The Texas State football team topped the Houston Baptist Huskies 20-11 after trailing 9-0 in their season opener at Bobcat Stadium on Sept. 2.
Texas State trailed 9-0 to the Huskies, before a 25-yard field goal and a touchdown in the second quarter to put the Bobcats on top going into the locker room.
The Bobcat defense allowed two points in the fourth, while the offense scored 10 in the second half.
“This was a typical first game,” Texas State head football coach Everett Withers said. “You see the difference in a lot of ball games were turnovers, special teams and execution mainly on offense. We were able to block a kick tonight, which is really good, but we weren’t sharp on kickoffs, and we have work to do in the punting game.”
HBU took an early lead in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown putting them on top 6-0. Senior outside linebacker Easy Anyama then blocked the HBU extra point on special teams, leaving the score 6-0.
Houston Baptist extended their lead with a 33-yard field goal by Alec Chadwick, with the Bobcats trailing 9-0 going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, junior kicker James Sherman kicked a 25-yard field goal putting the Bobcats on the board, 9-3.
From there, senior quarterback Damian Williams forced his way into the end-zone on a four-yard run giving Texas State their first lead of the night, 10-9, heading into the locker room at halftime.
With 2:03 left on the clock in the third quarter, freshman Anthony Smith ran for a 48-yard touchdown for the Bobcats. Sherman’s field goal was good, and the Bobcats were on top 17-9.
HBU was outscored by Texas State in the fourth quarter 3-2. The Bobcats scored their three points on a 26-yard field goal from Sherman, and a bad snap in the end-zone resulted in a safety for the Huskies. The Bobcats ended the game 20-11.
“Hats off to Houston Baptist for their effort tonight after all they had to go through last week,” Withers said. “I talked to coach (Vic) Shealy before the game, and they had trouble getting coaches to work during the week. I’m not sure if they were even able to practice until Wednesday because of coaches not being able to work.”
Starting quarterback for the Bobcats was Williams. Williams completed 18 of 28 passes for 135 yards. He also had 13 carries for 43 total yards and one touchdown.
Smith rushed a team high of 71 yards with one touchdown. Senior wide-receiver Elijah King led the team in receiving yards with four touches for 85 yards. Junior wide-receiver Tyler Watts had six catches with 23 yards.
Defensively, sophomore Ishmael Davis led with nine tackles. Davis had six solo stops, a tackle for a two-yard loss and a fumble recovery.
Junior linebacker Frankie Griffin totaled six stops with 1.0 sacks. Junior safety A.J. Krawczyk and sophomore linebacker Bryan London II had seven stops each.
“It’s good to be able to come in on Sunday after a victory and be able to correct some things,” Withers said. “My goal is to be a better team tomorrow after practice than we were tonight.”
Texas State will continue their season in Boulder, Colorado against Colorado on Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on the PAC-12 Network.