THE GAME
Tarleton will square off with its second nationally-ranked opponent in the last two weeks as the Texans welcome No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce to town on Military Appreciation Day for the regular season finale at 2 p.m.
MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
Tarleton Athletics will recognize members of the United States military at every event for the entire day. Anyone with military identification will receive free admission to any Tarleton game for the entire day. The Division of Student Affairs and Athletics Department has over 1,500 free T-shirts to pass out throughout the four Tarleton events of the day.
SENIOR DAY
A pregame ceremony will recognize the senior class playing their final home game at Memorial Stadium.
SUN SETS ON CURRENT STADIUM
Saturday is expected to mark the final game in which the home fans will sit on the east side of the stadium. Construction on the stadium has already begun and fans can expect a new home for Tarleton Football in 2018.
GAME COVERAGE
A complete broadcast of today's game can be seen and 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. Live Stats and a video stream can be found on the football schedule of TarletonSports.com.
ABOUT THE TEXANS
Tarleton is 6-4 on the season and 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference after dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Midwestern State 45-42 last weekend. Tarleton is averaging 30.7 points per game on 373.9 yards of offense. Quarterback
Zed Woerner has thrown for 2,064 yards and 18 touchdowns in 10 games. Jeff Thomas leads the Texan receivers with 734 yards on 49 catches with five touchdowns, while Del'Michael High has 651 yards on 44 catches with six scores. Xavier Turner leads the team with 626 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Last weekend, Turner became the second player in Tarleton's senior college history with a touchdown passing, rushing and receiving. Defensively, the Texans give up an average of 26.2 points on 430.3 yards per game. Basil Jackson leads the team in tackles with 99.
ABOUT THE LIONS
Texas A&M-Commerce comes into this week's game with a 8-1 overall mark, including a 6-1 record in Lone Star Conference play. Under 5th year head coach Colby Carthel, the Lions are averaging 41.2 points per game on 451.0 yards of total offense per game over the first nine contests. Luis Perez is the Lions' top passer with 2,949 yards and 33 touchdowns while D'Arthur Cowan leads the team with 503 yards receiving. Carandal Hale leads the rushing game with 455 yards on 84 carries and three touchdowns. Defensively, Brucks Saathoff leads the Lions with 54 tackles.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 26
th all-time meeting between Tarleton and Texas A&M-Commerce, formerly East Texas State, dating back to 1970. The Lions hold a 14-11 edge in the all-time series. Tarleton won all 11 of its victories against Commerce over a 12-game span from 1997 to 2012.
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton has received a bowl invitation and is expecting to accept the bid at a press conference in Wisdom Gym on Monday at 11 a.m. Stay tuned to TarletonSports.com for more information.
