GAMEDAY INFORMATION

When: Saturday, Nov. 16 | 2 p.m. (CST)

Where: Stephenville, Texas | Tarleton Memorial Stadium

Series: Texans lead 1-0 | Streak: Texans, Won 1

Last Meeting: Tarleton State 38, North Alabama 28 - Nov. 3, 2012

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

Web Stream: FoxSportsSouthwest.com

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Live Stats | Game Notes

The Game
The Tarleton State Texans (7-2, 5-1 LSC) closes the 2013 regular-season this Saturday when it welcomes perennial Gulf South Conference powerhouse North Alabama (7-2, 5-1 GSC) to Tarleton Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. Kickoff between the Texans and No. 20 Lions is set for 2 p.m.
 
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.kstvfm.com and clicking the "Listen Live" link.
 
A live video feed will be available as well by logging onto TarletonSports.com or FoxSportsSouthwest.com and clicking the "Live Video" link at the top of the page. Live Stats will be provided as well and can also be found online at TarletonSports.com.
 
Texan SENIOR DAY
The Tarleton Athletics Department, along with the Texan Football team will honor 15 seniors this Saturday for Senior Day. Tarleton seniors that will be recognized prior to Saturday's contest are: Dashaun Phillips (DB, Duncanville), Jeken Frye (WR, El Paso), Aaron Doyle (QB, Evant), Marquis Wadley (LB, Dallas), Julius Hurndon (DB, Daingerfield), Jake Fenske (QB, Round Rock), Desmond Jackson (DB, Seguin), Kyle Chandler (DB, Humble), Aaron Arbuckle (DS, Canadian), Chris Burnett (OL, North Richland Hills), Armando Alvarez (OL, Houston), Justin Rayside (DE, Corona, Calif.) and Cole Vitolo (DT, Wichita Falls).
 
The team will also honor former Texan, Zach Shaver, who would have been playing in his final home game for the Texans as well this season.
 
LSC Championship Title Notes
With its 45-20 Lone Star Conference victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville a couple of weeks ago, the Texans clinched at least a share of the LSC title for the first time since 2009 and the third time in school history.
 
Tarleton completed its LSC slate of games this past Saturday against the Javelinas, rounding out the season with a 5-1 mark in LSC play.
 
With Eastern New Mexico's win over Midwestern State last weekend, the Texans would now need A&M-Commerce to down the Greyhounds in Commerce this Saturday in order to win the LSC Championship outright. Should ENMU defeat A&M-C though, the Texans and Greyhounds would share the conference title.
 
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 is 4-3 in the GSC-LSC First and Ten Challenge this season, with WT's win over West Georgia on Saturday in addition to MSU's victories over West Alabama and UWG and A&M-Commerce's triumph over Delta State. Texas A&M-Kingsville fell to North Alabama, Delta State edged Tarleton, and Angelo State lost to Valdosta State.
 
The Texans head into Saturday's contest with a 1-2 record in the GSC-LSC Challenge over the last two seasons, Tarleton fell 38-35 against DSU last season before going on the road to defeat North Alabama, 38-28.
 
Tarleton vs. the Gulf South
The Texans are just 1-4 against teams in the Gulf South Conference teams dating back to 1993. Tarleton's lone win was a 38-28 win over North Alabama last season, while its losses have come to DSU (twice), West Alabama and Valdosta State.
 
Texans Vs. Alabama Teams
Tarleton has faced teams from Alabama just twice in school history and are 1-1 overall. The Texans fell to West Alabama 42-35 back in 2011 before downing the Lions last season.
 
Last Time Out For The Texans
The Tarleton State offense generated 618 yards of total offense en route to a 49-32 non-conference victory over Southwestern Oklahoma in Stephenville last Saturday.
 
Jake Fenske completed 30 of his 44 passes for 431 yards and tied a career-high with five touchdown passes. Bubba Tandy was on the receiving end of two of Fenske's TD passes and recorded a career-high 129 receiving yards in the process as well.
 
Tarleton's onslaught of 618 total yards was just 30 yards shy of tying the school record of 648 yards that was set against Angelo State back on Nov. 2, 1996.
 
Defensively the Texans were all over the field on Saturday with Wadley registering his career-high 18 tackles, while Marc Martinez set a career-high as well with 17 tackles on the day.
 
Scouting the Lions
North Alabama head coach Bobby Wallace is in his 12th season with the Lions and 25th overall as a head coach at the collegiate level. Wallace is 94-43-1 while at UNA and 139-144-1 overall. He was 82-36-1 in his first stint at UNA from 1988-97 and led the Lions to three NCAA Division II National Championships. He is 12-7 since his return to UNA and put the Lions back in the national polls in 2013 and claimed his fourth GSC football crown.
 
The Lions are coming off a 55-28 win over Florida Tech last Saturday and have now won six straight games heading into the weekend. With the win, UNA clinched a share of the 2013 Gulf South Conference football championship. It is the 10th
GSC football title in school history and is the first that UNA has not won out-right.
 
UNA ranks just 107th in the nation in passing yards per game (197.7), but rank 30th in rushing yards per game (216.3). The Lion defense is giving up just 200.7 passing yards to opposing teams, which ranks 40th in the nation. UNA's defense ranks fourth in the nation with 20 interceptions on the season.
 
UNA is scoring 40.8 points per game (18th in nation) and giving up just 18.7 points on the defensive side of the ball (19th).
 
