A promising first half proved not enough for Bobcat football and the team gave up 21 unanswered points in the final half of the game to fall 38-14 at rival Arkansas State on Saturday.
The team’s offense scrounged up only 30 yards in the second half and the ‘Cats plummeted to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
The first drive fared well for Texas State, and the offense drove down the field capped off by a Caleb Twyford 60-yard run to the six-yard line. The Bobcats couldn’t pull off the final six yards, however, and the drive was stalled by the Red Wolves on 4th and goal.
The fourth-down attempt proved to haunt the Bobcats, and Arkansas State took the opportunity to drive 99 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
The game saw sophomore quarterback Tyler Vitt start for the first time since the Bobcats’ first matchup against Texas A&M. Vitt saw his first sack after trading possessions following the touchdown and fumbled the ball to give it to the Red Wolves once again. Though the Bobcat defense held the opposing offense, Arkansas State kicked a field goal to extend the lead to 10-0.
After another Bobcat punt, the Red Wolves put together a touchdown drive to push the lead to 17-0 after running back Jamal Jones scored from six yards out.
Down 17-0, Vitt led the Bobcats into scoring position including finding Jeremiah Haydel for a 37-yard pass. The drive was capped by Caleb Twyford once again as the Bobcats lined up in the Wildcat formation and Twyford snuck for the score on 4th down to trim the lead to 17-7.
The Bobcat defense forced the Red Wolves to punt again, and the Texas State offense again capitalized as Tyler Vitt hit Hutch White for the six-yard touchdown pass to make the game a hopeful 17-14. The pass was White’s first touchdown catch of the season.
Though the Bobcats clawed their way back in the second quarter, the second half proved an absolute disaster.
The Bobcat offense struggled immensely as Texas State only managed 30 yards of offense during the two quarters. While Texas State struggled on offense, the Bobcat defense couldn’t keep the sinking ship afloat. The ‘Cats allowed three touchdowns during the second half to finalize the loss, including two running touchdowns from Arkansas State running back Marcel Murray.
With starting quarterback Gresch Jensen out with a concussion, Vitt landed the most yards of his season to date with 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Leading the team in rushing was running back Caleb Twyford with 16 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Despite a shaky defense in the second half, some defensive standouts held their own in the loss. Senior Nikolas Daniels performed his best game of the season with 14 tackles and two sacks, while senior JaShon Waddy had 10 tackles and senior Bryan London recorded eight.
Next up for the Bobcats is Louisiana, who is ranked first in the West Division, in another road matchup on Saturday.