SILVER CITY, N.M. — Western New Mexico lost to Tex. A&M-Kingsville 52-14 on Saturday. Western New Mexico ran for 251 yards, including
Devon Nofoa-Masoe's (Tacoma, WA/Lakes High School) 59-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but finished with 57 passing yards.
Tex. A&M-Kingsville generated 667 yards of offense, including 419 passing, and finished with 35 first downs. Western New Mexico held the ball for 38:09 and ran for 251 yards, with Nofoa-Masoe gaining 120 on 17 carries, but the passing game completed 7 of 20 passes for 57 yards with three interceptions.
Western New Mexico's defense produced the key response after Tex. A&M-Kingsville scored first, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth-and-11 at the Western New Mexico 35 with 6:00 left in the first quarter. The offense picked up two first downs in the quarter but also had a fourth-down pass intercepted, and Nofoa-Masoe's 7-yard run to the Western New Mexico 40 closed the quarter with Western New Mexico trailing 7-0.
Western New Mexico tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter on
Kainan Manna's (Phoenix, AZ/Centennial High School) 17-yard touchdown pass and
Nathan Flores' (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva High School) PAT, but Tex. A&M-Kingsville answered with two touchdown passes to move ahead 21-7. Western New Mexico also got a red-zone stop after an interception, with
Clayton Neal (Maricopa, AZ/Maricopa High School) forcing and recovering an Austin Abram fumble at the Western New Mexico 6 to keep the score at 14-7. A late Western New Mexico drive reached the Tex. A&M-Kingsville 30 before ending on downs, and the quarter closed with Western New Mexico trailing 21-7.
Western New Mexico answered Tex. A&M-Kingsville's early touchdown with a 75-yard drive, converting fourth-and-3 before Nofoa-Masoe scored on a 59-yard run and
Nathan Flores' (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva High School) PAT made it 29-14 with 12:22 left in the third quarter. Western New Mexico was held to punts on its next two possessions, while Tex. A&M-Kingsville added a 29-yard field goal and a 35-yard touchdown run to finish the quarter ahead 39-14.
Western New Mexico was held scoreless in the fourth quarter as Tex. A&M-Kingsville added a touchdown and two field goals to finish a 52-14 result. Western New Mexico's best drive of the quarter included
Jase Ashley's (Phoenix, AZ/Horizon High School) 20-yard completion to
Isaiah Abeyta (Las Cruces, NM/Centennial High School) and
Joshua Gaines' (Chandler, AZ/Basha High School) 13-yard run into Tex. A&M-Kingsville territory, but it ended with Ashley's fumble. Manna later broke a 33-yard run on the final possession before an interception on the last play.
Nofoa-Masoe rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Manna added 68 rushing yards on five carries, completed 4 of 12 passes for 36 yards and a touchdown and caught a 17-yard touchdown pass.
Clayton Zentner (Corona, CA/Norco High School) led Western New Mexico with 18 tackles. Neal finished with eight tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Christian Kretz caught 16 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns. Mills Dawson completed 33 of 44 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns and added 37 rushing yards. Edward Chumley rushed 22 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Daniel Gauna converted 3 of 4 field-goal attempts, including a 38-yarder, and made all four extra-point attempts.
Western New Mexico is 1-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Tex. A&M-Kingsville is 2-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Western New Mexico football team hosts Eastern New Mexico at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Ben Altamirano Field in Silver City, New Mexico for the Homecoming game and Green Chile Bowl.
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Western New Mexico University is a member of the NCAA Division II, and the Lone Star Conference (LSC). For additional information regarding Mustang Athletics, visit
www.wnmumustangs.com; visit wnmu.edu for more information about Western New Mexico University. Follow the Mustangs on social media: @WNMUathletics (X, TikTok & Instagram).
