Sergio Castillo connected on four field goals, Dustin Vaughan threw for 353 yards and No. 4-ranked West Texas A&M overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat No. 18 Chadron State in a 34-31 thriller to open the Lone Star Conference Football Festival in front of 3,093 fans on Thursday at AT&T Stadium.
West Texas A&M (2-0), which fell behind 21-0 just 9 minutes into the first quarter, used an 18-point fourth quarter while its defense allowed no scores and made two key interceptions to secure the victory.
With 6:36 to play, Vaughan hooked up with Aaron Harris for a 19-yard touchdown pass and then found Jace Jackson in the endzone for a two-point conversion to create a 31-31 tie.
Chadron State (1-1), which had led the entire way up to that point, started at its own 21-yard line and drove seven plays to the West Texas A&M 34. Facing a fourth-down and 4, Taylor McCuller picked off a John McLain pass to set up the Buffs’ winning drive.
Vaughan completed five straight passes totaling 56 yards before four consecutive runs by Geremy Alridge to set up a Castillo 21-yard field goal.
Chadron State’s last chance was taken away by an interception from Torian Oakley on the West Texas A&M 44-yard line.
Castillo was also good on field goal tries from 21, 29 and 27 yards – as well as notching two extra-points. Vaughan finished 29-for-41 with one TD and no interceptions. Harris totaled 103 yards and two TDs on 17 carries, while Torrence Allen hauled in eight passes for 124 yards. Harris also caught a TD pass. Taylor McCuller fueled the West Texas A&M defense with 17 tackles.
Glen Clinton finished with 143 yards and one TD on 24 carries to lead Chadron State, which scored on its first two plays from scrimmage. Clinton had a 77-yard burst, while Nathan Ross hauled in a 7-yard pass from MCLain after a Dillon Breinig recovered a fumble. Lane Heller paced the Eagles’ defense with 15 tackles and Shea Koch added 10 stops.
It was a rematch of last season’s NCAA Division II first-round playoff game in which West Texas A&M prevailed 38-30 en route to the national semifinals.
Both West Texas A&M (LSC) and Chadron State (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) begin league play next week. WT hosts Texas A&M-Commerce at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21, while Chadron St. welcomes Colorado Mesa at Noon.
The three-day, 14-team LSC Football Festival resumes Friday with three games: Sul Ross State vs. Eastern New Mexico at 1 p.m.; Delta State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce at 5 p.m.; and Monterrey Tech Puebla vs. Monterrey Tech Mexico City at 9 p.m. The event concludes Saturday with another tripleheader: Monterrey Tech vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville at noon; Tarleton State vs. Midwestern State at 4 p.m.; and Colorado State-Pueblo vs. Angelo State at 8 p.m.
2013 Lone Star Football Festival
Arlington, Texas / AT&T Stadium (All times CT)
Thursday, Sept. 12
West Texas A&M 34, Chadron State 31
Friday, Sept. 13
Sul Ross State vs. Eastern New Mexico, 1 p.m.
Delta State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, 5 p.m.
Monterrey Tech Puebla vs. Monterrey Tech Mexico City, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14
Monterrey Tech vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville, Noon
Tarleton State vs. Midwestern State, 4 p.m.
Colorado State-Pueblo vs. Angelo State, 8 p.m.