STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton won its third straight game with a convincing 30-20 victory over rival West Texas A&M on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
 
The Texans (3-1, 2-0) recorded their first win over the Buffs (2-2, 1-1) since 2014. It's also the first time Tarleton has started 2-0 in Lone Star Conference play since 2013, where the Texans won a share of the conference title.
 
Prior to the game, there was a ceremony on the field officially breaking ground for the renovation of Memorial Stadium. Tarleton running back Xavier Turner had a career game on a historical night, as the junior from North Richland Hills broke through every West Texas A&M defender en route to a career-high 135 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Turner scored the first three touchdowns of the game to give the Texans a 21-0 lead. Turner's first score to open the second quarter capped off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle. On the drive, Turner had a 20- and 23-yard run on back-to-back plays.
 
For Tarleton's next possession in second quarter, Turner didn't wait as long to score. On the fourth play of the drive, Turner bolted 45 yards down the middle of the field for his first-career multi-touchdown game, giving the Texans a 14-0 lead.
 
Tarleton took a 14-0 lead into halftime, marking the first first-half shutout since Texas A&M-Kingsville on homecoming in 2016.
 
WT missed three field goals in the first half – a 32, 57, and 36-yard attempt. The second half didn't start any better for the Buffs, as they fumbled at their own 20 and was recovered by reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week EJ Speed.
 
On the second play after the WT turnover, it was Turner again who raced to the right side and found the end zone on a 14-yard run for a 21-0 lead with 13:55 left in the third quarter. It's the first time a Tarleton player ran for three touchdowns in a game since Joseph Sadler in 2015 and just the third time a Tarleton player has rushed for three scores in a game since 2012.
 
Tarleton built its biggest lead of the game midway through the third quarter when quarterback Zed Woerner connected with Del'Michael High in stride down the middle of the field for a 21-yard touchdown pass and a 27-0 advantage. It was Woerner's 56^th career touchdown pass, moving him one away from tying Scott Grantham for the Tarleton all-time record. Woerner finished the game 14-of-20 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown with zero turnovers.
 
West Texas A&M wouldn't go away with a fight, however, as the Buffs scored 20 of the next 23 points in the final 13 minutes of the game. Tarleton added a 39-yard field goal by Sergio Sroka on its first drive of the fourth quarter.
 
Last week against Angelo State, the Texans forced five turnovers on the defensive end. With only one to its total in the fourth quarter, the Texan defense waited until the final minutes to come up with its biggest stop of the game. Leading 30-20, Elliott Hart put an end to WT's comeback bid with an interception at midfield with 1:26 on the clock.
 
Tarleton had 359 yards of offense in the win, with 242 yards coming on the ground. In addition to Turner's breakout game, Daniel McCants ran for 87 yards on 13 carries. Woerner also added 22 yards on the ground. Jeff Thomas led the Texans in receiving with 50 yards on four catches, while High had 30 yards on two catches and a touchdown.
 
Basil Jackson continues to lead the Texan defense, as the senior linebacker recorded double-digit tackles for the fourth straight game. Jackson finished with a team-high 11 tackles and has an LSC-best 56 on the year.
 
Tarleton will travel to Odessa next to take on UT Permian Basin on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m.