GAMEDAY INFORMATION

When: Saturday, Oct. 26 | 6 p.m. (CST)

Where: Stephenville, Texas | Tarleton Memorial Stadium

Series: Texans lead 11-9 | Streak: Texans, Won 4

Last Meeting: Tarleton State 43, at A&M-Commerce (Oct. 13, 2012)

Radio: 93.1 FM (In Stephenville Area) | Listen Online

Web Stream: TarletonSports.com

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Live Stats | Game Notes

The Game
The No. 23-ranked Tarleton State Texans (5-1, 4-0 LSC) returns to Lone Star Conference action this weekend with a match-up against the A&M-Commerce Lions (5-2, 1-2 LSC). In addition to Saturday's contest being Homecoming for the Texans, the two teams will be playing for the President's Trophy as well.
 
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 online at www.kxtr.net and clicking the "Listen Live" link.
 
A live video feed will be available as well by logging onto TarletonSports.com and clicking the "Live Video" link at the top of the page. Live Stats will be provided as well and can be found online or on your mobile device through the Tarleton Sports mobile app.
 
Scouting the Lions
The upstart A&M-Commerce Lions have surprised a lot of people this season, as they head into Saturday's game with more wins (5) in 2013 then it has had in the past three seasons (4). The 5-2 Lions are just 1-2 in conference play heading into Saturday's game, but both losses have come against nationally-ranked West Texas A&M (62-28) and Midwestern State (30-24). WT was ranked No. 4 at the time, while MSU was tabbed the No. 23 team in the nation.
 
A&M-Commerce comes into Stephenville with a three-game winning streak after defeating McMurry 65-43 in Commerce last Saturday. It marks just the third time in the last 10 years that the Lions have won at least three consecutive games and the first since 2009.
 
Head coach Cobly Carthel is in his first season with the Lions after spending the previous seven seasons as the defensive coordinator at West Texas A&M. During his seven years at West Texas A&M, the Buffs  captured four Lone Star Conference championships while making an appearance in the postseason each year, including a pair of Kanza Bowl championships and a regional championship in 2012.
 
The Lions rank third in the LSC averaging 40.7 points per game. A&M-Commerce has scored 36 touchdowns on the year and tallied a total of 285 points.
 
Offensively the Lions average 307.0 passing yards per game, which ranks second in the conference and 20th in the nation.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, A&M-Commerce gives up just 109.0 yards on the ground, which ranks first in the league and 24th in the nation. The Lions have recorded 36 sacks on the season and lead the nation with 5.0 sacks per contest.
 
Tyrik Rollison was the primary quarterback for the Lions before the junior suffered a season-ending leg injury last week. Harrison Stewart will now take over quarterbacking duties and comes into Saturday's game having completed 37 of 60 passes for 482 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Deric Davis, who leads the Lions with five rushing touchdowns, will serve as the backup QB.
 
Ki-Janaven Garrett leads the Lions on the ground with 417 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In 99 rushing attempts this season, Garrett has lost just 27 yards total.
 
Vernon Johnson leads all Lion receivers with 36 catches for 703 yards. His 117.2 receiving yards per game ranks second in the LSC and 12th in the nation. He leads all LSC receivers with seven touchdowns on the season as well.
 
The Lions are led defensively by Tevin Moore, who has 42 total tackles and 14.0 tackles-for-loss. His 8.0 sacks on the season ranks second behind teammate Charles Tuaau who has 10.0 sacks on the year.
 
Series History
The Texans lead the all-time series 11-9 and have won four straight games against the Lions. That record includes a 3-0 mark for the Texans in the battle for the President's Cup. Since initiating the President's Cup in 2010, the Texans have won all three contests, averaging nearly 40 points per game.
 
The Texans are 6-4 overall and have won six straight games over the Lions when playing in Stephenville. The Texans have not lost to A&M-Commerce inside Tarleton Memorial Stadium since 1996.
 
A&M-Commerce opened the series winning the first eight games between the two teams, but Tarleton has dominated the series since 1997 having won 11 of the previous 12 games. A&M-Commerce's last win over a TSU team was a 14-13 decision back on Sept. 23, 2006 in Commerce.
 
