The Game
The No. 14-ranked Tarleton State Texans (5-0, 4-0 LSC) will take a break from Lone Star Conference action this week as the team travels to Cleveland, Miss., to face the Delta State Statesmen (3-2, 2-1 GSC). The non-conference action is set to kickoff this Saturday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. from Parker Field-McCool Stadium.
 
Covering the Game
Saturday's contest will be broadcast live on KSTV (93.1 FM) with Casey Hogan calling play-by-play and Mike Young joining him for color commentary. Joanna Hensley will provide reports from the sideline for the broadcast team. The game can also be found worldwide and listened to online at www.kxtr.net.
 
LSC-GSC First-and-10 Challenge
Saturday's match-up between the Texans and Statesmen marks one of three LSC-GSC First and Ten Challenges this weekend.
 
The LSC holds a 2-1 advantage in the GSC-LSC First and Ten Challenge this season with Midwestern's win over West Georgia and A&M-Commerce's triumph over Delta State, while Angelo State fell to Valdosta State.
 
The Texans went 1-1 in the GSC-LSC Challenge last season, falling 38-35 in the waining moments against the Statesmen last season, but then going on the road to defeat North Alabama.
 
Scouting the Statesmen
Delta State is 3-2 overall on the season and 2-1 in the Gulf South Conference. The Statesmen are 1-1 in non conference games, having won 24-14 against Mississippi Valley State, but losing 45-37 to A&M-Commerce.
 
The Statesmen are coming off a 48-14 loss to then-No. 12 ranked West Alabama back on Oct. 3. DSU will then have had 16 days to prepare for the upstart Texans.
 
Series History
Saturday's game marks just the second contest between the two squads, with DSU leading the all-time series 1-0 following last season's 38-35 win over the Texans in Stephenville.
 
Tarleton led by as much as 28-15 late in the third quarter, but 20-unanswered points later gave DSU a lead that it would not relinquish.
 
Tarleton came back to tie the game 35-35 with 2:58 left to play, but Tarleton's next possession was picked off and DSU's Andrew Jones nailed a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give DSU the three-point victory, 38-35.
 
A win over Delta State Would...
• Give TSU its first win over the Statesmen and tie the all-time series 1-1.
• Give the Texans a 6-0 start to the season for the first time since 2007.
• Extend TSU's win streak dating back to last season to nine straight games.
• Extend TSU's active road win streak to eight games.
• Pull the Texans to within one game of a .500 record all time. The last time a Texan team had a .500 record came back in 1963.
 
Taking on the Mighty-Mississip'
The Texans will playing in just its third game against teams from the state of Mississippi. Tarleton is 1-1 all-time against those teams, which includes last season's loss to DSU and a 44-3 win over Millsaps College back on Nov. 5, 2011.
 
Tarleton vs. the Gulf South
The Texans are just 1-3 against teams in the Gulf South Conference, which dates back to 1993. Tarleton's lone win was a 38-28 win over North Alabama last season, while its losses have come to DSU, West Alabama and Valdosta State.
 
Texans Stun No. 4 Ranked Buffs
The No. 21-ranked Tarleton State Texans blanked West Texas A&M 28-0 in the second half to come from behind and upset the No. 4-ranked Buffs 31-27 last Saturday evening.
 
Down 27-3 at halftime, the Texans piled on 28 unanswered points, which included Le'Nard Meyers' touchdown with 5:38 left to play that pulled the Texans within three points of the Buffs, as well as his game-winning TD with just 44 seconds left in the game.
 
The Buffs' last attempt to drive down field the waning moments went awry when the offense stalled at Tarleton's 47-yard line.
 
Tarleton quarterback Jake Fenske completed 25 passes for a season-high 394 yards and three touchdowns, while Meyers finished the game with career-highs in catches (9), receiving yards (178) and touchdowns (2).
 
Running back Zach Henshaw rushed for 107 yards, giving him his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Clifton Rhodes III caught seven passes for 134 yards and a touchdown, which gave Tarleton a pair of receivers with at least 100 yards for the first time since Devin Guinn (161 yards) and Jahmeel Hobson (109 yards) did it against WT back on Nov. 7, 2009.
 
The Texans offense racked up a season-high 550 yards of total offense, while the defense limited the LSC's top-ranked offense to just 360 total yards. The Buffs came into the game averaging more than 535 yards per game on the offensive side of the ball.
 
