Box Score CANYON – After weeks of waiting, No. 16 Tarleton State did not disappoint in the season opener by heading to Kimbrough Memorial Stadium and defeating No. 22 West Texas A&M 31-27 Saturday night.
 
This is Tarleton's first win in Canyon since 2004 and the second straight win over the Buffs after rallying back to defeat WT in Stephenville by the same score last season. Over the last six quarters dating back to last season, Tarleton has outscored the Buffs 59-27.
 
This is also the first time Tarleton State has beaten a top-25 ranked opponent in a true road game since beating then-No. 13 Texas A&M-Kingsville in the first round of the 2009 NCAA playoffs.
 
After running onto the field for the first time, Tarleton State got an emotional lift when teammate Chance Wallace welcomed the Texans to the field. Wallace suffered a career-ending injury in March and is currently undergoing rehabilitation to regain the use of his legs.
 
"It was a very emotional moment for our guys," said head coach Cary Fowler. "Chance is a teammate, he is a brother and he is a Texan – forever. Our guys love Chance and everything we do is for him. It was an emotional time for us to circle around him after this win and sing the school song with him."
 
West Texas A&M got on the board first with a 48-yard field goal with 3:33 and took that 3-0 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Buffs carried the momentum into the new quarter and appeared prime to put points on the board before Marc Martinez picked off WT's Preston Rabb in the end zone to shift the momentum to Tarleton.
 
The Martinez interception set up Tarleton's first scoring drive of the game as Eric Mathews led the team down the field on a four-play, 80-yard drive in 1:04 for the game's first touchdown. Mathews ran the score in himself with a head-first diving score which earned the points but would end up forcing Mathews out of the remainder of the game and leaving all the snaps for starter Collin Strahan.
 
After WT regained the lead at 10-7, Strahan led a drive in the waning seconds of the first half to get Tarleton in field goal range for a 34-yard field goal from Blake Barnes. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime.
 
Out of the break, Strahan led the Texans down the field on a 10-play, 67-yard drive which he capped off himself with a 10-yard run to pay dirt for a 17-10 Tarleton lead.
 
West Texas A&M answered back with two consecutive third-quarter scores on a touchdown pass and a 36-yard field goal to put the Buffs in front 20-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
In the final quarter, Tarleton State marched the ball down for a 9-play, 75-yard drive with a 12-yard run by Cody Burtscher and, after WT's final touchdown of the game, Burtscher struck again for the game-winning score from 10 yards out with 10:22 left.
 
The Tarleton defense came up big on the ensuing drive when Damien Ward and Chris Brown converged for an 11-yard sack of Rabb on third-and-eight to force a WT punt with just over 5:00 left. The Texan offense got the ball at the five-yard line and drove the ball 81 yards to ice the game and earn the win.
 
Tarleton ran the ball 51 for 298 yards with Strahan (21-124) and Zach Henshaw (18-107) leading the way with over 100 yards each. Burtscher had six carries for 44 yards and two scores, both in the fourth quarter.
 
Through the air, Strahan was 16-22 for 123 yards with five catches apiece going to Clifton Rhodes III and Le'Nard Meyers for 83 and 28 yards, respectively. Bubba Tandy also had four catches for 55 yards.
 
Martinez and Devin Figures led the Texan defense with 14 tackles, each, while Charles Moore also cracked double figures with 12.
 
The Texans will return to action next Saturday when they head to Arlington to play their only non-conference game of the regular season against Florida Tech. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m. from AT&T Stadium.