STEPHENVILLE -  The Texans will take on Incarnate Word at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 as part of Homecoming Weekend at Tarleton.  Coming off a huge upset of A&M-Kingsville, the Texans will look to extend its winning streak to three games.  The Cardinals are coming off a bye week and a coaching change. The Cardinals will play their first game under interim head coach and former Tarleton coach Todd Ivicic after the resignation of Mike Santiago earlier this week.

TARLETON

LAST WEEK
    Tarleton defeated the Javelinas of A&M-Kingsville 41-34 after rallying from a 10 point deficit late in the game.  The Texans won their second straight game and spoiled TAMUK's homecoming.
    Courtney Vaughn rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown to lead the way for Tarleton, while Nick Stephens went 26-of-45 for 294 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.  Clifton Rhodes, Cordell Valentine, Jamal Mays and Vaughn all caught touchdown passes.
    The defense stepped up in a major way for Tarleton, recording three turnovers and nine tackles for loss in the upset. Marquis Wadley had 11 tackles, while Gaston Benson had an interception and a blocked field goal.  Logan Johnson added eight tackles and had a sack on the final play of the game, sealing Tarleton's fate.

HONORING THOSE BEFORE US
    The Tarleton athletic department will honor the 2001 Texan football team at halftime of Saturday's game.  The 2001 team put together one of the most accomplished seasons in school history and earned Tarleton's first over NCAA Division II playoff birth.

OFFENSE ON A ROLL
    The Tarleton offense has really turned it on as of late, averaging 30.2 points and 368.1 yards per game.  The “air raid” attack has benefited the Texans in a number of ways.  It has opened up the passing game, while disguising a rapidly improving running game.
    Quarterback Nick Stephens has a had a strong season, completing 54.5 percent of his passes for a total of 2028 yards.  He also has 13 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions, while averaging 253.5 passing yards per game.
    Courtney Vaughn has taken over the No. 1 running back spot, with a pair of 100-yard games in the past two weeks.  The Tunica, Miss. native has 484 yards on 106 carries and three scores, good for No. 8 in the LSC.  Brandon Lowery has added four rushing touchdowns.
    Freshman receiver Clifton Rhodes not only has four 100-yard receiving games, but he also leads the team with three receiving touchdowns, 42 receptions and 674 total yards.

GAME CHANGERS
    The defense has not had outstanding games statistically, but anyone that follows Tarleton football will know that this is a dangerous group of Texans.  Tarleton is allowing 35.5 points and 435.9 yards per game, but those numbers have come against very talented offenses.  In fact, Midwestern State, Abilene Christian, West Texas A&M  and Texas A&M-Kingsville all rank in the top 22 offenses in the nation, with the Mustangs at No. 1.
    Turnovers have been a big part of Tarleton's game, with nine interceptions and 10 forced fumbles on the season.  Those give the Texans the third best turnover margin in the LSC.
    Marquis Wadley continues to lead the conference in tackles with 91, 15 more than second place.  Dan Jackson ranks No. 7 with 56 tackles while Desmond Jackson is No. 9 with 52 tackles.  
    Logan Johnson has six sacks on the season, good for No. 3 in the league.  Rufus Johnson leads the league in tackles for loss with 12 on the year.  Dashaun Phillips has four picks and is second in the LSC in that category.

LSC PLAY
    Tarleton is 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference standings after their victory over the Javelinas pushed them into fourth place.  The Texans still trail a trio of teams that defeated them earlier in the season in No. 1 MSU, No. 2 WTAMU, and No. 3 ACU.  Incarnate Word is ranked two spots behind Tarleton at No. 6 and are 2-3 in the LSC.

GETTIN' IT DONE
    Vaughn continues to be a headache for opposing defenses, after rushing the ball 25 times for 152 yards and a touchdown in Tarleton's win last Saturday.  One week prior, Vaughn rushed 23 times for 117 yards and two more scores.  That's good for a 134.5 yard per game average over the past two weeks as the junior back has solidified his hold on the No. 1 running back spot.

EVEN STEPHENS
    Senior quarterback Nick Stephens surpassed the 2,000 yard this past week at Kingsville by throwing for 294 yards.  The Flower Mound native now has 2,028 yards on 175-of-321 passing to go with his 13 touchdowns.  He also has a passing efficiency rating of 117.2 and a 54.5 completion percentage.  All of this puts Stephens as the No. 4 quarterback in the league statistically, but he could easily be the hottest arm right now at the helm of Tarleton's hot streak.


INCARNATE WORD

LAST WEEK
    Incarnate Word is coming off a bye week and a recent coaching change.  It was announced Wednesday of this week that Mike Santiago will step down as head coach.  Interim coach Todd Ivicic will take over and lead the Cardinals against his former employer in Tarleton.  In their most recent action, UIW fell to A&M-Kingsville 41-38 in a heartbreaker at home two weeks ago.

THE CARDINAL RULE: OFFENSE
    The Cardinals are averaging 25.6 points and 324.3 yards per game.  They have been predominantly pass friendly, with 208.1 of their yards coming through the air.  UIW also enjoys the ball in their possession more, averaging 33:05 TOP per game.
    Paden Lynch is their captain quarterback, and has passed for 1,102 yards on the season.  He has a 61.6 completion percentage, but is eight touchdown to eight interception ratio has been an issue.  
    Jacob Love is his go-to guy with 33 catches for 463 yards and four touchdowns, while Colton Palmer has two receiving scores.  Trent Rios has been a dual-threat with 134 rushes for 504 yards and seven scores and 17 receptions for 105 yards and another touchdown.

DEFENSIVE EXECUTION
    Defense has been a problem for Cardinals in their five losses, giving up 37.7 points and 460.4 yards per game on the season.  Picking up 41 penalties have not helped either.  But again, UIW is facing the some potent offenses as the Texans.
    One area the Cardinals excel in is in the turnover department.  UIW leads the league in interceptions with 13 on the year.  Seven of those picks have come from one of the most dominant cover men in the conference, Devin Haywood.  Haywood also has nine pass deflections and 39 tackles.
    Juan Asencio has 56 tackles on the year and two interceptions, while Dakota Mawyer has 44 tackles and one pick.

ONE TOUGH SCHEDULE
    UIW has wins over Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Commerce, but losses to East Central and out of conference.  Their LSC losses have been to West Texas A&M, Midwestern State and A&M-Kingsville.

Fans can follow along with Homecoming Weekend and Saturday's contest by checking out TarletonSports.com.

Live stats are available as well as live video feed and the live radio feed courtesy KSTV 93.1 FM.