Takeaways from Saturday's win
• The Texans came back from 24 points down, giving Tarleton its largest come-from-behind victory since joining he LSC (Previous comeback: Down 18 points to MSU back on Oct. 10, 2009).
• The Texans snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Buffs, winning for the first time since 2004.
• TSU won its first game against a nationally ranked WTAMU team.
• Saturday's game attendance of 8,147 was not only the largest crowd for a home opener, it was the largest in school history. The previous school record was 7,534 fans back on Oct. 1, 2011 (also against WTAMU).
• The last time a WT team was held scoreless in the second half came in a 43-17 loss to Chadron State back on Nov. 25, 2006. The last time it happened in the regular season came back on Oct. 5, 2002 against Angelo State (Lost, 19-0).
 
Limiting WT's Passing Attack
The Texan defense not only shutout WT's offense in the second half, but it limited them to just 140 total yards in the final two quarters - which included just 51 yards in the third quarter. Dustin Vaughan, who came into the game averaging 399.5 passing yards per game was held to just 255 yards through the air. He tossed a pair of touchdowns, but suffered his first interception of the season when Marc Martinez picked him off in the fourth quarter.
 
Let's Go Streaking
The Texans opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 2009 and just the eighth time in school history. Tarleton has not opened the season 6-0 since 2007.
 
Streaking on the Road
For the first time in school history, the Texans opened the season with four straight games away from Tarleton Memorial Stadium. The Texans have won four consecutive games on the road this season for the first time since 2007. They finished the 2007 campaign with a 5-0-road record.
 
Dating back to last season, the Texans have won seven straight road games. The streak dates back to last season's 43-10 victory over A&M-Commerce.
 
The last time a Texan team won at least seven straight games away from home came during the 2007 and 2008 seasons when Tarleton won eight straight road contests from Sept. 1, 2007 to Sept. 27, 2008.
 
Tarleton's Active Win Streak
Tarleton is on an eight-game win streak dating back to last season. The Texans are currently tied with Emporia State for the longest active win streak among NCAA Division II teams. Ohio Dominican's 11-game active win streak is currently the longest streak among D-II squads.
 
The eight-game win streak is tied for fourth longest in school history. The Texans won nine straight twice (1935, 1986-87), 10 straight (1977-78). The longest win streak in school history is 11 straight victories back in 1990.
 
Texans under Fowler
The Texans are now 20-17 under head coach Cary Fowler. The Texans were just 4-13 in Fowler's first 17 games, but since then the Texans have won 16 of the last 20 contests under him.
 
Texans in The Polls
The Texans moved up seven spots to No. 14 in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25 Poll following Saturday's 31-28 upset win over then-No. 4 ranked West Texas A&M. It marks the highest ranking for a Texan team since the 2009 season.
 
Tarleton moved up eight spots to No. 17 in this week's D2Football.com's rankings.
 
AFCA Poll History
The Texans have been ranked inside the AFCA Top-25 for 81 different weeks since becoming a member of the NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference. Tarleton has been ranked inside the AFCA Poll for four straight weeks this season.
 
Tarleton's first-ever ranking inside the AFCA Top-25 Poll was a No. 24 national ranking on Nov. 6, 2001. The Texans went on to finish that season ranked No. 10 in the nation.
 
The Texans earned its highest ranking in school history in 2002, from Sept. 9-24, after earning the No. 6 spot for three consecutive weeks.
 
Career Night for Meyers
Sophomore wide receiver Le'Nard Meyers had a career game against West Texas A&M as he tied a career-high with nine catches and set career-highs in yards (178), long reception (63) and touchdowns (2).
 
Fenske Sets Career mark
Senior quarterback Jake Fenske set a new single-season career-high as he tossed his 12th touchdown pass of the season last week against West Texas A&M. Fenske recorded 11 TD passes last season.
 
Fenske Finding the End Zone
Jake Fenske has thrown at least one touchdown in his past 9 games over the last two seasons. He has thrown at least two touchdowns in eight of those nine games and at least three TD's in four games.
 
Wadley leading the LSC in Tackles
Senior linebacker Marquis Wadley, this week's reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week, is tied for the league lead 56 total tackles this season. He heads into this weekend's game ranked 14th in the nation with his 11.2 tackles per contest.
 
Henshaw Eclipses 100-yard Mark
Sophomore running back Zach Henshaw broke the 100-yard barrier last week, rushing for 107 yards on 22 carries in the win over West Texas A&M. It was Henshaw's first 100-yard game of the season. He had three 100-yard rushing games as a true freshman last season.
 
Texans against ranked Opponents
Since 2000, Tarleton is 12-22 when playing against ranked opponent, with six of those wins coming against a top-25 ranked MSU team. The Texans are 6-2 all-time against the Mustangs when they have been ranked.
 
The Texans are 0-7 all-time when facing a nationally ranked WTAMU team.
 
WIN No. 450 for the Texans
With last Saturday's 34-14 win over Eastern New Mexico, the Texans picked up its 450th all-time win. Tarleton now brings in an all-time record of 450-453-22 (.498) to Saturday's contest. Since becoming a senior college in 1961, Tarleton is 259-279-3 all-time.
 
