How Tarleton State Football pulled off the greatest win in school history

BY GAVIN PATRICK

Sports Editor

To say the scene in West Point on Friday night was out of the ordinary is a massive understatement.

Tarleton State had somehow climbed back after trailing 10–24 with 8:14 remaining in the third quarter against last season’s best rushing attack and lined up for a 37-yard field goal in double overtime to achieve a feat once thought hardly possible.

Brad Larson, who joined the team in the summer and in his first game handling field goals, hadn’t made a kick that big in his life.

And he delivered.

The stadium in which so many Texan fans made the trip to invade roared with elation. The Texan sideline erupted as well, and head coach Todd Whitten couldn’t contain his excitement.

Whitten walked over for a postgame interview with the radio broadcast, and after the first question, the often reserved and unassuming coach suddenly channeled his inner Jimmy Johnson, saying, "How ’bout those Texans?”

Those words strike a vastly different tone from the previous three years Tarleton finished a game against an FBS squad. It’s a testament to how far the program has come.

59-17. 41-3. 45-3.

Those were the final scores of the games Tarleton played against FBS opponents (TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor) the last three years. The Texans were sloppy, out-sized and completely overmatched.

The moment was too big. Frankly, they didn’t stand a chance.

But this one felt different. The Texans had been preparing for Army and their Flexbone Triple Option since the first day of fall camp. They knew they needed to have a better showing against the superior division to truly arrive as one of the fastest rising programs in college football.

Not only were preparations more intense, but Army had been beaten in the past by FCS schools. The Black Knights had won 17 straight against FCS teams heading into Friday, but they’d lost five times since 2000 against Fordham (2015), Yale (2014), Stony Brook (2012), New Hampshire (2008) and Holy Cross (2002).

TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor have lost only one such game in their history.

Plus, the Texans didn’t have to play a two-dimensional offense with Army. They could commit to stopping the run, playing close to the line of scrimmage and let their experienced front seven decide possessions.

If the defense could stop the triple option and give the ball back to their quick-strike offense, Tarleton had a chance. Safe to say, mission accomplished.

“They were kicking our a-- up front,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said after the game. “We couldn’t run our fullback, we couldn’t run our quarterback like we have done. … They outplayed us. They just did a better job of playing blocks than we could block them.”

It sounds simple – but boy, is that a different story from the Texans’ previous three outings.

It can be argued that every football game is won at the line of scrimmage. But when an FCS team plays an FBS team—bigger guys matched up with smaller guys—the discrepancy is abundantly clear just from watching the offensive and defensive lines.

The Texans were the ones getting whopped up front against the Big 12. But they matched up better with Army. The average weight of a defensive lineman who played meaningful snaps against Baylor last year was 288 pounds. This year, they beefed up to 295 pounds on average.

And it’s not just having “big boys” who can hold their own in a tougher division – it’s having athletes that can hang with Army’s triple option, which stretches the field horizontally, forcing linebackers to run sideline to sideline and for everyone to play disciplined football.

Tarleton played the run very well physically and mentally. Army had 25 plays go for two yards or less on first and second down and faced third and medium or longer (3rd & 4+) 15 times. The Black Knights went just 6-for-16 (37.5%) on third down, picking up two additional conversions from defensive pass interference penalties.

Tarleton’s coaches—defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, defensive line coach Fred Tate and outside linebackers coach Jake Stone—deserve a ton of credit for getting their players ready to defend an offense that is foreign territory.

The Texans also got great individual performances from their best players. Brandon Tolvert (seven tackles, two TFLs), AJ Owens (12 tackles, one TFL) and Jadan Aubert (nine tackles, one TFL) were constantly around the ball and delivering big hits that showed the Texans’ might.

But perhaps no player was more consequential in the game than Kasyus Kurns.

Kurns came away with three takeaways (two interceptions, one fumble recovery) on three consecutive drives in the second half – all of which came at critical junctures in the game.

