November 26th, 2025 4:00am
First Round Recap
Road wins were on the menu for the LSC’s playoff games this week; unfortunately for Central Washington, they were the home team. CWU struggled to move the ball the way they wanted despite outgaining Western Colorado, only managing one offensive touchdown and missing several opportunities for big plays in a tough loss.
UTPB went to Pueblo and put the ThunderWolves down early and made enough plays to keep them from seriously threatening to make another one of their comebacks, putting to rest any doubt over whether they belonged in the playoff field.
Now, about last week:
#11 Texas-Permian Basin wins at #6 CSU-Pueblo 37-24
As the first quarter went on, the question of whether this game would be competitive became whether this game would feature yet another CSU-Pueblo comeback. The Falcons played flawless football, jumping out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and continuing their domination into the third quarter, taking a 30-3 lead when Kanon Gibson found Jaylon Tillman for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
So is it possible that even CSU-Pueblo bit off more than they can chew this week? This time, yes.
The ThunderWolves gave it the “old college try”, scoring two touchdowns in the late third and early fourth quarters sandwiched around a questionable decision by UTPB to go for it on fourth down at the Pueblo 7-yard line (and failed) to draw within 30-17. After forcing a UTPB 3-and-out, The ThunderWolves hopes would ultimately die with as the football fell out of Kiahn Martinez’ hands into the hands of UTPB’s Kharel Coney at the Pueblo 13-yard line. Kanon Gibson would later score on a 2-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach even for Pueblo.
Gibson was brilliant for the Falcons, completing 24 of 34 passes for 343 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns. Traylen Suel made catch after catch, overshadowing even the great Reggie Retzlaff by catching 9 balls for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead all receivers. Retzlaff did catch 4 balls for 71 yards and a touchdown, but his efforts and those of Roman Fuller’s offense weren’t nearly enough to overcome another large deficit. Fuller completed 21 of 47 passes for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the low completion number tells you what kind of struggle it was for CSU-Pueblo.
Texas-Permian Basin improves to 10-2 and moves to the next round. CSU-Pueblo falls to 10-2 and their season concludes.
#18 Western Colorado wins at #5 Central Washington 27-20
From CWU’s opening drive, things seemed a bit different. Kennedy McGill was looking to move the ball downfield with long passes instead of taking the more deliberate approach that the Wildcats had established as their main identity this season. McGill completed a 54-yard pass to Samaje Featherstone to set up a 46-yard David Weber field goal to put the Wildcats up 3-0. That would be all the CWU offense would manage in the first half, as Western Colorado broke out the big plays to go up 14-3 as the second quarter wore on. However, linebacker Kuma Scanlan intercepted a Drew Nash pass at the WCU 45-yard line and brought it home for a touchdown that kept the Wildcats’ hopes for victory alive.
CWU took the lead back and held it for most of the third quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run by Justice Taylor and a 41-yard field goal from Weber to make the score 20-14 in CWU’s favor, but the CWU lead would be short-lived under Nash’s best stretch of the game. A 3-yard touchdown pass from Nash to Ramon Ruiz as the third quarter was winding down gave the Mountaineers a 21-20 lead. WCU would extend their lead to 27-20 on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Nash to Joshua Dixon. The last 7 minutes of the game was a show of desperation on CWU’s side, with McGill first trying the run for one last series (and failing) and then trying pass again, but outside of a 16-yard pass to Logan Brady and a 21-yard completion to Samaje Featherstone to get the ball near midfield on their final drive, the passes were all falling to the ground or sailing out of bounds as McGill ran from the WCU pressure. The final hope for the Wildcats’ season rested on McGill’s shoulders, as he took off to run like he had sone so many times this season to lead CWU and the country in rushing yards for quarterbacks. But this time, it was fourth down and 16 yards to go, and Cameron Cooper brought McGill down after gaining just one yard, ending CWU’s season far sooner than any Wildcat or Wildcat fan would have hoped.
