Zepeda field goals, defense help ACU take down Tarleton, 29-3

ABILENE – Blair Zepeda kicked three field goals and Abilene Christian University capitalized on six Tarleton turnovers to win 29-3 Saturday afternoon in a WAC/ASUN Challenge series game in Wildcat Stadium.
 
ACU (5-5, 2-4) built a 13-3 halftime lead on just 102 yards of offense and without having to travel far. A pair of 30-yard scoring drives – and one of negative-2 yards – were sufficient to gain an advantage over the Texans (5-5, 2-3), who fumbled twice and threw an interception in the first half after committing just two turnovers the past four games.
 
Zepeda, a redshirt sophomore, booted field goals of 41, 53 and 28 yards. Wildcat wide receiver Kobe Clark, a junior, became just the third ACU player to total 200 or more catches in a career, behind Jerale Badon's 235 (2004-07) and former NFL star Taylor Gabriel's 215 (2010-13). 
 
Tarleton, just 1-4 on the road this season, had won three of its last four games. ACU forced three more turnovers in the second half and kept the Texans off the scoreboard to break a two-game losing streak.
 
This was Tarleton's 13^th game in Abilene in a century, but its first in Wildcat Stadium.
The two teams, which began their series in 1920 with a 0-0 tie, ended today's first quarter with a 3-3 deadlock. 
 
Tarleton's first drive of the afternoon ended with a 27-yard field goal by Adrian Guzman at the 6:42 mark of the opening quarter. 
 
ACU got its initial big break when Texan wide receiver Kaylon Horton fumbled a punt and linebacker Tory Hargrove recovered it at the Wildcat 22-yard line with 3:59 left. Zepeda converted the turnover into points by kicking a 41-yard field goal with 2:08 on the clock, knotting the game at 3-3.
 
The Texans' bout with fumble-itis continued on their next series, with wide receiver Tariq Bitson catching a 9-yard pass but losing the ball at the 50-yard line and Wildcat safety Brian Bullock recovering the drop at the ACU 34 following a mad scramble.
 
Zepeda rose to the occasion on the ensuing drive for ACU, booting a career-best 53-yard field goal into the north end zone, putting the Wildcats on top, 6-3. He topped his previous mark of 52 yards set Oct. 20 against Stephen F. Austin, and this season passed Martin Perry (1978-81) while moving into fifth place in career kicking points for Abilene Christian.
 
Tarleton's ball-handling woes continued with 3:17 left when Horton fumbled another punt and recovered it at the Texans' 2-yard line. The visitors eventually punted to the Wildcats, but an interception of Mansell by defensive back Jalen Carr put Tarleton on the ACU 4-yard line with 30 seconds remaining. 
 
But the Texans gave the ball right back with 10 seconds left, thanks to an interception in the end zone by linebacker Greg Green that preserved the Wildcat lead.
 
Tarleton's first drive of the third quarter ended with a booming 75-yard punt by Jake Walrath. ACU gambled on 4^th-and-1 at the Tarleton 33-yard line, got the first down but was kept off the scoreboard when Zepeda's 48-yard field goal attempt was steered off course by the 20-mph south wind with 5:32 left.
 
The Texans looked ready to score on their next drive, thanks to a 53-yard pass from quarterback Steven Duncan to Horton that set up Tarleton at the ACU 2-yard line. But on 3^rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Wildcat linebacker Trey Adams forced a fumble by Duncan, then raced 67 yards with it to the Tarleton 32 with 2:34 left.
 
That drive ended with 12:56 remaining in the game on Zepeda's third field goal of the afternoon, this time a 26-yarder that put ACU up, 16-3.
 
ACU found the end zone again with 6:12 remaining on Mansell's 1-yard plunge, his team-leading sixth rushing TD of the season. The score, which gave the Wildcats a 22-3 lead, was set up five plays earlier by a 44-yard catch-and-run play by wide receiver Denver Holman.
 
Tarleton's generosity continued with its fourth fumble of the day, created when safety Elijah Moffett forced Benjie Franklin to lose the ball on a running play. ACU recovered it at its own 40-yard line and scored again when wide receiver Davion Johnson ran 19 yards around left end for a TD with 4:35 left.
 