The first ended an Army drive that got extended twice by the aforementioned pass interference calls as the Black Knights were driving to extend their 24-17 lead late in the third quarter. The second was an interception in the end zone as Army was trying to take advantage of a short field. And the third was a fumble recovery off a Stephen Woods punch-out that made up for a three-and-out on Tarleton's previous drive.

It wasn’t until the last takeaway that Tarleton was able to capitalize and tie the game at 24.

Call it luck or skill (or both), but Kurns was in the right place at the right time. Without him—who is widely considered to be the Texans’ best player on either side of the ball—the offense may not have gotten the spark they needed to win the game.

“Turnovers kill us,” Monken said. “There’s a huge advantage for the team that gets at least one more takeaway than their opponent. They had three more takeaways than us – we had none. It’s hard to win a football game when you do that.”

For those old enough to remember, the Texans’ historic day almost looked like it wasn’t meant to be.

Through the first 28 minutes of action, all was well for the purple and white. As double-digit underdogs, the score was even at 10 apiece. The line of scrimmage wasn't a problem. Whitten was “pleased” with how the defense was defending the triple option.

Then, they had to show some grit.

With 1:25 left in the first half, Tre Page III busted through a gaping hole paved by the left side of the offensive line and raced 53 yards untouched for what looked to be a momentous end-of-half touchdown. Then came the most dreaded six words in football.

“This one could be coming back,” said play-by-play announcer Dave Ryan.

A flag was thrown on left guard Hunter Smith for offensive holding, a block that held up the defender with the best shot at Page. Whitten was livid on the sideline, but there was no going back.

Tarleton came up empty on the next play and punted the ball back to Army, who took it 32 yards to the Tarleton 39-yard line. They reached the end zone five plays later – and now, it was Army who took a 17-10 lead into halftime.

Army was 25-1 when leading at halftime since 2020, as CBS astutely mentioned, and with a massive momentum swing on their side and a clock-control offense, this one looked to be slipping away fast for the 14.5-point dogs.

The message at halftime, Whitten said, “just keep playing.”

“I think we had proven without a doubt that we could hang in there and play with these guys,” Whitten said. “It was frustrating, but we had to put the bad stuff behind us… and bounce back. And, boy, we did.”

But things got worse before they got better.

Tarleton gained zero net yards on their first two second-half drives, turning the ball over on downs before Army running back Hayden Reed dashed 37 yards to push the deficit to 14.

The Texans hadn’t come back from multiple touchdowns since November of 2023. Having traveled coast to coast on a short week and playing an established team in a higher division with a bruising ground attack, it was probably time for the little guys to pack it in.

… Not so fast, my friend.

The Texans weren’t finished. The offense responded with a swift 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, and three Army turnovers later, had tied the game at 24.

Now all they needed was some luck in the kicking game.

Army kicker Dawson Jones missed two potential game-winning field goals in the final stages, both of which came from the hash marks. It felt like an answered prayer from Texan fans, but Army didn’t align the ball in the middle of the field on the previous plays to make it easier on their young kicker. Tarleton wasn’t about to let that detail slide.

With victory in reach in the second overtime, the Texans were aligned on the right hash for a 3rd & 5. Quarterback Victor Gabalis took the snap and ran left to center the football. Now his kicker could look history right in the eye.

Just as he did as a childhood cancer survivor, Brad Larson came through, and the party was started in West Point.

“Our guys played their hearts out,” Whitten said. “I don't have the words to tell you how proud I am of these guys. They are just outstanding.”

Now, the Texans face a much different challenge with virtually the entire season ahead: expectations.

The historic win in West Point gave Tarleton a hefty boost in the FCS polls. They now sit at No. 5 in the Stats Perform poll and tied at No. 3 in the AFCA Coaches Poll behind only North Dakota State and South Dakota State, two programs that have won 12 of the last 14 FCS championships.

After five players, Tramaine Chism, Caden Holt, Page, Aubert and Tolvert, sustained injuries in Friday’s game, The Texans will need to get healthy to gear up for a championship run.

The program has said from the jump that their goal this season is to do just that. Today, with an FBS win in the bank, the country is taking more notice than ever before.

Strap up, football fans. It’s not even sweater season.