SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Tarleton State came out firing on all cylinders on Saturday night in a Lone Star Conference football matchup at University of the Incarnate Word.  The Texans (4-4, 4-3) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter on the Cardinals (2-7, 1-5) and never looked back en route to a 45-20 victory at Benson Stadium. (Box Score)

Texan quarterback Jake Fenske made the most of his first career start by throwing for five touchdowns and running in another.  The Texans got the scoring started early when they blocked UIW's punt on the opening drive and then scored from five yards out on the first play from scrimmage.

The Texans tacked on two more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 31-3 lead going into halftime, including a 75-yard bomb from Fenske to Jeken Frye with 17 seconds left in the half.

The Texans scored on each of their first four drives of the game while the Cardinals scored on just one of their first 10 possessions.  TSU outgained the Cardinals 272-to-94 in the first half.  In the second half it was UIW with 169 yards of offense and Tarleton with only 125.

The Cardinals played their best in the third quarter.  The defense allowed the Texans 25 yards of offense while forcing three punts, intercepting a pass and stopping a fourth down play.  The offense turned Devin Haywood's (San Antonio/Roosevelt HS) interception into a touchdown by driving 42 yards in seven plays.  Taylor Woods (Fort Bend/Austin HS) completed a 22-yard pass to Andrew Mocio (Waco/Reicher Catholic HS) on a fourth-and-7 and later connected with Kent Hadnot (Houston/Elkins HS) on a 10-yard touchdown pass.

The Cardinals cut the Texan lead to 31-13 with 11:50 remaining in the game.  Saul Meza (San Antonio/O'Connor HS) booted a career long 45-yard field goal, his second of the night, after a 14-play drive stalled out.

The Texans were able to answer the Cardinals with a touchdown to put the game away.  Dashaun Phillips had a 40-yard kick return to give TSU good field position and then they quickly drove 55 yards in 10 plays.  Fenske called his own number and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 8:05 left in the game.

The Texans were able to tack on another touchdown late in the game after forcing a fumble by the Cardinals.  Fenske hit Andre Plata with his fifth touchdown pass of the game from eight yards out.

The Cardinals gained 114 yards on the ground and 149 through the air.  Woods finished the game 18-of-35 for 145 yards, a touchdown and an interception after starting quarterback Zach Rhodes (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) went out with an injury after the second series of the game.  Woods also led the team with 42 yards rushing, including a 4-yard touchdown run with19 seconds left in the game.

Senior running back Trent Rios (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS) made his return to the lineup for the Cardinals rushing for 39 yards on a 11 carries and making eight catches for only nine yards.

Dominic Hamilton (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS) led UIW with five catches for 64 yards while Mocio added four catches for 51 yards.  Mocio eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards in the game as well.

The Cardinals defense came up with three interceptions and three more pass breakups.  Juan Asencio (Pflugerville/Hendrickson HS) led the team with seven tackles.  Haywood, Chaz Pavliska (Floresville/Floresville HS) and Robert Williams (Floresville/Floresville HS) each had an interception while Robby Horton (Beeville/Jones HS) picked up the team's only sack.

Fenske finished 26-of-38 for 380 yards and five touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.  He completed his first 13 pass attempts.  Frye led the team with four catches for 114 yards and a touchdown while Arthur Buckingham had seven catches for 45 yards and two scores.  Vaughn Smith led all players with 17 carries for 83 yards.

Marquis Wadley led a spirited TSU defense with 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Rufus Johnson had two of the team's six sacks on the night.  Overall, the TSU defense finished with 13.0 tackles for loss and seven pass breakups.

The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday at 2 p.m. when they travel to LSC rival Angelo State.
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