Box Score - Postgame Press Conference

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Tarleton State Texan Football team overcame a 10-0 deficit and then held-off a fourth-quarter charge to upset the No. 13-ranked Midwestern State Mustangs in the Lone Star Football Festival at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Saturday afternoon.
 
For the second consecutive season, the Texans (1-0, 1-0 LSC) managed to upset the nationally ranked Mustangs (0-1, 0-1 LSC) by three points in the season-opener. Tarleton downed MSU 20-17 in the opening game of 2012 in Stephenville.
 
The Texan defense limited MSU's high-powered rushing offense to just 75 yards on the ground on Saturday. MSU running back Keidrick Jackson, who averaged nearly 130 yards per game last season, was limited to just 49 yards on 17 carries, while the rest of MSU's rushing attack averaged just 2.2 yards per carry.
 
We fell behind early, but we made some halftime adjustments and that gave us a chance in the second half," Tarleton head football coach Cary Fowler said. "Holding MSU to 75 yards on the ground was the whole key to the game. We had some injuries to the defense and at times we had to go just into a three-man front, but we stuck together to hold them off and find a way to win."
 
After falling behind 10-0 midway through the second quarter, Aaron Doyle posted Tarleton's first touchdown of the 2013 campaign with a two-yard run with 53 seconds left to play in the first half.
 
Doyle's touchdown run sparked a 27-0 run for the Texans over the next quarter-plus of play as the Texans came out of the halftime break to score on a 12-play, 75-yard drive. Jake Fenske was a perfect 5-for-5 on Tarleton's first possession of the third quarter and he capped off the drive with an eight-yard pass to Bubba Tandy who took it into the end zone for his first touchdown of his career.
 
Leading 14-10 with 2:28 left to play in the third quarter, Fenske tossed his second touchdown of the game as he found Le'Nard Meyers from 18 yards out to put the Texans on top 21-10 following the extra point from Blake Barnes.
 
The Texans pushed its lead to 17 points with 14:47 left to play in the game as Jerome Regal broke away for a 42-yard touchdown run. Barnes missed the first extra point attempt of his career, but the Texans led 27-10.
 
MSU rallied with a pair of touchdowns at the 11:27 and 7:56 marks, but its final attempt to tie or take the lead late in the game was stalled as Jared Thames sacked MSU quarterback Jake Glover on a fourth-and-11 play with 23 seconds left to play.
 
Our crowd tonight was phenomenal," Fowler said. Our fans kept us going through the entire game. I have always said that Tarleton fans are the best fans and tonight they proved it. They made the difference tonight and they deserve a lot of credit for being a part of this victory."
 
The Texans finished the game with 380 yards (198 rush, 182 pass) of total offense, while MSU tallied 334 total yards (75 rush, 259 pass).
 
Saturday marked just the second time in three seasons that the Mustangs ran the ball for less than 100 yards in a game. The last time it happened was on Oct. 20, 2012 against Abilene Christian.
 
 
Dolye and Fenske combined to throw for 182 yards, completing 24 of their 29 attempts. Doyle was 13-for-17 for 75 yards, while Fenske went 11-for-12 for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Regal finished the game with 86 yards on 18 carries and Zach Henshaw managed to gain 87 yards on 19 carries.
 
Clifton Rhodes III led the Texans in receiving, hauling in eight catches for 50 yards. Tandy collected four catches for 40 yards on the day.
 
Marc Martinez led the Texan defense with 13 tackles in the game, while Charles Moore followed with eight tackles.