Anderson leads Tarleton State's aerial attack with 3 TDs in 45-20 win over Merrimack

STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- — Kaden Anderson threw for a career high 407 yards and three touchdowns and Tarleton State pulled away from Merrimack for a 45-20 win on Saturday night. The Texans took a 7-0 lead when Chris Robinson returned AJ Hairston Jr.'s fumble 77 yards for a touchdown four-and-a-half minutes into the game. Alejandro De La Poza made a 36-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Halfway through the second, James Paige ran it in from the 3 to make it 17-0. Merrimack made it a contest when Hairston connected on a pair of scoring passes to Austin Palmer of 24 and 7 yards, respectively. The first occurred with 3:13 before halftime and the other with two seconds before intermission. But a three-touchdown effort in the third sealed it for the Texans (4-0) when Anderson threw a 32-yard touchdown to Marquis Willis, Bryce Green ran it in from 29 yards and Anderson threw a 42-yard score to Cydd Ford for a 38-14 lead. Hairston threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns for Merrimack (1-3). Up next Merrimack: Hosts New Haven on Saturday. Tarleton State: Is off next week before hosting Chicago State on Oct. 3. ------ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.