THE RUNDOWN
CANYON, Texas — Midwestern State battled back from three touchdowns to take a brief lead before falling 35-27 to West Texas A&M Saturday night at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Mustangs, who fell to 6-1 on the season and 5-1 in Lone Star Conference play.

The West Texas A&M ground attack proved too much in the end as Devon Paye chewed up 177 rushing yards including a game-breaking 74 yard touchdown run after MSU claimed a brief 24-21 lead late in the third quarter.

The Buffs rolled up 218 yards as a team while pushing the lead to 35-27 on another rushing TD — a 26 harder by Trent Canion — with 5:11 to play.

WT rolled out to a 21-0 lead on a pair of TD passes by Ben Arbuckle and tally by Paye to take the three-touchdown lead 4 1/2 minutes into the second quarter.

But the Mustangs battled back taking advantage of a fumble recovery on a lateral which culminated with a 15-yard touchdown run by Quade Coward with 2:02 to go in the first half.

Junior DeAndre Black returned a punt 59 yards after a three-and-out allowing Midwestern to pull within a single score before halftime on another TD scamper by Coward.

Sophomore Vincent Johnson carried the ball seven times for 34 yards on a 13-play, 67-yard drive in the the third quarter culminating on a 12-yard TD strike from Coward to Black to knot the game at 21-21 with 2:51 to go.

Black proved to be the catalyst again returning a punt 45 yards to set up a 35-yard field goal by Tanner Graeber to give the Mustangs its only lead of the night at 24-21 with 57 seconds to go in the third.

West Texas A&M answered with Paye's 74-yard run around left end and never trailed again.

Midwestern State takes on UT-Permian Basin Saturday night for Homecoming at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

NOTES
* Midwestern State had its six-game winning streak snapped. The streak was the seventh longest in program history.
* It was the fourth time in school history the Mustangs started the season with at least six consecutive wins.
* West Texas A&M assumed a 5-3 edge in the 2016-17 Highway 287 Challenge Cup. The teams were knotted at 3-3 after MSU claimed two points by winning the LSC Cross Country Championship in the morning before WT claimed a volleyball victory early in the afternoon.
* The 21-point deficit matched the largest MSU has faced in the past two seasons as MSU trailed Texas A&M-Commerce at halftime last season before falling 27-14. The Mustangs are now 6-3 in games in which they trailed by double figures since the start of last season.
* DeAndre Black's 104 punt return yards were the fourth best in MSU history and the most BeeJay Mathis rolled up 142 yards on punt returns against Northeastern State (Okla.) in 2007.
* Black's 59-yard punt return in the second quarter was the 10th longest in program history and the longest since Dominique Williams went 60 yards at Texas A&M-Commerce in 2013.
* Senior defensive lineman Darian Childers finished with three tackles for loss including a quarterback sack.
* Sophomore safety Sir'Vell Ford led the defense with nine tackles for the second straight week.
* Sophomore running back Vincent Johnson logged a team-high 81 yards on 17 carries, but did not score a touchdown for the first time this season. It was the fourth consecutive week he led the MSU rushing attack.
* Senior wideout Breion Evans made four receptions for 77 yards.
* Senior place kicker Tanner Graeber connected on field goals of 35 and 26 yards. They were his first makes since hitting the game winner in the second week of the season at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

STAT OF THE GAME
86 — Yards wiped out due to penalties against the Midwestern State offense. Quade Coward's 48-yard connection with Dante Taylor on a wheel route to the WT 15 in the second quarter was wiped out on a holding call on Joel Onyia. Coward's 38-yard TD connection with Bryce Martinez was wiped out due to an ineligible downfield call in the third quarter. It was the second straight week Midwestern had a big play wiped out due to an ineligible receiver downfield penalty.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"We didn't give up and never gave in. They came back with the big run and we were mis-aligned. The sad part we were mis-aligned where he ran. We had a hard time tackling (Paye). Early third quarter, we contained their run. Bottom line is that we didn't make the plays when we had to and they did." — MSU coach Bill Maskill.

NEXT GAME
Midwestern State takes on UT-Permian Basin for Homecoming Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.