TEXAS STATE PHOTO

STAFF REPORT

The Texas State football team scored a touchdown on each of its first five possessions and ended the game with 535 yards of total offense en route to a 46-21 victory over Lamar in the first meeting between the two schools since 1989 on Saturday night at Bobcat Stadium.

The Bobcats scored their first touchdown when Shaun Rutherford threw the first of his three touchdown passes in the contest with a 12-yard pass to Chase Harper. Will Johnson added the extra point to give Texas State a 7-0 lead midway in the first quarter.

The Bobcat defense set up Texas State’s second touchdown when Darryl Morris sacked Andre Bevil for a 10-yard loss to Lamar’s six-yard line. After Bevil ran for four yards, his pass attempt to J.J. Hayes was incomplete to force Kollin Kahler to punt from his own end zone. His kick went out of bounds at Lamar’s 38-yard line.

Texas State capitalized on its good field position when Marcus Curry ran for eight yards and Rutherford hit Darius Bolden for a 15-yard pass. After Rutherford ran for seven yards on the next play, Tim Hawkins scored the second touchdown in the game on an eight-yard run. Johnson’s extra point gave the Bobcats a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Hawkins scored his second touchdown of the game with 13:37 left to play in the second quarter when he caught an eight-yard pass from Rutherford.

After Johnson added the extra point to make the score 21-0, Hawkins scored another  touchdown on  a two-yard run with 10:26 left to play in the first half.

Rutherford completed a 34-yard pass to Harper for his second touchdown catch in the game and his second longest reception of the season. Johnson kicked the extra point to give the Bobcats a commanding 35-0 lead with 6:49 left to play in the opening half.

The Cardinals scored their first points on their next possession. After Bevil ran for four yards, he completed a 38-yard pass to Marcus Jackson. Later, he hit Hayes for a 14-yard gain that set up a three-yard touchdown run by Caleb Harmon. Justin Stout kicked the extra point to cut Texas State’s lead to 35-7 at halftime.

The Cardinals scored the only points in the third quarter after Jeremy Johnson replaced Bevil at quarterback and engineered a touchdown drive with 5:41 left in the period. With the Cardinals on their 26-yard line, Johnson hit Jackson for a 62-yard pass. Two plays later, he hit Jackson again for a 12-yard touchdown pass to pull the Cardinals to within 35-14 with 3:08 remaining in the quarter.

The Cardinals drove down to Texas State’s 38-yard line on their next possession before Texas State’s defense stiffened and Jordan Norfleet sacked Johnson for a 12-yard loss on a fourth-down play to give the Bobcats possession on their 45-yard line.

After the defensive stand, the Bobcats scored their first points in the second half when Johnson kicked a 41-yard field goal.  It was his sixth field goal from 40 or more yards this season.

But, Lamar answered with another touchdown when Johnson broke through the Bobcat defensive line and ran 59 yards for a touchdown. Stout added the extra point to make the score 38-21 with 8:05 left to play.

After the Bobcats began their next possession on their own seven-yard line, Marcus Curry gave Texas State some breathing room when he ran for 54 yards to give the Bobcats a new set of downs on Lamar’s 41-yard line. The drive was halted when Tyler Arndt’s pass was intercepted at Lamar’s 11-yard line by Ryan Clark.

But, Texas State’s Darryl Morris tackled Johnson in the end zone on Lamar’s first play to give the Bobcats their first safety since 2005 and extend Texas State’s lead to 40-21.

The Bobcats scored their final points in the game when Chris Nutall ran for a 14-yard touchdown on the game’s final play to make the final score 46-21.

Rutherford ended the game completing 17 of his 26 passes for a season-high 243 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bobcats.  Curry rushed for 123 yards on 11 carries, while Rutherford added 57 yards on 14 carries for Texas State. Nutall ran for 42 yards on four carries while Hawkins finished with 30 yards rushing.

Darius Bolden was Texas State’s top receiver with five catches for 85 yards, while Harper caught two passes for 56 yards and two TD’s. Hawkins also had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown.

The victory was Texas State’s fifth straight win and that is the longest winning streak for the Bobcats since 2005. The win also gives Texas State a 5-2 record while Lamar drops to 3-3 this season.