A win over A&M-Commerce Would...
• Snap Tarleton's current one-game losing streak.
• Extend Tarleton's win streak over the Lions to five straight games and push its all-time series lead to 12-9 overall.
• Give the Texans its first Homecoming win since 2011 and push its Homecoming record to 30-23 since 1961.
• Push Tarleton's record to 5-0 in LSC play and give the Texans at least a share of the LSC regular-season championship.
• Move Tarleton to 2-0 at home on the season.
• Pull the Texans to within two games of a .500 record all time. The last time a Texan team had a .500 record came back in 1963.
 
Texans on Homecoming
The Texans are 29-23 overall when playing Homecoming contests since 1961. Tarleton has three of its past five and nine of its past 13 Homecoming contests.
 
Saturday's game marks the first-ever Homecoming contest against the Lions.
 
Last Time Out For The Texans
The Texans dropped its first game of the 2013 campaign with a 38-36 loss to Delta State in Cleveland, Miss., last week. Tarleton saw its five-game win streak to start the season snapped as well as an active win streak of eight straight games dating back to last season. The Texans also lost on the road for the first time since Sept. 29, 2012.
 
Notables From Last Saturday
• For the second straight season, Delta State managed to come-from-behind and defeat the Texans on a final-drive field goal.
• Tarleton fell to 0-2 all-time against Delta State and 1-4 against teams from the Gulf South Conference.
• Jake Fenske completed 34 of his 48 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown. The 34 completions are a new career-high for the senior quarterback.
• Clifton Rhodes III had 10 receptions in the game, giving him 10 or more catches in three games for his career.
• The Texans allowed an opposing quarterback to throw for more than 400 yards for the first time since Nov. 7, 2009 when WT's Taylor Harris passed for 536 yards.
 
For the Record
The Texans ran 106 offensive plays at Delta State last Saturday, which broke the previous school record of 102 plays that was set against West Texas A&M back on Oct. 12, 1996.
 
Tarleton ran 66 passing plays and 40 rushing attempts in the contest.
 
Share of LSC Title on the Line
With a win over A&M-Commerce on Saturday the Texans can clinch at least a share of the Lone Star Conference regular-season championship with just one more conference game to play.
 
The Texans are the only undefeated team in LSC play, heading into this weekend with a 4-0 mark in conference play, while both West Texas A&M and Midwestern State each have losses (against the Texans).
 
Texans under Fowler
The Texans are now 20-18 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 21 contests under him.
 
Texans in The Polls
The Texans fell to No. 23 in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25 Poll following Saturday's 38-36 loss at Delta State.
 
Tarleton dropped seven spots to No. 24 in the D2Football.com Poll.
 
AFCA Poll History
The Texans have been ranked inside the AFCA Top-25 for 82 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 five 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.
 
Wadley Among LSC Leaders in Tackles
Senior linebacker Marquis Wadley, last week's reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week, ranks second in the league with 11.2 tackles per game. He heads into Saturday's game with 67 total tackles and 38 of them coming unassisted.
 
Henshaw's All-Purpose Night
Sophomore running back Zach Henshaw eclipsed the 100-yard barrier for all-purpose yardage last Saturday, gaining 59 yards on the ground and 50 yards receiving. It was Hensahw's first 100-yard all-purpose effort this season. He had 100 or more all-purpose yards in three games 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 improved to 1-7 all-time when facing a nationally ranked WTAMU team.
 
WIN No. 450 for the Texans
With Tarleton'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 451-454-22 (.498) to Saturday's contest. Since becoming a senior college in 1961, Tarleton is 260-280-3 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 33 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 44 straight games heading into Saturday's game.
 
Texans in October
Following last weekend's loss at Delta State, the Texans moved to 2-1 in 2013 and 9-8 all-time in games played during the month of October under head coach Cary Fowler.
 
The Texans are 42-33 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 17-4 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 14-6 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 will play its final road game of the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 2 as the team travels to Kingsville to face the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas. The road contest will also mark Tarleton's final LSC game of the season as well.
 
The team will then return home to Tarleton Memorial Stadium to close out the 2013 campaign against non-conference opponents, Southwestern Oklahoma (Nov. 9) and North Alabama (Nov. 16).