Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton backup quarterback Jake Fenske (QB, Sr, Round Rock) came into the game midway through the third quarter following an injury to starting quarterback Aaron Doyle (QB, Jr, Evant) and completed 21 of 35 passes for 234 yards with a touchdown, but in the end it was not enough as Tarleton dropped its 52^nd Homecoming contest, 35-23, to Texas A&M-Kingsville before a crowd of 6,216 fans at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville on Saturday.
 
With the Texans trailing 15-14 at the break, Doyle was knocked out of the game following Tarleton's first possession of the second half and on fourth-and-three for Tarleton, Blake Barnes (K, Fr, Stephenville) missed a 36-yard field goal wide-left at the 10:32 mark. The Javelinas countered with a 46-yard rush from Anthony Johnson and later, a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bryan Ehrlich to Robert Armstrong. The Javelinas converted the point-after-attempt and went up 22-14 with 9:09 left to play in the third quarter.
 
The Texans were forced to punt following a three-and-out on its next possession and TAMUK put the game away with its next touchdown – a 51-yard strike from Ehrlich to Shane Prater – capping off a three-play, 48-yard drive that took just 53 seconds off the clock. The PAT failed, but TAMUK led 28-14 at the 7:34 mark in the third quarter.
 
Fenske tossed his first career touchdown for the Texans with 5:38 left to play in the third quarter – an 11-yard strike to Arthur Buckingham (WR, Sr, Pilot Point) – and Tarleton converted on the kick to pull within seven points, but TAMUK's Jonathan Woodsen took the ensuing kickoff 93 yards back to the other end of the field for his the Javelina's first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2008. The Texans allowed an opponent to score on a kickoff for the first time since Nov. 23, 2001, against Cal-Davis.
 
TAMUK's Matt Stoll was good on the point-after and the Javelinas led 35-21. The Texans would get its final two points on a safety with less than a minute in the game as TAMUK punter Angel Millian just ran out of the end zone at the 31-second mark.
 
The Javelinas kicked the ball back to the Texans and five plays later, TAMUK came away with the 12-point win over the purple and white.
 
The Texans racked up 439 yards of offense with 356 passing yards and 135 yards on the ground. Vaughn Smith (RB, Jr, Menlo Park, Calif.) rushed for 103 yards and had a touchdown after netting less than 50 yards on the ground last week in Commerce.
 
Clifton Rhodes III (WR, So, Fort Worth) led the Texans with 10 catches and 117 yards, giving him three games with 100 or more yards this season and seven for his career. Jamal Mays (WR, Sr, Pflugerville) racked up 75 yards through the air on seven catches.
 
Marquis Wadley (DB, Sr, Dallas) led all tacklers on the evening with a career-high 16 tackles. The roving defender for the Texans had seven solo tackles, plus another one and a half tackles-for-loss in the game.
 
The Javelinas were forced to use a pair of quarterbacks as well when starter Nate Poppell went out of the game just before halftime with an injury. Poppell passed for 82 yards while Ehrlich completed six of his 11 passes for 100 yards in the reserve role.
 
Johnson led the Javelinas in the ground game with 135 yards on 21 carries. Armstorng led all TAMUK receivers with 65 yards on six catches and a score.
 
The loss drops Tarleton to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUK improves to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in league play.
 
Tarleton returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 27, against Incarnate Word. Kickoff between the Cardinals and Texans is set for 7 p.m. at Benson Stadium in San Antonio.