Football Loses to WT, 41-15

September 19, 2009

WEATHERFORD, Okla. - Southwestern Oklahoma State University played some of its most inspired ball of the season giving West Texas A&M a stern challenge before falling 41-15 in a football game Saturday in Weatherford.

The Bulldogs offense and defense came up with some big plays that resulted in scores, giving the home crowd an opportunity to hoot and holler.

The outcome had already been decided before the Bulldogs had their key plays as WTAMU scored the game's first 34 points and carried that lead into the third quarter.

SWOSU's best moment came when defensive back John Kaye intercepted a West Texas A&M pass and returned it 34 yards to the Buff five-yard line. Running back Daniel Barwick scored on a short run up the middle and Chad McIntosh kicked the extra point, putting the Bulldogs on the board trailing 34-7 at the end of three.

SWOSU's next score came late in the game when quarterback Steve Day marched the Bulldogs 70 yards on 10 plays. He connected on passes of 16 yards to Barwick, 14 to Cody Gragg and 19 to Johnathan Haggerty to move the ball into scoring range.

The final play was a four-yard run by Dashon Carter-Mays who made it 41-15 with 10:55 to play.

WTAM jump started its offense after struggling in its first three games, all losses to nationally-ranked teams.  The Buffs showcased an offense that ran up 547 total yards. Buff quarterback Taylor Harris completed 20-of-31 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown to lead the air assault.

Buff tailback Kelvin Thompson added 132 yards on 17 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 17, 2 and four yards. His last came with 30 seconds in the half to put the Buffs ahead 31-0 at the break. The Buffs ended up with 172 yards on the ground. The Buffs bettered their season total yard average by 222 yards against SWOSU.

SWOSU remained winless in four starts this season. The Bulldogs had just 157 yards of total offense and turned the ball over three times. SWOSU had just 17 yards on the ground on 25 carries, turned the ball over three times and had its quarterback sacked six times.

Defensively, SWOSU was led by Fred Leak and Sam Nwafor who each had 11 tackles.