Texans in the LSC
The Texans are 97-133 (.418) all-time against opponents in the LSC. Tarleton has won six straight LSC games dating back to last season. The Texans are currently 4-0 in LSC play this season.
 
Tarleton's Scoring Streak
The Texans have now scored a touchdown in 32 straight games dating back to the 2010 season. The last time a Tarleton team was held without a TD came in a 65-3 loss to Abilene Christian back on Sept. 25, 2010.
 
Tarleton State has scored at least a field goal or touchdown in 43 straight games heading into Saturday's game.
 
Texans in October
Following last weekend's win over WTAMU, the Texans moved to 2-0 in 2013 and 9-7 all-time in games played during the month of October under head coach Cary Fowler.
 
The Texans are 42-32 all-time in the month of October since joining the LSC and NCAA Division II in 1994. The last time a Texan team went undefeated in the month of October came back in the 2006 season.
 
30-Points to victory
The Texans are 17-3 overall when putting up at least 30 points or more under head coach Cary Fowler. That record includes an 8-0 mark when scoring 40 points or more. Tarleton was 5-2 last season when eclipsing the 30-point barrier.
 
Winning the Ground Attack
Under head coach Cary Fowler, the Texans are now 14-5 when out-rushing the opposition. Tarleton is just 6-12 over the past four seasons when the opposing team out-gains the Texans in rushing yardage.
 
Passing Precision
Jake Fenske notched a 91.7 passing percentage in week two against Midwestern State after completing 11 of his 12 passes in the game. His only incompletion of the contest was an interception that came deep into the end zone at the beginning of the second quarter.
 
Fenske set a single-season school record in 2012 with a 66.2 pass-completion percentage. After taking over at quarterback in the final four games last season, Fenske completed 102 of his 154 passes.
 
Aaron Doyle finished the season with a 62.7 completion percentage, which ranks third best in a single-season. He connected with 153 of his 244 passes last year.
 
Local Area Texans
The 2013 Texan Football squad boasts seven players (Alex Sanchez, Blake Barnes, Chase Varnado, Brayden Coverdale, Kade Cole, Nick Perez and Kody Travis) from Stephenville, with a pair of players (Cody Burtscher and Jared Thames) from Glen Rose and one player (Tyler Wright) from Granbury.
 
Wearing No. 96
Sophomore defensive end Patrick Bettiol was awarded the Zach Shaver Award this past spring and he will honor the memory of the former Texan by donning the No. 96 this season.
 
Shaver passed away from a traumatic brain injury on Mar. 29, 2010. As a memorial to Shaver, each year a Texan player is chosen to wear the No. 96 jersey because of their dedication, their attitude, their heart and their love for the game of football.
 
Texans in the National Spotlight
Tarleton had a handful of former players in the national spotlight this offseason and it began with former defensive end Rufus Johnson (2011-12) going to the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Johnson recorded four tackles in four preseason games with the Saints and will serve on New Orleans' practice squad to start the 2013 NFL season.
 
Former Texan quarterback Nick Stephens (2010-11) played in two preseason games for the Dallas Cowboys, which included the national televised Hall of Fame Game on NBC.
 
Former running back Derrick Ross (2004-05) and former kicker Garrett Lindholm (2006-09) squared off against each other in the Arena Football League's Arena Bowl this past August. Lindholm was named the AFL's Kicker of the Year, while Ross became the AFL's career leader in rushing yards.
 
Texans in LSC-Openers
The Texans moved to 2-2 in Lone Star Conference-opening games under head coach Cary Fowler. Since joining the league the Texans are 7-12 in conference-opening games.
 
Texans picked 3rd in LSC Poll
Tarleton State was picked to finish third in the Lone Star Conference after receiving one first-place vote for a total of 99 points. West Texas A&M was the top choice to repeat as the LSC football champion according to the preseason poll.
 
Preseason honors
The Texans had nine different players earn preseason All-American honors prior to the 2013 campaign.
 
Dashaun Phillips (1st Team) and Blake Barnes (3rd Team) were each tabbed D2Football.com Preseason All-Americans, while Jerome Regal (2nd Team), Marquis Wadley (2nd Team), Barnes (2nd Team), Zach Henshaw (3rd Team), Lucas Love (HM), Nick Perez (HM), Clifton Rhodes III (HM), Desmond Jackson (HM) and Phillips (HM) were all named to the USA College Football Preseason All-American Team.
 
Up Next for the Texans
The Texans return to Tarleton Memorial Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 26 to host A&M-Commerce for Homecoming. Tarleton is 29-23 in Homecoming games since 1961. They have won three of the past five Homecoming contests.