BLACK WATER DRAW, NM – Tarleton State continued to rip up the record books Saturday night as the Texans won their second straight game in a 59-42 barnburner against Eastern New Mexico.
 
"It's a big win for us," said senior wide receiver Clifton Rhodes III. "We felt good going into these last two games and we need to continue to play well so we can make it into the (national playoff) tournament."
 
This is also the first time since the first two games of the 2002 season that Tarleton State has scored at least 50 points in back-to-back games.
 
Just a week removed from a record-setting win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton State continued its offensive onslaught by setting a new senior college-era record for total yards as well as the new record for the longest run in school history, numerous career highs and individual records and Rhodes becoming the new all-time receptions leader in school history by passing a 45-year record held by Tarleton Hall of Famer Harlan Wunsch.
 
With five catches Saturday night, Rhodes III now has 190 career catches to move him past Wunsch (188), who has held the record since 1969.
 
"I'm so proud of (Rhodes)," said head coach Cary Fowler. "When he first came to Tarleton, he didn't have enough core classes to compete right away and ended up having to wait two years before he could ever play for us. Most kids in that situation would have quit. But Cliff kept working hard and I'm so proud of that kid. He's got a great mom and dad, and I know they're proud of the man they raised. He's a young man who is going to win, not just on the field, but he's going to win in life."
 
It didn't take long for Tarleton State to get on the board as Collin Strahan got the evening started with a 49-yard touchdown run just 20 seconds into the game to put Tarleton up a touchdown.
 
The Texan offense added two more touchdowns on their next two possessions to open the game on a 21-0 run. The second touchdown came on an 11-yard strike from Strahan to Rhodes while the third score came on a school-record long run of 89 yards by the quarterback from Mesquite.
 
Strahan's 89-yard touchdown run broke the school record of 85 yards, which has been held by Ricky Bush since Nov. 8, 1981.
 
"I can't give enough credit to the offensive line. Those guys did a great job," said Strahan. "On that particular play, I had a big hole to run through and I was lucky enough to not get caught."
 
After the Greyhounds scored their first touchdown of the night to make it 21-7, Jabari Anderson broke free for a 75-yard run to pay dirt. The Blake Barnes point after made it 28-7 with 4:46 left in the opening quarter.
 
Tarleton State scored 28 points on 10 plays and less than three minutes of possession time in the opening frame.
 
Meanwhile, the Tarleton defense pitched a shutout in the second quarter to keep the Greyhounds – who entered the game averaging 38.0 points per game – at just one touchdown in the first half.
 
The Texan offense added 10 more points in the second quarter on a 33-yard Barnes field goal and an 11-yard pass from Strahan to Le'Nard Meyers for the final touchdown of the half with three seconds left in the quarter to send Tarleton into the locker room with a 38-7 advantage.
 
Out of the break, the Greyhounds came out swinging by outscoring Tarleton 28-14 in the third quarter. The Texan touchdowns were both passes from Strahan to Meyers, one from four yards out and the other a 24-yard strike.
 
The teams only mustered one touchdown each in the final quarter with Tarleton's coming at 10:08 when Meyers hauled in his fourth touchdown grab of the day on a five-yard pass from Strahan. The Greyhounds got in the end zone with 5:56 left but it was too late as Tarleton went on to the win.
 
For Meyers, he tied two senior college-era individual records with his four touchdown receptions. He joins Dustin Pleasant as the only two players since 1961 to grab four TDs in a game and he joined Pleasant, Derrick Ross and Gaylon Bowser for the most points scored in a single game with 24.
 
Tarleton managed to rack up 663 total yards in the game, which breaks the senior college-era school record of 648 against Angelo State on Nov. 2, 1996. The Texans gained the yardage on just 62 plays for an average of 10.7 yards per play.
 
Strahan led the attack with a new career-high rushing attack of 157 yards and two scores on the ground on 14 carries in addition to a career-high passing night of 386 yards on 20-33 with five passing touchdowns and an interception. With 543 total yards, Strahan breaks Kevin Vickers' 1994 record of 477 yards in a single game.
 
"Collin is playing at a really high level right now," said Fowler. "I've said for a long time that once he gets his chance to play, he's going to be someone to watch out for. He is such a competitor. I love watching that child play football."
 
Meyers ended the night with six catches for 124 yards and four scores while Rhodes tallied five grabs for 72 yards. Bubba Tandy (98) and Zach Henshaw (73) combined for 171 yards through the air on two and three catches, respectively.
 
A trio of Texans in double-figure stops, topped by Marc Martinez with 14, led the Tarleton defense. Devin Figures and Alex Anderson each posted 10 tackles while Anthony Gonzales had four tackles on the defensive line with three of them coming behind the line of scrimmage including two sacks.
 
Figures forced a fumble, which was scooped up by Chase Varnado, while De'Antrey Loche grabbed his second interception of the season for Tarleton's two turnovers.
 
As a unit, Tarleton made 13 tackles for a loss and had four sacks on the night.
 
The Texans will be on the road again next week as they make the short trip to Abilene for the only afternoon game of the regular season against McMurry Saturday at 2 p.m.