Nebraska–Omaha | Passing | Greg Wunderlich | 26/44, 252 yards, INT |
| Nebraska–Omaha | Rushing | Levi Terrell | 28 rushes, 84 yards |
| Nebraska–Omaha | Receiving | Mike Higgins | 7 receptions, 78 yards |