SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Western New Mexico had a few things up its sleeve and showed up ready to battle No. 18 Midwestern State Saturday afternoon at Ben Altamirano Field.
 
In fact, MSU Texas didn't have room to breathe until Vincent Johnson broke the plane of the goal line scoring his third touchdown for a 48-35 win over a winless WNMU squad.
 
"They gave us better than a fight. They played very well and you have to give them credit," MSU Texas coach Bill Maskill said. "We had to fight every way we could to get a victory. We didn't play our best ball and that's on us. It's hard to get a win, but we didn't get an L."
 
The Mustangs, who improved to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in Lone Star Conference play, close the regular season Saturday against rival West Texas A&M. Kickoff for Military Appreciation and Senior Day is set for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
 
Johnson logged his 10th career 100-yard performance finishing with 135 yards on 24 carries with three touchdowns, while Layton Rabb also delivered his 10th game with at least 300 passing yards.
 
He completed 21-of-31 passes for 300 yards with three touchdowns, but the Western New Mexico defense picked him twice in the second quarter to forge a 21-14 halftime lead.
 
The turnovers and the solid play of WNMU freshman quarterback Raemos Fano, who completed 14-of-26 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns making his first collegiate start in his first action of the season.
 
But junior cornerback Jaydon Cunigan returned an interception 30 yards for touchdown on Western New Mexico's first drive of the second half to pull MSU Texas to within 21-20 after missed point-after attempt.
 
Vincent Johnson then capped off a 12-play, 79-yard drive with a 6-touchdown run and converted a 2-point try to stake the Mustangs to a 28-21.
 
Still, Western New Mexico fought back with a 37-yard Fano-to-Isaac Crichton pass on an RPO to pull the WNMU within a point a 28-27 with 2:47 left in the third quarter.
 
The teams exchanged touchdowns one more time as Rabb connected with Xavier Land on a 4-yard strike before DeAndre Williams broke free on a 71-yard run and WNMU converted a 2-point try to knot the game at 35-35 with 13:31 to go.
 
Midwestern State closed the game with two touchdown runs by Johnson (54, 4) to seal the victory.
 
MSU Texas sophomore wide out Juwan Johnson caught two passes for 93 yards including a 67-yard TD in the first half to lead the receiving corps. The output snapped a six-game run with at least 100 receiving yards.
 
Junior Xavier Land grabbed a team-high six receptions for 79 yards with a touchdown, while Tyrique Edwards put 94 yards of total offense with a career-high 68 rushing yards on five carries to go with four receptions for 26 yards.
 
Midwestern State eclipsed 500 yards for the fourth time this season finishing with 530.
 
Western New Mexico also set a season with 469 yards of total offense including 247 rushing yards paced Williams' 116-yard performance.
 
Junior safety Marcus Wilkerson led the Midwestern State defense with nine tackles, while freshman Melik Owens had six stops including two tackles for loss.
 
Western New Mexico dropped to 0-9 on the season.