Tarleton State builds big lead, hangs on to edge McNeese 26-23 in wild opener

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — Kayvon Britten rushed for 164 yards and Victor Gabalis passed for 140 yards and a touchdown, leading Tarleton State to a 26-23 victory over McNeese in a nail-biting season-opener on Saturday.

After leading 26-7 at halftime, the Texans managed 19 yards on four possessions in the third quarter and a 63-yard drive in the fourth ended with a missed field goal.

Meanwhile, McNeese scored on a 7-yard run by D’Angelo Durham early in the fourth quarter and Tarleton’s lead was 26-23 after an 80-yard touchdown pass from the Cowboys’ Clifton McDowell to Matthew McCallister.

The Cowboys would have one last chance to take the lead, taking possession at their own 11 with 2:56 remaining. McDowell had completions of 23 and 22 yards and ran for another 11, leading McNeese to the Tarleton 27-yard line with 10 seconds left. On third down, Tyler Larco missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.

Gabalis completed 11 of 18 passes for Tarleton and McNeese’s McDowell went 13 of 19 for 242 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Cowboys outgained the Texans 445 yards to 339 but had four turnovers to none for Tarleton State.

After McNeese took a 7-3 lead on a 43-yard pass from McDowell to Jamaal Levi, Tarleton State scored the next 23 points and led by 19 at halftime. The Texans got first-half touchdowns on a short run by Derrel Kelley III, a 31-yard scoop and score from Kasyus Kurns and a 26-yard pass from Gabalis to Keylan Johnson.

Kurns had two fumble recoveries.

The Texans, ranked No. 21 in FCS, are eligible for the FCS playoffs for the first time after completing their reclassification period with a record of 25-16 from 2020 through 2023.

The game was billed as the first college game of the season played on U.S. soil. Florida State and Georgia Tech played earlier in the day in Dublin, Ireland.

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