ST. GEORGE, Utah — The injury bug hit Tarleton State hard entering Saturday night's contest at Utah Tech, but the Texans' depth made it mission accomplished once again – a win.
 
The Texans (7-0, 3-0 UAC) remained perfect on the season and won a program NCAA Division I era record seventh straight game, beating Utah Tech (1-6, 0-3 UAC) on the road at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George on Saturday night, 41-23.
 
Half-quarterback, half-running back James Paige had a career-night, totaling five touchdowns against the Trailblazers, four rushing and one passing. Paige, listed as a QB, started in the RB spot, with Tarleton State's dynamic duo of Tre Page III and Caleb Lewis out with injuries. Paige became the ninth player in program history to score four touchdowns in a game, plus he added one through the air, finishing with 114 rushing yards on 30 attempts (3.8 YPC) and 1-of-2 passing.
 
The Texans were also without starting quarterback Victor Gabalis for a second straight game. Daniel Greek got the start again and improved to 3-0 all-time as the Texans' starting quarterback, completing 13-of-21 for 169 yards, a rushing touchdown and an interception. Braelon Bridges raced for 70 yards on seven carries (10.0 YPC), and Deangelo Rosemond added 59 yards on 10 carries (5.9 YPC). Trevon West led the receivers with 60 yards on four catches, and Danny Joiner added a 4-yard receiving touchdown.

Defensively, Dabari Hawkins led the group with seven total tackles, along with a pass breakup. AJ Owens had six tackles and a pass breakup. Angelo Anderson had a forced fumble on a sack, with three total tackles. Josh Griffis had two tackles for loss, three total tackles and two quarterback hurries.
 
The Texans outgained the Trailblazers 262-132 on the ground, 435-352 in total yardage. Tarleton State had a major advantage in time of possession 33:52-26:08, but lost the turnover battle for the first time this season, 2-1.
 
The Texans entered Saturday night's contest going 78 straight drives without turning the ball over, and didn't have an interception thrown through their first six games. On the first play of the game Saturday, Greek threw an interception to Utah Tech's Devyn Perkins at the Tarleton State 33-yard line. The Trailblazers took advantage of the good field position, scoring on a six-play drive by Reggie Graff, a 5-yard rush. Tarleton State responded on an explosive drive, with big plays by Kramer (29 yards), Bridges (36 yards) and a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Paige to tie it 7-7. The Texans forced a three-and-out on Utah Tech's next drive, and got the ball at their own 2-yard line after a 67-yard punt by the Trailblazers' Ryan Marks. Over 17 plays and 8:45 of action, the Texans scored with 10 seconds left in the first quarter, a Paige 4-yard pass to tight end Joiner to make it a 13-7 score after the opening frame.
 
In the second quarter, Utah Tech opened with a 35-yard field goal to make it a 13-10 game. Tarleton State's Kramer fumbled on the Texans' ensuing drive, giving Utah Tech a chance to take the lead, but the Tarleton State defense held strong and forced a punt. The Texans then drove 72 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a Paige 1-yard rushing touchdown. Utah Tech added a field goal right before halftime to make it a 20-13 Texan lead at the break.'
 
Utah Tech drove down for another field goal to start the third quarter, and stopped the Texans on their next drive, forcing a turnover on downs. No worries for Tarleton State, however, who forced a quick three-and-out, then made another 72-yard drive for another 1-yard Paige rushing touchdown. The Texans led 27-16 after three quarters.
 
In the fourth quarter, Tarleton State got the ball with 14:09 to play, and bled almost 10 minutes off of the clock on its 66-yard scoring drive, capped off by another Paige rushing touchdown, this time from two yards out. Utah Tech drove down for a 28-yard touchdown by quarterback Bronson Barben to Daniel Thomason, but it was too little, too late. With under two minutes to play, Tarleton State punted it back to Utah Tech, who muffed the punt, and Texan long snapper Reid Brass recovered the fumble at the Trailblazers' 3-yard line. That set up a Greek 2-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 41-23 final.
 
The Texans improved to 4-2 against Utah Tech all-time and 2-1 on the road at the Trailblazers. Tarleton State also improved to 4-0 on the road this season, its best start away from home in a season since 2019.
 
Tarleton State is one of two undefeated teams remaining in conference play at 3-0, along with Abilene Christian. The Texans will now return home for their Homecoming game, a matchup with West Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Kyle Park will play in Texan Alley pregame from 4-5:30 p.m. to help with the festivities.