GOVS-TEXANS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following Austin Peay's 45-44 overtime loss to No. 5 Tarleton State in United Athletic Conference action in the 2025 regular-season finale at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas.

FROM THE TOP

• Quarterback Chris Parson set the Austin Peay single-game total offense record with 487 yards, topping the 466 yards of total offense that JaVaughn Craig recorded against Tennessee State (11/5/16).
• Parson also set the Austin Peay single-game quarterback rushing record, topping the 181 rushing yards Mike DiLiello had against Eastern Kentucky (9/24/22)
• Freshman Kamari Maxwell caught a career-best three touchdowns, which is tied for the sixth-best game in program history. He also is the first freshman with three touchdown receptions since Drae McCray caught four touchdowns against Tennessee Tech (11/20/21)
• Parson was 17-of-30 for 294 yards and threw a career-best four touchdown passes, which is tied for the 10th-best single-game in program history and is the best since Austin Smith threw four touchdowns against North Alabama (11/2/24)
• Carson Smith connected on his 14th field goal of the season, tying Maddux Trujillo (2021) and Tom McMillan for the Austin Peay single-season record.

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Davion Blackwell, Jackson Head, Chandler Kirton, and Chris Parson took the coin toss for the Governors. Myles Wiley also served as a captain for Austin Peay.
• Tarleton State won the coin toss and deferred its option until the second half. Austin Peay elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Austin Peay fell to 4-8 at the opening coin toss this season and 11-13 under head coach Jeff Faris.
• The Governors dropped to 4-4 this season and 7-6 under Faris when they lose the opening coin toss.
• Austin Peay won the overtime coin toss and elected to play defense first.
• Weather in Stephenville at kickoff: 71 degrees, fair skies, winds north at 3 mph.

OVERTIME

• Austin Peay fell to 0-1 in overtime this season and 0-2 under head coach Jeff Faris.
• Austin Peay falls to 9-10 all-time and 5-4 on the road in overtime games.
• The Governors fall to 2-4 all-time when they win the overtime coin toss.
• The Govs played an overtime contest for the first time since falling to Eastern Kentucky, 30-27 (11/16/24), in Clarksville.

SERIES UPDATE            

• Austin Peay fell to 0-2 all-time and 0-1 on the road against Tarleton State.

GOVS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• Austin Peay fell to 15-74 all-time and 5-40 on the road against nationally-ranked opponents.
• The Governors fell to 2-19 all-time and 2-12 on the road against top-five ranked opponents.

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay fell to 6-2 this season and 10-4 under head coach Jeff Faris when leading at halftime.
• The Governors fell to 5-1 this season and 9-3 under Faris when leading at the end of the third quarter.

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Austin Peay recorded 570 yards of total offense, its third-best single-game total this season and the third time it has topped 500 yards.
• Austin Peay's 44 points scored are the most allowed by Tarleton State this season and the most the Texans have allowed at home since a 45-27 loss to Sam Houston (10/30/21).
• Parson was responsible for six touchdowns with four passing and two rushing, matching his career high when he had three rushing and three passing against North Alabama (10/25/25).
• Parson rushed for a career-high 194 yards and was the Govs' first 100-yard rusher this season.
• Shemar Kirk led the Govs with four catches and 69 yards; he also caught his team leading eighth touchdown of the season.
• Maxwell is the second Governor to catch three touchdowns in a game this season, joining Shemar Kirk, who caught three touchdowns against North Alabama (10/25/25).
• Jase Skoglund had two catches for a career-best 39 yards.
• Isaiah Groves led the Governors' running backs with eight carries for 42 yards.
• Parson finished the contest with 3,746 yards of total offense this season, that is the second-best single-season total and the ninth-best career total in program history.
• Parson also finished with 3,003 passing yards this season. He is the third 3,000-yard passer in program history and has the third-best single-season total in APSU history.
• Parson also finished with 37 touchdowns responsible for, matching JaVaughn Craig's (2019) single-season record.
• Parson finished with 743 rushing yards, which is the APSU single-season record by a quarterback and is the fifth-best career total by a quarterback in program history.
• Parson's 14 rushing touchdowns this season are tied with Chris Fletcher (2007) for the third-best single-season mark in program history and are the second-best career total by a quarterback in APSU history.
• Parson's 14 touchdowns scored matched Kentel Williams (2019) for the sixth-best single-season total in program history.
• Parson's 23 passing touchdowns rank as the fourth-best single-season total in APSU history.

DEFENSIVE STANDS      

• Austin Peay's defense limited Tarleton State to 5-of-15 on third-down conversions.
• Will Middleton led the Governors' defense with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a sack.
• Myles Wiley also totaled seven tackles.
• Montreze Smith and Davion Hood each recorded a sack, while Charles Crews III and Jake Stonebraker each had half a sack.
• Crews III also recorded 1.5 tackles for loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Carson Smith connected on his 27th-career field goal, the fourth-most in program history.
• Smith also went 5-for-5 on PATs, he is 53-for-53 on PATs this season and has the second-most made-PATs in a season in program history.
• Smith's 85-career made PATs also are the fifth-best mark in APSU history.
• Smith also kicked off seven times for a 64.7-yard average with five touchbacks.
• Logan Leftrick punted five times for a 45.2-yard average with three punts downed inside the 20-yard line and a long punt of 61 yards.

GOVS-TEXANS POSTGAME QUOTES