THE GAME
Tarleton will take the national stage Saturday night when the Texans and Javelinas renew of the Lone Star Conference's top football rivalries on ESPN3 as a part of the NCAA Division II National Football Showcase, which will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN App. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CST in Kingsville.
DIVISION II NATIONAL FOOTBALL SHOWCASE
The Tarleton-Kingsville game is one of 18 regular-season football games that will be streamed live on ESPN3, WatchESPN.com, and the ESPN App as a part of the NCAA Division II National Football Showcase.
TARLETON SPORTS NETWORK
A complete radio broadcast of the game can be heard on the Tarleton Sports Network presented by the North Texas Ford Dealers.
Byron Anderson, Brad Keith, and J.P. Stingley have the call on the flagship station of Tarleton Athletics – KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville – and worldwide at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. Links to live stats, courtesy of the host school, can be found on the football schedule of TarletonSports.com while the live video feed will only be available on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN App.
ABOUT THE TEXANS
Tarleton is 4-3 on the season and 3-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans are looking to rebound from back-to-back conference losses to Western and Eastern New Mexico. Tarleton is averaging 28.0 points per game on 335.6 yards of offense. Quarterback
Zed Woerner has thrown for 1,322 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games.
Jeff Thomas leads the Texan receivers with 522 yards on 34 catches with four touchdowns, while
Del'Michael High has 475 yards on 32 catches with three scores.
Xavier Turner leads the team with 370 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, the Texans give up an average of 25.3 points on 431.3 yards per game.
Basil Jackson leads the team and the Lone Star Conference in tackles with 67.
ABOUT THE JAVELINAS
Texas A&M-Kingsville comes into this week's game with a 3-4 overall mark, including a 2-3 record in Lone Star Conference play. Under third-year head coach Daren Wilkinson, the Javelinas are averaging 23.3 points per game on 401.7 yards of total offense per game over the first seven contests. Cade Dyal is Kingsville's top passer with 1,433 yards and 13 touchdowns while Jordan Thomas leads the team with 695 yards receiving on 39 catches. Nick Pelrean leads the rushing game with 423 yards on 62 carries and four touchdowns. Defensively, Trevor Moses leads the Javelinas with 47 tackles.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Tarleton and Texas A&M-Kingsville have a rich history on the gridiron dating back to the inaugural meeting in 1970. Kingsville was in control of the series from 1970 through 2005 as the Javelinas won 16 of the first 18 meetings. A 23-0 win in Stephenville in 2006 was the first of seven wins over the next 13 meetings, leading up to Saturday's game. Tarleton and Kingsville have also met in the NCAA Division II playoffs twice, including 2003 during Whitten's second stint as head coach. Tarleton's last playoff win came in 2009 when the Texans pulled off a miraculous, double-overtime win in Kingsville in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs.
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will return to Stephenville on October 28 to welcome Western Oregon for the annual homecoming game at 6 p.m. CST at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville.
