STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Interstat) — Kaden Anderson threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns, Marquis Willis caught three passes for 166 yards and two scores, and Tarleton State defeated visiting Abilene Christian 40-27 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Tarleton Memorial Stadium. The Texans remained unbeaten at 10-0, while the Wildcats dropped to 5-5. The announced attendance was 23,986.

Tarleton State struck quickly when T. Hines ran 75 yards for a touchdown and Alejandro De La Poza added the extra point. Abilene Christian answered with Brandon Perez’s 43-yard field goal and Tucker Parks’ 4-yard touchdown run, with Perez adding the extra point. The Texans moved back in front on Anderson’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Willis and De La Poza’s extra point. In the second quarter, Perez made a 33-yard field goal for the Wildcats, and James Paige scored on a 1-yard run for Tarleton State before De La Poza’s extra point.

Anderson completed 7 of 9 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns and ran four times for 33 yards. Willis was his top target with three receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns. B.J. Fleming caught two passes for 34 yards, Danny Joiner had one reception for 9 yards and Tanner Schmidt added one catch for 4 yards. Paige finished with five carries for 26 yards and one touchdown, and Hines scored on runs of 75, 6 and 13 yards. De La Poza made two extra points, and two of his extra-point attempts failed in the fourth quarter.

Parks completed 25 of 30 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown and rushed 19 times for 44 yards and one score for Abilene Christian. Alex Broome led the Wildcats on the ground with 10 carries for 95 yards and added one reception for 6 yards. Rovaughn Banks Jr. ran 13 times for 41 yards and caught three passes for 5 yards. Brandon Johnson ran three times for 16 yards, caught one pass for 17 yards and scored on an 8-yard run with 1:59 remaining. Deonte Dean ran four times for 16 yards, caught one pass for 6 yards and returned three kickoffs for 43 yards.

Cristian Driver had four receptions for 71 yards for the Wildcats, Dallas Dudley caught four passes for 43 yards and a touchdown, Jayden York had six receptions for 29 yards, Larry Benton III caught one pass for 19 yards, Itty Henry had three receptions for 13 yards and Seth Weller added one catch for 6 yards. Parks connected with Dudley on a 7-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and Perez kicked the extra point. Perez also made field goals from 43 and 33 yards, while his 33-yard attempt in the fourth quarter was blocked by Fredd Adams.

Jadan Aubert recorded four tackles for Tarleton State. Chris Robinson led the Texans with 13 tackles and one sack, Avian Rice and Gerard Culotta each had eight tackles, and Kaleb Brown added seven tackles and one sack. Fredd Adams, Stephen Woods Jr. and Omar Emmons each had seven tackles, while Koby Dickens finished with six. Roddrick Roberts, Lance Carson, Alon Woodberry and Ajai Harrell each had four tackles, and Kareem Edmon had three. Seven Cloud and Xavier Potts each had two tackles, and Caden Holt, Isaiah Johnson, Darrion Perry, Manny Lawton, Kenyan Kelly and Deaubry Hood each had one.

For Abilene Christian, Dillon Williams had five tackles, Santana Miller had four, and Jocelyn Malaska, Javeon Wilcox and Boone Morris each recorded three. Darius Moore added two tackles. Charlie Mullen punted three times for 101 yards for Tarleton State. The Texans’ defense recorded two sacks and blocked a field goal, while Abilene Christian’s defense was led by Williams and Miller. Tarleton State finished with 10 wins and no losses, and Abilene Christian moved to 5-5.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tarleton State 45, Abilene Christian 30, and its ELO system had given Tarleton State a 90.5 percent probability to win before the game.