The story of this game was CWU being taken out of their typical offensive game plan by the WCU defense despite CWU outgaining CWU by 410 to 332 yards. The Wildcats gained just 152 yards on the ground and held the ball for only 28:50 of the game. CWU was just 2 of 13 on third down and McGill, who threw for 258 yards, was often running away from pressure. Dropped balls and errant passes put CWU in long-yardage downs as the Wildcats was forced into a game plan that wasn’t sustainable against a WCU defense that bent but never broke. Drew Nash and the WCU offense didn’t dominate, but the spurt of 2 touchdowns in 3 drives in the third and fourth quarters was the difference in the game.
Western Colorado improves to 10-2 and moves to the next round. Central Washington falls to 10-2 and their season concludes.
Playoff Second Round Preview
Western Colorado heads back to 7723 feet above sea level to face UTPB, who lost to the Mountaineers there in 2023 after falling behind big. Can the Falcons break the WCU 6-game winning streak against the LSC and keep the LSC’s playoff hopes alive?
All games are on Saturday, November 29. All game times are in the Central time zone.
#11 Texas-Permian Basin at #18 Western Colorado, 2:00 PM
Records: Texas-Permian Basin 10-2 (7-2 LSC), Western Colorado 9-2 (7-2 RMAC)
Series History: Series tied 1-1
Last meeting: 2023 (Western Colorado won 35-27)
Team Statistics
Texas-Permian Basin:
Points per game – 39 for; 18 against
Yards per game – 469 for (140 rushing, 329 passing); 303 against (136 rushing, 167 passing)
Turnovers – 12 committed; 17 caused
Sacks – 26 caused; 33 allowed
Time of Possession – 32:14 for; 27:46 against
Third Down Conversions – 47% for; 32% against
Fourth Down Conversions – 71% for; 38% against
Field Goals – 11-17 for (long of 50 yards); 5-8 against
Western Colorado:
Points per game – 38 for; 17 against
Yards per game – 420 for (154 rushing, 266 passing); 317 against (99 rushing, 218 passing)
Turnovers – 13 committed; 17 caused
Sacks – 34 caused; 20 allowed
Time of Possession – 30:43 for; 29:10 against
Third Down Conversions – 41% for; 33% against
Fourth Down Conversions – 58% for; 25% against
Field Goals – 5-14 for (long of 53 yards); 11-16 against
Top Players
Texas-Permian Basin:
QB Kanon Gibson – 249/405 passes for 3324 yards, 28 TD, 7 INT; 139 carries for 425 yards, 10 TD
RB Kory Harris – 139 carries for 596 yards, 9 TD; 16 catches for 195 yards
WR TJ McKenzie – 39 catches for 593 yards, 6 TD
WR Ben Patterson – 27 catches for 629 yards, 5 TD
WR Traylen Suel – 51 catches for 631 yards, 7 TD
LB Tristan Exline – 115 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT
LB McKyle So’oto – 50 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 INT
DL Jacob Humphrey – 27 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks
DB Jamarion Ravenell – 25 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 3 INT, 8 passes broken up
DB Jayden Plater – 15 tackles, 3 INT, 5 passes broken up
Western Colorado:
QB Drew Nash – 207/343 passes for 2833 yards, 32 TD, 5 INT; 119 carries for 510 yards, 11 TD
RB Bailey Quinn – 112 carries for 528 yards, 8 TD; 23 receptions for 318 yards, 3 TD
WR Caden Measner – 53 catches for 702 yards, 8 TD
WR DJ Allen Jr. – 27 catches for 530 yards, 6 TD
WR Ramon Ruiz – 31 catches for 395 yards, 4 TD
LB Ian Loomis – 100 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 passes broken up
LB Cameron Cooper - 73 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 4 passes broken up
LB Kade Musser – 69 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 pass broken up
DL Drew Johnson – 30 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 2 pass broken up
DL Ricky Freymond – 45 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT
While these two teams don’t have the history that CWU and Western Colorado have had, Kris McCullough’s UTPB squad did go to Western Colorado in UTPB’s second game of the 2023 season. Western Colorado got out to a 28-6 second quarter lead before Kenny Hrncir and the UTPB offense pulled within 8 points but couldn’t get any closer in a 35-27 loss. WCU has won their last 6 games and 8 of their last 9 games against LSC opponents, with their last loss the 16-13 loss to CWU in the 2023 playoffs.
