STEPHENVILLE - The No. 8 Tarleton State Texans won their second game of the season on Saturday, defeating Texas A&M-Commerce 42-16 on the new artificial turf at Memorial Stadium

Before the game, the Texans honored the family of Levi Jones, a former Texan football player who was killed in an automobile accident this summer. Head Coach Todd Whitten presented a game ball and the 2004 Lone Star Conference Championship ring to the parents of Jones, Mary Lyn and Roy Jones, and his brother and sister-in-law, Lance and Ronnie Jones.


Tarleton State and the NCAA also teamed up to provide "Take a Kid to the Game" night. All children 14 and under received free admission with a paid adult.

The Texans (2-0) scored on four of their first five possessions as they dominated the opposition both offensively and defensively. Tarleton State gained 419 yards of total offense, including 235 yards on the ground and 184 yards through the air.

Derrick Ross, last week's North Division Offensive Player of the Week, once again led the Texans with 177 total yards on the ground on 25 attempts. He added three touchdowns in the victory.

The Texans struck first with 10:51 left in the first quarter when Derrick Ross punched it in from one yard out to complete a seven-play, 53-yard drive that took up 4:09 on the clock. Paul Williams hit the extra point to give Tarleton a 7-0 lead.

Tarleton State scored on its next possession on its sixth play of the drive. Ross again crossed the line from one yard out, capping a 54-yard drive that ate up 1:51. Williams' kick was blocked, but the Texans led 13-0.

The Lions' Ha'a Bento missed a 42-yard field goal with 14:09 left in the second quarter, but Texas A&M-Commerce scored when Cedric Patt caught a 55-yard pass from Buster Faulkner with 10:39 left in the second quarter. Bento added the extra point.

With 7:39 left in the half, Tarleton's Carl Steward rammed the ball in from one yard away to cap a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. The drive took up three minutes and Ross ran the ball in for the two-point conversion to give the Texans a 21-7 lead.

Ross scored on the Texan's next possession after Tarleton's Vincent Duncan intercepted a Lion pass. Ross' three-yard touchdown run ended a Tarleton six-play 56-yard drive that ate up 2:10 on the clock. Williams' kick was good to make the score 28-7 in favor of the Texans.

With 27 ticks left in the first half, Bento nailed a 35-yard field goal to pull the Lions to a 28-10 deficit and give the game its halftime score.

Steward ran the ball in from three yards with 11:55 left in the third quarter. The touchdown capped a four-play, 21-yard drive for the Texans. Tarleton led 35-10.

The Texans' last score came with 6:54 left in the third when Chris Winn punched the ball in from three yards out on a pass from Rob Shipley. Williams' kick made it 42-10 Tarleton State.

With 10 seconds remaining in the contest, Meldrick Grice caught a 33-yard pass from Faulkner to end a seven-play, 74-yard drive that took up 2:41. Bento's kick failed to give the game its final score, 42-16.

Also running for the Texans was Steward, who racked up 79 yards on 15 carries and had two touchdowns. Coron Arterberry carried the ball six times for 29 yards.

Shipley led the team in passing, completing 10 of 18 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. He turned in a much better performance from the season opener.

Leading the team in receiving was Kyle Masters with three catches for 67 yards. Sims Kemp caught two balls for 31 yards, while Jeremy Madkins had two catches for 21 yards.

Williams punted the ball just two times for 82 yards total. His longest was 45 yards.

Ken Jones led the team in tackles with one solo and nine assists. He had one tackle for a loss of four yards. Duncan was second with eight total tackles (one solo and seven assists) and had half a tackle for a loss of one yard. He also had three pass break ups and his one interception. Ray Gates had a sack for eight yards.

Tony Frazier led TAMUC with 13 carries for 52 yards, while Faulkner completed 15 of 29 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Cedric Patt led the Lions with two receptions for 58 yards and on touchdown, while five other team members had two receptions each.

The Texans will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. in Wichita Falls when they face host Midwestern State.

Texans win opener, 35-7

Special to the N.E.T. Sports Gazette

ARLINGTON - The No. 11 Tarleton State Texans won their third season opener in four years with a 35-7 victory over New Mexico Highlands on Thursday. The Texan victory came at the hands of junior running back Derrick Ross who carried the ball 20 times for 262 yards and three touchdowns.

The Texans gained 461 total offensive yards on Thursday, while holding the New Mexico Highlands to just 106 yards. Tarleton State gained 405 yards on the ground while passing for just 66. NMHU gained 59 yards on the turf, while throwing for just 70 yards.

Tarleton State got on the board first when Ross scored from 48 yards out with 2:32 left in the first quarter. Paul Williams added the extra point to put the Texans up 7-0. The touchdown ended a seven-play, 80-yard drive which ate up 3:07 on the clock.

New Mexico Highlands answered with a four-yard run at the 8:43 mark in the second quarter after blocking a Tarleton punt. Rocky Stevens added the extra point to tie the game at seven. The play capped a four-snap, six yard drive that took 1:56.

Tarleton then took the lead with 6:39 remaining in the first half on a 52-yard touchdown run, breaking several tackles on his way. Williams' kick gave the Texans a 14-7 advantage. It took just one play and 52 yards in 15 seconds for the score.

The Texans then scored just 1:35 later at the 5:04 mark when Ross punched it in from a yard out for his third and final score of the contest. Williams' kick lifted Tarleton to a 21-7 win. The drive was five plays for 26 yards in 1:34.

NMHU then gave up a 12-yard pass from Rob Shipley to Jeremy Madkins with 29 ticks left in the first half to make the halftime lead 28-7 after Williams' extra point. The touchdown capped an eight-play, 50 yard drive that took 3:33.

The second half was pretty harmless other than a 17-yard pass from Shipley to Rob Spells with 8:11 left in the fourth quarter. Williams' kick gave the game the final score of 35-7. The score ended a nine-play, 76-yard drive that took 4:10 off the game clock.

Steward was second in carries for Tarleton with 13 attempts for 161 yards.

Shipley completed 12 of 27 passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns. He threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.

Madkins led the team with three interceptions for 20 yards and one touchdown. Spells had two receptions for 20 yards and one touchdown. Dustin Tabor had two catches for seven yards and Ross had two receptions for five yards.

Williams punted five times for 196 yards, an average of 39.2 yards per punt.

Justin Parson led the team with three returns for 18 yards and one interception for eight yards.

New Mexico Highlands was led by Jonny Ruff with nine carries for 50 yards, while Monty Hoffman led the team with 11 of 26 passing for 70 yards. Ikaika Neizman was tops with four receptions for 33 yards.

The Texans had 11 penalties for 63 yards, while NMHU was penalized six times for 53 yards.

The Texans return to action on Saturday, Sept. 4 when they host Texas A&M-Commerce in Stephenville. Tarleton State has dubbed the evening Levi Jones night to honor the Texans' fallen teammate who passed away in an automobile accident earlier this summer.

Sunday Sept. 5, 2004

Member Texas Sports Writers Association, Football Writers of America Association