Box Score SAN ANTONIO – Tarleton's Jake Fenske (QB, Sr, Round Rock) completed his first 13 passes on the evening, tossed five touchdowns, ran for one score and passed for 280 yards while leading the Texans to a 45-20 Lone Star Conference win over Incarnate Word at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio on Saturday night.
 
The Texans (4-4, 4-3 LSC) reached the 40-point mark for a second time this season and posted its largest score in a game since putting up 48 points against UIW in Stephenville last season.

“I told our players to go out and have fun tonight,” Tarleton head football coach Cary Fowler said after the game. “We needed to just come out here as a team and play a complete football game and I think that we did that. Every one of these players gave it their all and when you do that, you win football games.”
 
Making his first-ever start for the Texans,Fenske found Clifton Rhodes III (WR, So, Fort Worth) for a five-yard touchdown on Tarleton's first play from scrimmage. The play came immediately following a punt block from Julius Hurndon (LB, Jr, Dangerfield), which gave Tarleton the ball on Incarnate Word's five-yard line. Blake Barnes (K, Fr, Stephenville) was successful on the point-after-attempt and the Texans led 7-0 very early, with 13:01 left to play in the first quarter still.
 
Marquis Wadley (LB, Jr, Mesquite) successfully executed a fourth down and two fake punt play for the Texans and a few plays later, Fenske found Arthur Buckingham (WR, Sr, Pilot Point) from 13 yards out to cap off an 11-play, 70-yard drive for the purple and white. Barnes' PAT was good and Tarleton led 14-0 after scoring a pair of touchdowns in as many offensive possessions.
 
Andre Plata (WR, Fr, Dallas) had a 23-yard reception on Tarleton's third possession of the game, which led to a 29-yard field goal from Barnes and help push the Texan lead to 17-0 with 1:40 left to play in the first quarter.
 
The Texan defense held UIW to three-consecutive three-and-outs to open the game, but the Cardinals finally got on the board following its fourth possession with a 28-yard field goal from Saul Meza. The chip-shot field goal capped off a 13-play, 50 yard drive from the Cardinals to pull within 14 points of the Texans, down 17-3 with 12:22 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Another fourth down conversion for the Texans on its next possession and a 31-yard reception from Jeken Frye (WR, Jr, El Paso) helped lead to Buckingham's second touchdown catch of the night – this time nine yards out from Fenske – put Tarleton up 23-3 at the 7:59 mark of the second quarter. Barnes nailed the PAT and the Texans pushed its lead to 21 points, up 24-3.
 
With 30 seconds remaining in the first half and Tarleton finding themselves in a third down and 18 yards to go situation, Fenske hooked up with Frye for a 75-yard touchdown pass to cap off a four-play, 91-yard drive. Barnes' extra point was good and Tarleton took a 31-3 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
The Texans racked up 272 yards on offense in the first half, while the defense held UIW to just 94 total yards. Tarleton tallied 12 first downs in the half compared to UIW, which converted just four first downs. The Texans were 2-of-6 on third downs and a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth down plays. The Cardinals were just 1-of-8 on third down plays, but did go 1-for-1 on fourth down conversions.
 
The Cardinals struck first in the second half with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Woods to Kent Hadnot at the 6:13 mark of the third quarter. Woods completed a pass to Andrew Mocio on fourth and seven earlier in the drive and Meza capped off the seven-play, 42-yard drive with his extra point to make it a 31-10 game still in favor of the Texans.
 
Following an unsuccessful fourth down conversion from the Texans with 1:09 left in the third quarter, the Cardinals took over at its own 35-yard line and drove all the way down to the Tarleton 13-yard line to get into the red zone. The drive would get backed up though to the Tarleton 44-yard line following three UIW penalties and the Cardinals were forced to kick a field goal with 11:50 left to play in the contest. Meza connected on a 45-yard field goal and the Cardinals trailed 31-13 with less than 12 minutes left to play.
 
The Texans would counter on its ensuing possession to put the game out of reach as Fenske scored on the ground from one-yard out for his first rushing touchdown of his collegiate career. Barnes was good on the extra point and Tarleton pushed its lead to 25 points, up 38-13.
 
The Cardinals attempted to get back into the game late in the game, but on fourth down and seven, Woods fumbled the ball on a sack from Devin Figures (DB, Jr, Jefferson) and Brian Ford (DT, Sr, Houston) picked up the pigskin to give Tarleton the ball with 4:20 left in the game.
 
Fenske would throw his fifth touchdown of the game on the next possession for the Texans, connecting with Plata from eight yards out. Barnes' extra point was good to cap off a four-play, 45 yard drive and Tarleton's lead grew to 45-13 with 3:09 left to play.
 
UIW would manage to find the end zone one last time with 20 seconds remaining on the scoreboard as Woods hit pay dirt from four yards out. Mesa knocked down the extra point and that would turn out to be the final point scored in a Texan 45-20 victory.
 
Fenske completed 26 of his 38 passes while torching the Cardinal defense four five touchdowns through the air and scoring on the ground as well. The senior quarterback was sacked once and had three interceptions on the evening.
 
“I came out a little bit nervous, making my first start,” said Fenske. “I just kept my head up though and managed to get that first score of the game and that kind of settled me down. It is an emotional game and I am going to give it my all on each and every play.”
 
Frye led the receiving corps with 114 yards on four catches, while Buckingham led the way with seven catches on the night. Vaughn Smith (RB, Jr, Menlo Park, Calif.) gashed the UIW defensive front with 83 rushing yards on 17 carries.
 
The defense was led by Rufus Johnson (DE, Sr, Dallas), who tallied six tackles with three tackles-for-loss and a game-high two sacks. Wadley led the way for the Texans with 12 tackles, giving him double-digit tackles in back-to-back games now.
 
UIW's Woods led the Cardinals in passing with 145 yards and a touchdown pass on the night. The Cardinal field general led the team in rushing as well, netting 42 yards on 16 carries. Trent Rios led the squad with eight catches on the night, while David Hamilton tallied 64 yards receiving.
 
The Texans piled up 397 yards of total offense, netting 117 yards on the ground and 280 yards through the air. The Cardinals meanwhile tallied 263 total yards with 114 yards gained on the ground and 143 yards passing.
 
The Cardinals fell to 2-7 overall for the season and 1-5 in LSC contests. UIW will travel to San Angelo next weekend to face Angelo State.
 
The Texans return to the gridiron next Saturday in the team's final road contest of the year. Tarleton will head to Florence, Ala., to face North Alabama as part of the LSC-GSC First and 10 challenge. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. in Florence, Ala.