- Box Score

STEPHENVILLE – After starting the season 1-5, the Texan football team has won four straight, including a 44-3 thumping of Division III's Millsaps College Saturday.

On Military Appreciation Day, Tarleton honored a number of former and active members of the United States Military.  The football team used that motivation to perform on the field in a disciplined and organized manner.

The Texans got the ball first, but an early interception in their own territory put the defense in a difficult situation.  The Tarleton defense was able to step up though and held the Majors to a 24-yard field goal.

After that, it was all Texans for the rest of the first half.

Courtney Vaughn got the scoring started for Tarleton at the 5:57 mark with a 17-yard run up the gut making it 6-3 in favor of the Texans.  The missed extra point held the score at 6-3.

On Millsaps' next drive, Marquis Wadley forced a fumble from Majors running back Thomas Theriot that was recovered by Matt Knicky.  That put Tarleton in great field position with under three minutes remaining in the first.

The Texans were not able to take advantage though as the offense stalled.  That is when Coach Cary Fowler called upon his sophomore kicker Jose Serrano to attempt a 49-yard field goal.  After missing the extra point earlier in the contest, Serrano made up with it by converting the 49-yarder, his longest of the season.

In the second quarter, Vaughn added his second touchdown of the game, this time from one yard out.  The Serrano extra point put the game in Tarleton's favor 16-3 as the Texans began to pull away.

Just a minute and a half later after getting the ball back on a Dashaun Phillips interception, his sixth of the year, quarterback Nick Stephens hit Brad Croak for a 23-yard touchdown pass.  The extra point was good and the Texans now led 23-3 after just 19 minutes of play. 

Before the second quarter would expire, Vaughn rushed for his third touchdown of the game, another one-yarder, making it 30-3 Texans at the half.

By halftime, Tarleton had racked up 12 first downs while holding Millsaps to just four.  The Texans had 219 yards of total offense compared to the Majors' 126 yards.

In the second half, the Tarleton offense settled down into a more conservative approach with the running game eating up the clock.

Running back Justin Sturns scored at the 5:48 mark in the third to make it a 37-3 ball game, as the Texans extended their already dominant lead.

Nick Stephens capped off his stellar day in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Mays with 13:53 to go in the fourth.  Serrano made his fifth extra point of the game to make it 44-3 Tarleton.

That would be the final score as the Texans went on to finish off the Majors 44-3.  Tarleton cruised to its fourth straight victory Saturday afternoon in Stephenville.

The Texan offense amassed 447 yards of total offense while the defense held Millsaps to just 241 total yards.

Stephens finished the game with two touchdowns and two interceptions while going 21-of-32 for 265 yards.

Brad Croak led the receivers with a touchdown and 62 yards on five catches.  Mays caught the other score, while Stephens hit nine different receivers in the game.

Courtney Vaughn was the go-to-guy for Tarleton, rushing the ball 15 times for 86 yards and three touchdowns.  Sturns added 10 carries, 69 yards and a score.

The defense was led by Blair Johnson, who had 10 tackles on the day.  Wadley and Dan Jackson both added seven tackles.

Next week, Tarleton will wrap-up their regular season at Angelo State at 2 p.m.

For more information regarding the 2011 Tarleton football season, check out TarletonSports.com.