Offensively, these two teams might not run the same exact system, but on paper they are nearly identical. Kanon Gibson and Drew Nash are threats to both run and throw. Both teams spread the ball around to deep groups of receivers. No running back stands out with large yardage totals because both quarterbacks contribute so much to the running games. Where the teams differ is in time of possession, where UTPB has a slight edge, and passing yardage, where the Falcons throw for 63 more yards per game than WCU. UTPB has a significant advantage with kicker Angel Diaz, who has made 11 of 17 field goals while WCU’s Adam Tasei has made 5 of 11 kicks.
Defensively, WCU spends a great amount of time in the opposing backfield, ranking second in the nation with 103 tackles for loss. They are also among the nation’s leaders with 34 sacks, which could be a possible issue for UTPB, who has given up 33 sacks. WCU is better than UTPB against the run, but UTPB is better than WCU against the pass. The turnover count is even overall, with UTPB slightly ahead in interceptions and WCU slightly ahead in fumble recoveries.
Digging a bit further into the defensive comparisons, both teams have faced two common opposing quarterbacks – West Texas A&M’s RJ Martinez and CSU-Pueblo’s Roman Fuller:
Also, both teams faced Midwestern State, but faced different quarterbacks. WCU gave up 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, and had an interception while UTPB gave up 203 yards, 1 touchdown, and had an interception. UTPB also held Central Oklahoma’s Jett Huff to 169 yards and 2 interceptions and WNMU’s Connor Ackerley to 104 yards and 2 interceptions. I think that based on this information, the most important matchup in the game will be the UTPB offensive line against the WCU defensive front seven. With WCU not (statistically) having as strong a pass defense as UTPB, and having given up 258 passing yards to CWU’s Kennedy McGill, it will be imperative for UTPB to give Gibson time to throw because the UTPB passing game (unlike CWU) will make WCU pay if they can’t put Gibson on his back.
Since it is Colorado in late November, we definitely need to talk about the weather too. The weather forecast for WCU is (as of right now) is 39 degrees and cloudy with a 10-15 mph wind and a 20% chance of snow (it’s forecast to be 71 and sunny is Odessa/Midland, TX). Then there’s also this issue of the altitude, which is always a possible factor for teams not used to competing at altitude.
So how do I think this game will go? I have already mentioned that the most important matchup in the game will be the UTPB offensive front against the WCU defensive front. If UTPB can give Gibson time to throw and space to make runs, that could be the difference in the game. However, Drew Nash does many of the same things that Gibson does, even if he doesn’t put up Gibson’s raw numbers. I think this game will have its moments where both teams will make their moves, and between the weather and both defenses being solid, this is likely a lower-scoring game, with the winning score in the high 20’s. I think that UTPB’s overall depth on offense, especially in the passing game, will give WCU enough trouble to where it will be enough to put the Falcons on top. Texas-Permian Basin by a field goal.
Oh, and before I finish for the week, I am quite aware of the major coaching news coming out of Eastern New Mexico this week. However, I’m not going to get into that here as I think the playoffs should still be front and center and this definitely needs more time that I currently have to process it. There will be plenty of time to digest and discuss it and at least for me, that will come in the LSC end of season recap, whenever the time comes to put that together. Also, independent of the result of the UTPB/WCU game, there will at least be a preview of WT's Heritage Bowl appearance. Until then, have a great Thanksgiving and go Falcons!