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ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The No. 12 Tarleton Texans had a hard time running the ball Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoff against No. 1 Central Washington, and just nine first downs were logged by the Texans in a 27-6 loss in Ellensburg, Wash.

Tarleton's season closed with the loss as the Texans finished 11-3 overall.

The Texans handed the ball over on two fumbles, and the Wildcats scored 10 points off of those turnovers, while the Texans had an interception and had just three points. One of the Texan turnovers was deep into Wildcat territory.

“This was disappointing for us, and you can't go on the road against a good team like CWU and help them out like that,” said Tarleton head coach Sam McElroy. “Give credit to their defense, but it's unfortunate we couldn't make something happen for us.”

The Texans gained just 178 yards of total offense, Tarleton's second worse out of the season after Abilene Christian held Tarleton to 172 total yards. On Saturday, Tarleton gained 192 yards through the air, but the Texans were limited to minus-17 yards on the ground.

Bradley Bullitt intercepted a Cole Morgan pass and then lateralled the ball to Jeremy Sifford who returned it to the CWU 39-yard line to set up the first score of the game when Garrett Lindholm made a 39-yard field goal with 4:07 left in the first quarter. The score came after six plays and Tarleton covered just four yards in the scoring drive to make it 3-0 Texans.

On the next drive for the Wildcats, Morgan hit Johnny Spevak for a 48-yard touchdown. Garrett Rolsma had the extra point to put the home team ahead 7-3 with 2:33 left in the opening quarter. The drive took three plays to cover 50 yards.

The Wildcats stretched the lead to 14-3 with 10:16 left in the first half when Randall Eldridge punched it in from two yards away. Rolsma added the kick to cap the two-play 15-yard drive that was set up by a Roderick Smith fumble at the Tarleton 22-yard line. The ball was scooped up by Taylor Breitzman and returned to the Tarleton 15.

The Texans took the next drive 48 yards on 10 plays in 4:03 to set up a 31-yard field goal by Lindholm. The Texans trailed 14-6 with 6:03 on the clock.

CWU then added a field goal with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter when Rolsma connected on a 27-yard attempt to close an eight-play, 71-yard drive that took 4:24 off the clock. The Wildcats led 17-6 at the half.

The Texans stopped the Wildcats' first drive of the second half, and the offense was driving down the field when Roderick Smith caught a screen pass from Scott Grantham, but the senior running back again fumbled – this time at the CWU 23-yard line. 

The home team then took the ball 69 yards on six plays to stretch its lead to 20-6 when Rolsma hit a 30-yard field goal with 8:07 left in the third quarter. 

Neither team scored again until the Wildcats put the last point of the game on the board. Eldridge punched the ball in from three yards out to end a nine-play, 67-yard drive. The kick by Rolsma put the final tally on the board with CWU winning, 27-6.

Evan Robertson had 26 yards to lead the Texans' rushing game on 10 carries. Keith Demby had one carry for two yards while Smith had five carries for minus-six yards and both fumbles. 

Grantham was 14-of-33 for 192 yards and was sacked twice. Devin Guinn led the team with three catches for 45 yards while Arthur Buckingham had three receptions for 34 yards. 

The Wildcats totaled 409 yards of total offense, including 122 yards on the ground and 287 yards through the air.   

Morgan was 21-of-31 for 287 yards and a touchdown with one sack and one interception. Spevak led the squad with five catches for 97 yards and a score while Eldridge had 18 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

The Texans were ranked No. 5 in South Central Four and downed No. 4 in the region Texas A&M-Kingsville in double overtime last Saturday, 57-56. Tarleton has made the second round of the Division II playoffs in both 2001 and 2009. Tarleton is now 2-3 all-time in Division II playoff games.