A mix of various penalties and wasted possessions was not a formula for victory as the Lions lose at home to Tarleton 47-21 on Ernest Hawkins Field. The Lions we’re unable to maintain the President’s Cup for a sixth straight year vs the Texans.
A&M-Commerce suffers its second loss, and first loss in the Lone Star Conference, falling to 3-1. With two losses, the road back to the Division II playoffs will be a difficult one for the defending National Champions, but not impossible. Tarleton continues to prove they are for real, as the No. 16 ranked Texans take over the conference lead at 5-0 while staying undefeated at 6-0 overall.
Tarleton gave A&M-Commerce trouble on both the offensive and defensive ends as they remain the lone undefeated team in the LSC. The Lion defense that has gotten progressively better each week and is thought of as a top defense in the nation, failed to show any signs of that in the loss. The Texans were led by their rushing attack, in which they accumulated 282 rush yards. This total is by far the most allowed by Commerce this season. The Texan defense held firm, holding the Lions to dismal 3-of-12 on third downs, and forcing a fumble late in the third quarter.
On a more positive note, Reggie Kincade ran back a 100 yard kick return for a TD and it was just the fifth time in program history that it had been done. Commerce rushed for 128 yards which was well above the 64 yards the Tarleton defense had been giving up per game.
“Well you know, we didn’t play our best football tonight and you got to give credit to Tarleton because they had a big hand in that,” said Head Coach Colby Carthel about the game. “We had fought our way back and I think it was 24-21, we got the ball and we’re driving and we just put the ball in the turf and they return it all the way back, I thought defense did a good job holding them. Then we came back with some other miscues and turnovers and a LOT of penalties and let it get away from us.”
One of the biggest takeaways was the Lions uncharacteristic mistakes. Carthel’s team was hit for an eye-opening 18 penalties for 167 yards, compared to Tarleton’s five for 44.
Tarleton turned the tides of the game in the second half. After the Lions cut the lead to three, Tarleton recovered a fumble deep in A&M-Commerce territory. The defense did hold Tarleton to a field goal, but frustration started to mount on the Commerce sideline. Trailing 27-21 entering the final 15 minutes, the Texans iced the win, scoring the games final 20 points.
Next Matchup: Lions travel to Silver City, NM as they take on the Western New Mexico Mustangs at 1pm CDT and look to turn things around to get back in the win column.