Box Score FLORENCE, Ala. – Tarleton's
Jake Fenske (QB, Sr, Round Rock) picked up his second win as a starter for the Texans, finding
Arthur Buckingham (WR, Sr, Pilot Point) with 1:23 left to play and completing a come-from-behind victory over the North Alabama Lions, 38-28, in front of 9,067 fans at Braly Stadium in Florence, Ala. on Saturday.
The Texans fell behind 28-27 with 4:27 left to play in the game before Fenske and Buckingham hooked up for the 22-yard score. Tarleton converted a two-point conversion and
Blake Barnes (K, Fr, Stephenville) iced the game with a 29-yard field goal with 16 seconds left to play and give the Texans (5-4) a 10-point victory over the Lions (5-4) in a contest part of the Lone Star Conference/Gulf South Conference First and 10 Challenge.
“We had to make some major changes at halftime in order to keep up with this team,” Tarleton head football coach
Cary Fowler said. “I thought our team played awesome in the second half. I am very proud of this team and what they accomplished tonight. This was a statement win for our players and I could not be more proud than of what this team did on this football field.
The Texans got on the board first with a three-yard touchdown run from
Andre Plata (WR, Fr, Dallas) at the 6:20 mark in the first quarter. His run capped off a 16-play, 65-yard drive for the Texans that took 6:36 off the clock. Barnes connected on the extra point attempt to give the Texans an early 7-0 lead.
UNA countered Tarleton's touchdown with a score of its own as Lions quarterback Luke Wingo found Lee Mayhall for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter. Taylor Pontius was good on the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.
The Lions took its first lead of the game with a two-yard touchdown run from Chris Alexander, capping off a seven-play, 91-yard drive. Pontius was successful on the point-after attempt to give the Lions a 14-7 lead with 11:50 left to play in the first half.
The Texans were pinned down at its own one-yard line with 6:37 left to play in the second quarter, but on the first play from scrimmage Fenske hooked up with
Cordell Valentine (WR, Sr, Vicksburg, Miss.) for a school record-breaking 99-yard touchdown pass. Barnes nailed the PAT and Tarleton tied the game at 14-14.
The 99-yard pass play broke the previous school record of 95 yards, which was set back on Nov. 9, 1996, when Chad Cole threw a touchdown pass to Colin Yocom against Central Oklahoma. The longest offensive play in school history also tied a LSC record as well with Fenske becoming just the fourth quarterback in the conference's history to toss a 99-yard touchdown.
The Texans would take a three point lead into the locker room, up 17-14, after Barnes kicked a 24-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the half. Following a couple of penalties on a pair of kickoffs to the Lions, the half finally ended with zero seconds on the clock when UNA's Jamarcus Goodloe was brought to the ground by a swarm of Texan defenders.
Tarleton extended its lead to 20-14 with 8:40 left in the third quarter with a 35-yard field goal from Barnes. His field goal completed a 14-play, 57-yard drive that took 6:20 off the clock to begin the second half.
With just under seven minutes left to play in the third quarter, Wingo was sacked by Tarleton's
Rufus Johnson (DE, Sr, Dallas) on a third-down and 10 play, forcing the Lion quarterback to fumble. Texan defender
Patrick Bettiol (DE, So, College Station) jumped on the football to give the Texans the possession and two plays later
Zach Henshaw (RB, Fr, Fischer) found pay-dirt from 15 yards out. Barnes was good on the extra point and the Texans pushed its lead to 13 points, up 27-14 with 6:01 left to play in the third quarter.
Both teams were forced to punt three times over the next nine minutes in the game, but UNA finally managed to find the end zone with 9:00 left in the game when Wingo rushed up the middle from 19 yards out. The Lions managed to keep the drive going when Tarleton was hit with a face mask penalty on a third and seven play earlier in the drive. Pontius kicked the extra point and pulled the Lions within a touchdown of the Texans, down 27-21.
The Texans were forced to punt again on its next possession and UNA countered with a six-play, 57-yard drive that ended with Wingo taking the ball into the end zone from the nine yard line with 4:37 left to play in the game. Pontius was again good on the extra point and the Lions regained the lead, up 28-27.
The Texans began its next possession from its very own 25-yard line with 4:37 left to play and then 10 plays later, Tarleton's
Arthur Buckingham (WR, Sr, Pilot Point) caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Fenske to take a 33-28 advantage. Tarleton elected to go for the two-point conversion to make it a seven-point lead. Fenske connected on the two-point attempt, finding
Jeken Frye (WR, Jr, El Paso) in the corner of the end zone to give the Texans a 35-28 lead with just 1:23 left to play in the contest.
During the ensuing kickoff, UNA was penalized for an illegal block in the back which forced the Lions to begin the drive at its own 11-yard line with 1:16 left on the clock.
Wingo completed a 14-yard pass to Brian Sutherland and then found Mayhall for a two-yard gain. The Lions were pushed back to its own 14-yard line on the next play as a UNA wide receiver was called for offensive pass interference on the play, making it second down and 22 to go for the Lions. Wingo's next pass was incomplete and then on fourth down and 22, Wingo's pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage by Bettiol, turning the ball over to the Texans with 36.6 seconds left in the game.
Barnes put the game away with his 29-yard field goal with 16 seconds left to play and Tarleton picked up its first win over a GSC opponent with the 38-28 victory.
“We knew we could win this game tonight,” said Fowler. “We had to come in here and give it everything we had; our players did that and this game shows that we can play with anyone in the country.”
It was the first back-to-back wins for the Texans this season as the team improved to 5-4 overall. The Lions dropped its third-consecutive game heading into its final game of the season and dropped to 5-4 overall as well.
The Texans gained 500 yards of total offense for the third time this season, racking up 537 yards with 226 yards on the ground and 311 yards in the air. For the second time this season
Vaughn Smith (RB, Jr, Menlo Park, Calif.) and Henshaw both rushed for 100+ yards. Smith finished the game with 126 yards, while Henshaw racked up 101 yards.
Fenske completed 31 passes with just one interception and tossed a pair of touchdowns. The 31 completions were just two shy of tying a the school record of 33 completions set by chase Sugarek against Northeastern State back on Oct. 26, 2002.
Frye led all receivers with eight catches on the night, but Valentine led the game with 107 yards receiving with 99 yards coming on the school record-breaking play.
Matt Knicky (LB, Sr, Cedar Park) and
Devin Figures (DB, Jr, Jefferson) led the defense with nine tackles each on the night. Johnson and Bettiol had a sack each in the game as well.
The Lions gained 435 yards of offense on the night with 223 yards rushing and 212 passing yards. Alexander led the Lions on the ground with 83 yards, while Wingo completed 15 passes for 187 yards in the air attack for UNA. Sutherland led the squad with five catches for 66 yards.
The Texans will return home for its final game of the regular season, hosting Angelo State next Saturday, Nov. 10 at Tarleton Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Stephenville.
