KINGSVILLE, Texas – Riding a wave of momentum following wins in their last two games, coach
Daren Wilkinson and the Texas A&M-Kingsville football team (3-4, 2-3) are set to host the Tarleton State Texans (4-3, 3-2) at Javelina Stadium at 7 p.m. for the Wells Fargo Bank Homecoming Game in Kingsville, Texas on Saturday.
"We love our crowd," said Wilkinson, "and that's going to be magnified even more [this weekend]. We love walking through the tailgate. We have people who've played in the past coming back like
Myles Carr and it's fun to see those guys."
The Javelinas followed up a 37-9 home victory over West Texas A&M on Oct. 7
th with a 47-21 drubbing of UT Permian Basin last Saturday. Those wins marked the largest margin of victory for TAMUK in consecutive triumphs since 2009. This week's contest will give Kingsville the chance to reach .500 for the first time since the second week of the season. It would also give quarterback
Cade Dyal an even record as his team's starter.
Dyal has cemented his status as Kingsville's starting signal caller with back-to-back weeks of superb play. One week after throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns against the Buffaloes, the redshirt-freshman lit it up against the Falcons. He rolled up 367 yards and tossed three more touchdowns without an interception. In his last two starts, Dyal has completed just under 74% of his passes for 616 yards and six scores without a turnover. He's also been sacked just once, as the offensive line of
Jake Wallace,
Stuart Sanchez,
Ralph Rubalcaba,
Omar Wilkins and
Armando Castillo has provided Dyal with a clean pocket from which to operate. They've also helped pave the way for a running game that includes junior
Nick Pelrean, who's 84.6 yards per game rank fourth in the Lone Star Conference. Pelrean and fellow halfbacks
Jeff Carr and
Marcus Younger all found the end zone against UTPB.
"We run the ball on such a frequent basis," said Wilkinson, "and you need guys that are durable so that if one guy gets a bump or a bruise, we have somebody to back him up. Nick's done a nice job. He's got a lot of explosiveness, but I like all four of [our running backs]."
Tarleton will be attempting to rebound from consecutive losses that've seen them slip to just a game over .500 after a 4-1 start. A four-game win streak was stopped on the road on Oct. 7
th by Western New Mexico in what stands as the only win of the season for the Mustangs. The Texans then fell at home to Eastern New Mexico by nine during an afternoon in which they accumulated more than 400 total yards, but turned the ball over three times and only managed 15 points.
Quarterback Zed Woerner is coming off a season-high 397 yards against the Greyhounds, but he's also thrown four interceptions over the last two weeks after opening the campaign with eight TDs and one INT in his first five appearances. In the three games in which Woerner has totaled over 200 yards passing, he has two touchdowns and five interceptions. Xavier Turner leads the Texans in rushing with 370 yards. His season includes a 135 yard day against West Texas A&M during which he also scored three times.
The key cogs in coach Todd Whitten's offense are receivers Jeff Thomas and Del'Michael High, both of whom are in the conference's top 10 in catches, yards and touchdown grabs. Thomas has eclipsed 100 yards three times in 2017, including against Eastern New Mexico, when he put up nine receptions for 134. High's best performance came against Western New Mexico, which saw him grab nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Trying to slow down this Tarleton offense will be a Javelina defense that's been credited with 14 sacks over its last eight quarters, with
Brandon Jones responsible for three of those takedowns. TAMUK's total of 31 for the season has them tied with Central Washington for the most in the nation. On Saturday, they'll be going against a Tarleton offensive line that's allowed the most sacks in the LSC. In addition, the Hogs also lead the conference with 10 interceptions, helping forge a turnover ratio of +6.
"One of the things we talk about on a weekly basis is it's all about the ball," said Wilkinson. "[We tell the] defense to go attack the ball and take it away and offense to maintain the ball. That's one of the stats we work on every year."
Senior linebacker Basil Jackson has anchored Tarleton's defense this season, with a team-high 67 tackles. His average of 13.4 stops per game leads the conference. One of the other members of TSU's linebacking corps is Fort Worth native E.J. Speed, who has been credited with 8.5 tackles for loss in only four games. The main weakness for this defense in 2017 has been an inability to stop the run, as they average allowing 195.6 ypg, the league's highest total.
"I think Tarleton's linebacking corps is probably as good as any we'll face all year long," said Wilkinson. "They've got a lot of explosiveness and athleticism and Basil Jackson is one of the leaders of that crew."
One year ago, the Javs traveled to Stephenville and came away with a 21-17 win, snapping a three-game win streak for the Texans in the series. All-time, TAMUK owns a 19-9 edge over their rivals in purple. Coach
Daren Wilkinson's charges will be trying for the program's first home win over Tarleton since 2009.
To catch all the action live, visit javelinaathletics.com, where you'll be able to find live video and audio with
Mark Inserra on the call and up-to-the-minute stats. Once the final gun sounds, javelinaatheltics.com is also where you can go for a complete recap of all the action in Kingsville. Receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville football by following @JavelinaFB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina Athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribe to the JavelinaAthletics YouTube channel.
