(Texas State's Daren Dillard catches game-winning touchdown against SFA. Photo by Don Elmore)NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS (October 30, 2010) The Texas State football team scored 27 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat third-ranked Stephen F. Austin 27-24 in front of 11,145 at Homer Bryce Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the Bobcats
evened their overall record to 4-4 and won their first Southland Conference game
of the season.
“The defense played well enough throughout the entire game, but the offense
stumbled in the first half,” said Texas State head coach Brad Wright. “At
halftime, we told them that you have to keep playing and good things are going
to happen sometime. We just don’t know when it will be.”
Those good things began in the final 9:21 of the game when Tim Hawkins threw his
first touchdown pass of the season when he threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to
Darius Bolden to pull Texas State to within 27-6. On Stephen F. Austin’s ensuing
possession, Graly Crawford fumbled the kickoff at the two-yard line and was
tackled at SFA’s nine-yard line. On the first offensive play, Jeremy Moses threw
a 14-yard pass to Crawford, but Bobcat cornerback Darryl Morris knocked the
loose and Ron Jackson recovered the ball for Texas State at SFA’s 20-yard line.
After Karrington Bush gained eight yards on the next play, Hawkins gained three
yards to give Texas State a first down at SFA’s nine-yard line. Then, Hawkins
scrambled for eight more yards before scoring a touchdown on a one-yard run to
pull the Bobcats to within 24-12. Hawkins completed a pass to Alvaro Garcia for
the two-point conversion to make the score 24-14.
Texas State’s defense forced the Lumberjacks to punt again and Da’Marcus Griggs
returned the punt 73 yards for another touchdown and Jonathan Leeper kicked the
extra point to pull the Bobcats to within 24-21.
On Stephen F. Austin’s next possession, the Lumberjacks moved the ball down to
Texas State’s 40 yard line before Moses hit Jeremy Barnes with a six-yard pass.
However, Texas State linebacker forced Barnes to fumble on the play and the
Bobcats’ T.P. Miller recovered the ball at the Texas State 34-yard line.
The Bobcats moved the ball down the field rather quickly as Hawkins threw a pair
of passes to Darius Bolden for a combined 10 yards. Then, Karrington Bush gain
15 additional yards on the ground. Later, the Bobcats faced a fourth-and-one
play at Stephen F. Austin’s 33 yard line when Bush gained five more yards to
give Texas State a first down. On the next play, Hawkins hit Daren Dillard for a
28-yard touchdown pass to give the Bobcats a 27-24 advantage after Leeper missed
the extra-point try.
The Lumberjacks had one more chance to tie the game, but Thomas Henshaw’s
47-yard field goal attempt was wide left to give the Bobcats the victory.
The Lumberjacks took the opening kickoff and Moses completed six of his first
eight passes in the game to lead Stephen F. Austin on an 81-yard touchdown
drive. The drive began when Moses hit Crawford on a seven-yard pass play. Then
he hit Corde Roberson for 28 yards on the next two plays. The first pass play
was for 11 yards, and the second was for 17 yards and put the ball at Texas
State’s 45-yard line. Then Moses completed a 19-yard pass to Roberson and a
six-yard toss to Crawford before Barnes ran for six-yards down to the eight-yard
line. Moses capped off the drive with an eight yard touchdown pass, and Henshaw
kicked the extra point to give the Lumberjacks a 7-0 lead.
Following a 19-yard kickoff return by Bush, Texas State took over at their
25-yard line, but the Bobcats fumbled the ball on the center exchange between
Hawkins and Steven Kenney. But, the Bobcat defense held and SFA turned the ball
on downs.
After the two teams exchanged punts, Texas State took over on its 46-yard line
following a 19-yard punt return by Griggs. The Bobcats moved the ball down the
field on this drive as Hawkins completed a 14-yard pass to Dillard and ran for
29 more yards down to Stephen F. Austin’s six-yard line. After the drive
stalled, Justin Garelick’s field goal attempt was wide right on the final play
of the first quarter.
The second quarter began just like the game started as SFA drove down the field
80 yards for another touchdown. This time, Moses began the drive with a 16-yard
pass to Chappelle. Then Barnes ran for 15 yards on back-to-back plays to put the
ball at Texas State’s 34-yard line. After Barnes ran for another six yards,
Moses completed a 10-yard pass to Anthony Foster. He also completed a seven-yard
pass to Crawford before throwing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Kris Lott.
Henshaw’s extra point gave the Lumberjacks a 14-0 lead.
Texas State drove the ball down the field into scoring possession again after
Bush took the kickoff at the goal line and returned to the Bobcats’ 42-yard
line. This time, Hawkins had an eight-yard carry and Dexter Imade gained 14 more
yards on the ground to put the ball at Stephen F. Austin’s 35-yard line. After
Hawkins ran for 12 more yards, he completed a 13-yard pass to Bolden. SFA was
called for roughing the passer to give Texas State possession at the five-yard
line. After Hawkins gained two yards on a quarterback carry up the middle, Imade
was held for no gain and lost a yard on the third-down play. On fourth down,
Bush was tackled just short of the goal line to give SFA possession of the ball.
The Lumberjacks took advantage of the momentum as they drove down the field for
the final touchdown of the first half. Moses began the drive with a 14-yard pass
to Roberson. Then after the Bobcats appeared to have held the Lumberjacks on
downs, Steven Alvarez was called for running into the kicker on Drew Nelson’s
punt attempt on a fourth and one play. The five-yard penalty gave SFA a fresh
set of downs. The Lumberjacks took advantage as Moses completed a pair of passes
for 34 yards and Romont Hampton ran for 13 more down to Texas State’s seven-yard
line. On the next play Moses hit Roberson for the seven-yard touchdown pass and
Henshaw’s extra point made the halftime score 21-0.
The Lumberjacks added a field goal with 10:17 left in the third quarter when
Henshaw connected with a career-long 47-yard kick before the Bobcats came
storming back in the fourth quarter.
Hawkins, who made his second start of the season for Texas State, led the
Bobcats with 121 yards rushing on 25 carries and completed 18 of his 25 passes
for 294 yards and two touchdowns. Bush also gained 41 yards on 13 carries, while
Bolden led Texas State’s receiving corps with six catches for 49 yards. Dillard
finished with a game-best 95 yards receiving and a touchdown on five receptions,
while Griggs caught four passes in the second half for 27 yards.
Moses completed 38 of 55 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns, while Barnes
gained 66 yards on 11 carries for the Lumberjacks. Crawford caught eight passes
for 72 yards and a touchdown.
With the victory, Texas State improved to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in Southland
Conference play. The Bobcats return home to play host to Central Arkansas in
their final home game of the year next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Stephen F. Austin
falls to 6-2 and 3-1 in SLC play. The win also snapped their six-game winning
streak.
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