After losing two straight games, Texas State rebounded with a 34-26 win over Prairie View A&M at Bobcat Stadium Saturday. The ‘Cats take to the road this weekend to play at Central Arkansas before returning home to play their final regular season game against undefeated rival Sam Houston State on Nov. 19. (Photo courtesy of Texas State University Athletic Dept.)
SUBMITTED REPORT
With his team trailing for the first time in the game, Isaiah Battle returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and reserve quarterback Tyler Arndt led two scoring drives in the fourth quarter as the Texas State football team rallied for a 34-26 victory over Prairie View A&M on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.
“It was good to get back into the win column,” said Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione. “The kids fought hard and they had to fight hard. There was a 12th man out there today and he switched teams at times and that was the wind.”
Every point with the exception of Battle’s kickoff return was scored with the wind at each team’s back throughout the game.
Texas State looked to be in complete control early in the game as the Bobcats scored touchdowns on their first two possessions in the game. The first touchdown came after Josh Minde recovered a fumble to stop Prairie View A&M’s opening drive at Texas State’s 45-yard line.
On their first offensive play from scrimmage junior quarterback Shaun Rutherford hit Darius Bolden for a 40-yard pass. Texas State moved the ball down to Prairie View A&M’s five yard line to set up a five-yard touchdown run by Rutherford. Will Johnson added the extra point to give the Bobcats an early 7-0 lead.
The Panthers scored the only points in the second quarter for either team when Le’Darr Groover scored Prairie View’s first touchdown in the game with a one-yard run up the middle. Barrick added the extra point to make the score 17-13 at halftime.
Prairie View A&M scored the first six points in the third quarter as Barrick kicked a pair of field goals from 31 yards and 22 yards to give the Panthers a 19-17 lead with 2:50 remaining.
But Battle took the kickoff after the second field goal and broke outside to the right and raced down the sideline for his touchdown as Texas State regained the lead at 24-19 at the end of the third quarter.
The Panthers answered with another touchdown early in the fourth quarter as Fred Anderson scored on a seven yard run and Barrick kicked the extra point to give the Panthers a 26-24 lead.
But, Texas State came right back with a touchdown drive of its own after Alvaro Garcia returned Barrick’s kickoff 16 yards to the Bobcats’ 49-yard line. After Marcus Curry gained six yards on a run up the middle, Arndt completed a 16-yard pass to Chase Harper and later threw a 14-yard strike to Tim Hawkins that gave the Bobcats possession at PVAMU’s four-yard line. Hawkins capped off the drive with a four-yard run up the middle. Johnson added the extra point to give the Bobcats a 31-26 lead and they never trailed again.
Johnson gave Texas State some breathing room when he kicked a 42-yard field goal on Texas State’s next drive as the Bobcats held on for the 34-26 victory.
Arndt finished the game completing 13 of his 18 passes for 121 yards, while Rutherford also completed three of his five passes for 85 yards. Curry led Texas State in rushing with 78 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while Terrence Franks gained 56 yards on 16 rushes. Harper had four catches for 66 yards and Bolden had four catches for 63 yards.
Lovelocke led the Panthers with 103 yards rushing on 14 carries, and he threw for 124 yards and a TD after completing 13 of his 34 passes.
The win improves Texas State’s record to 6-4, while Prairie View A&M fell to 4-5 overall this season. The Bobcats travel to Central Arkansas next Saturday and close out the 2011 season with a home game against undefeated rival Sam Houston State on Nov. 19.