The 29-3 lead was ACU's largest since its 56-0 win over Lamar in Week Four of 2021.
 
Roland Williams III collected the Wildcats' sixth and final turnover of the game, intercepting Franklin at the ACU 15-yard line and returning it 30 yards with 2:04 left. ACU ran out the clock for its fourth home-field win of the season.
 
Mansell completed 21 of 27 passes for 161 yards and one TD for ACU, and Tyrese White ran nine times for 73 yards. Clark caught a game-high 11 passes for 81 yards and one score.
 
Tarleton's Duncan completed nine of 20 passes for 134 yards and Ryheem Skinner ran 12 times for 72 yards.
 
The Texans outgained ACU in total offense, 330 yards to 321, but trailed in first downs, 18-10.
 
Bullock led the Wildcats in tackles with eight and Moffett added seven. Defensive back Devin Hafford led the Texans with 14 tackles.
 
ACU hosts WAC member and longtime regional rival Sam Houston State at Wildcat Stadium next Saturday in each team's regular-season finale. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. CST on Anthony Field.
 
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
1Q – Tarleton took the early lead with a 27-yard field goal by Adrian Guzman with 6:42 left. Scoring drive: 13 plays, 76 yards, 5:13
1Q: Blair Zepeda tied the game with a 41-yard field goal with 2:08 left. Scoring drive: 4 plays, -2 yards, 1:51
2Q: Zepeda put the Wildcats ahead 6-3 with a 53-yard field goal with 11:28 left. . Scoring drive: 9 plays, 30 yards, 4:53
2Q: With 6:49 left, Kobe Clark caught a 26-yard TD pass from Peyton Mansell to give ACU a 13-3 lead. Scoring drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 3:13
4Q: Zepeda kicked a 26-yard field goal to put ACU ahead, 16-3. Scoring drive: 9 plays, 21 yards, 4:38
4Q: Mansell ran 1 yard for a TD with 6:12 left to build ACU's lead to 22-3 with 6:12 left. The PAT attempt failed. Scoring drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 5:20
4Q: Davion Johnson ran 19 yards for ACU's final TD of the day with 4:35 left. Scoring drive: 2 plays, 60 yards, 00:52
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Until today, the last time ACU recovered three fumbles in a game was in 2015 in a 37-31 overtime road win over Nicholls.
• The Wildcats had a whopping (38:29 to 21:31) advantage in time of possession but were outgained by the Texans, 330 yards to 321.
• ACU held the ball for two-thirds of the second half while shutting out the Texans, 16-0. 

 
STAT CORNER

• The first four of ACU's six scoring drives today were 30 yards or less.
• After one quarter, Tarleton led in rushing yards (42-23), passing yards (67-24), total yards (109-47). Each team had three first downs.
• At the half, ACU led in first downs (6-5), passing yards (80-74) and on the scoreboard (13-3). Tarleton led in rushing yards (95-22) and total yards (169-102).

 
NOTABLE

• The Wildcats are playing in their 100^th season in 2021. Abilene Christian did not play football from 1943-45 because of World War II. 
• ACU leads this series, 20-12-4, which began in 1920 with a pair of games: a 0-0 tie in Abilene and a 13-0 Wildcat win in Stephenville. 
• The last two games in this series have been at neutral sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area: a 34-31 win for ACU in 2012 at Texas Stadium in Arlington and a 41-34 win for Tarleton in overtime in Frisco.
• The Texans are welcome West Texas rivals for ACU in the Western Athletic Conference. ACU and Tarleton were regular combatants while their membership in the Lone Star Conference overlapped from 1973-76 and 1994-2013 in the league's South Division. ACU made the leap to NCAA Division I in 2013 and Tarleton did the same in 2020.
• The Wildcats' biggest football win over Tarleton took place on the Texans' last visit to Abilene, a 65-3 blowout in 2010 in Shotwell Stadium. ACU was led in that game by future NFL players Taylor Gabriel (WR), Charcandrick West (RB) and Clyde Gates (WR), and future CFL players Mitchell Gale (QB) and Aston Whitesite (BE).