UNA quarterback Luke Wingo has tossed 10 touchdown passes on the season and ranks second in the Gulf South Conference with 12 rushing TD's as well. Chris Coffey (541 yds) and Lamonte Thompson (516 yds) share the load in the backfield for the Lions, with both players having scored five touchdowns each on the ground. Lee Mayhill leads the team with 27 catches on the year, but Jason Smith tops the squad with 565 receiving yards and four TD's.
 
Defensively the Lions are led by Tavarious Wilson, who has a team-high 96 tackles and 6.5 tackles-for-loss. Caleb Massey leads the team with four interceptions on the season.
 
Series History
The Texans and Lions will be meeting for just the second time in the overall series. Tarleton leads the series 1-0 following last season's 38-28 win over UNA in Florence, Ala.
 
This will be UNA's fifth time to play a football game in the state of Texas and the Lions are 3-1 on their previous four trips.
 
A win over The Lions Would...
• Give Tarleton a nine-win season for the first time since 2009 and just the third since 2000. It would push Tarleton head coach Cary Fowler's season-high win mark to nine games as well.
• Give the Texans a 3-1 record over non-conference opponents in 2013 and a 4-2 mark in non-conference action the last two seasons.
• Give Tarleton a 2-0 record over UNA in the all-time series.
 
Playoff Implications on the Line
A win over UNA on Saturday would most likely give the Texans a berth into the NCAA Division playoffs, but a loss would hamper the team's chances with Tarleton coming into the game ranked No. 6 in the latest Super Region Four rankings.
 
Super Region Four Notes
The Texans jumped two spots to No. 6 in this week's Super Region Four rankings. The top three teams remained the same with Colorado State-Pueblo at No. 1, Ohio Dominican No. 2, and Saginaw Valley coming in at No. 3.
 
Indianapolis (No. 4) and Grand Valley State (No. 5) each moved up one spot following Midwestern State's (No. 9) loss to Eastern New Mexico. West Texas A&M came in at No. 7 and Chadron State dropped a spot to No. 8 this week. Ferris State came in behind the Mustangs at No. 10 to round out the poll.
 
Saginaw Valley and Grand Valley State will face each other this Saturday, while WTAMU travels to MSU. Here is a closer look at the rankings and who the teams will face this weekend:

1. CSU-Pueblo: vs. Western State (2-7)

2. Ohio Dominican: at Malone (2-8)

3. Saginaw Valley: at Grand Valley (8-2)

4. Indianapolis: vs. Truman State (7-3)

5. Grand Valley: vs. Saginaw Valley (9-1)

6. Tarleton: vs. North Alabama (7-2)

7. WT: at Midwestern State (7-2)

8. Chadron: at Colorado Mines (7-3)

9. Midwestenr State: vs. WT (8-2)

10. Ferris: vs. Northern Michigan (3-7)

 
Texans in The Polls
The Texans remained out of this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25 Poll following Saturday's 49-32 win over Southwestern Oklahoma. The Texans did however make a reappearance in this week's D2Football.com Poll, coming in at No. 25.
 
AFCA Poll History
The Texans had 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 was ranked inside the AFCA Poll for five straight weeks this season before falling out a couple of weeks ago.
 
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.
 
Texans under Fowler
The Texans are now 22-19 under head coach Cary Fowler and have claimed the school's first LSC title since 2009. Fowler's first LSC championship is just the third LSC championship for the Texans in school history. Fowler is 18-14 against LSC opponents and 4-5 overall against non-conference schools.
 
Texans against ranked Opponents
Since 2000, Tarleton is 12-22 when playing against a 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.
 
Texans in the LSC
The Texans are 98-134 (.420) all-time against opponents in the LSC. Tarleton had won six straight LSC games dating back to last season before a 22-20 loss to A&M-Commerce on Oct. 26. The Texans finished the 2013 season at 5-1 in LSC play.
 
Record Breakers
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.
 
Tarleton's Scoring Streak
The Texans have now scored a touchdown in 36 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 has scored at least a field goal or touchdown in 47 straight games heading into Saturday's game.
 
Texans in November
The Texans improved to 7-1 overall in November under head coach Cary Fowler with a win over the Bulldogs last Saturday.
 
Tarleton has won six consecutive games in the month of November dating back to the 2011 season.
 
The Texans are 26-17 overall in the month of November since joining the LSC and NCAA Division II in 1994.
 
First Team to 30
The Texans are 19-4 overall when putting up at least 30 points or more under head coach Cary Fowler. That record includes a 10-0 mark when scoring 40 points or more. Tarleton was 5-2 last season when eclipsing the 30-point barrier.
 
FENSKE MAKING MARK in Record Books
Quarterback Jake Fenske is quickly climbing the ranks in Tarleton's record book this season. Fenske enters Saturday's contest having already cracked the top-10 in six different individual statistical categories.
 
The Round Rock native currently ranks ninth in school in single-season school history with 2,400 total yards of offense; ninth with 326 pass attempts; seventh with 200 pass completions; ninth with 2,406 passing yards; fourth with 267.6 passing yards per game; and tied for fifth with 20 touchdown passes.
 
Fenske currently ranks second all-time in shcool history with a 62.7 career passing percentage.
 
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 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
Following Saturday's game, the Texans will await word from the NCAA to see what the future holds in store for the team and its playoff status.
 
The NCAA will have its NCAA Division II Football Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. The selection show can be found online at NCAA.com.
 
Should the Texans not be selected to compete in the playoffs, Tarleton would most likely earn a bowl berth to the Heart of Texas Bowl that will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7, in Copperas Cove, Texas.