Oct. 7, 2006
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SAN MARCOS -
Stan Zwinggi ran for 120 yards and a touchdown while Bradley George threw for 253 yards on 27-of-37 passing, but Stephen F. Austin scored 24 second-half points, including 14 in the game's final three minutes, to beat Texas State 24-13.
Texas State (1-4, 0-1 SLC) was penalized 15 times for 140 yards wearing black jerseys for the first time in school history. Stephen F. Austin (1-5, 1-0) junior quarterback Danny Southall also played a major role in the loss, leading the Lumberjacks by passing for 191 yards and rushing for 90 more while accounting for two touchdowns on the day.
Southall's 59-yard touchdown run with 2:34 to play gave the Lumberjacks their first lead of the game. Cory Long's point-after gave SFA a 17-13 lead.
Morris Crosby fumbled the ensuing kickoff return and Louie Runnels scored on a 29-yard run two plays later as SFA put the game out of reach.
Andrew Ireland put the Bobcats on top 3-0 in the first quarter, booting a 27-yard field goal with 8:57 left in the quarter. The kick, which was Ireland's first field-goal attempt of the year, capped a 12-play, 51-yard drive that included 69 yards through the air for Bradley George. The Bobcats were also penalized twice for 30 yards on the game-opening drive that took 6:03 to complete.
One possession later, Zwinggi gave the `Cats their first touchdown of the game breaking free for 40 yards with 3:30 on the clock. Zwinggi, who rushed three times in the scoring drive for 51 yards, brought the play toward the Bobcat sideline from the middle of the field before cutting away from the SFA secondary near the 20 yard line, finishing the 70-yard scoring drive in 2:39.
The Lumberjacks looked to score at the end of the second quarter, as Keldric Holman put Stephen F. Austin in position to score by intercepting George at the SFA 35 and returning the ball 50 yards to the Texas State 15 with 4:44 to go.
The Jacks moved the ball inside the one but were denied the end zone on third down from the half yard line, and on 4th-and-goal from only inches away, Shola Obafemi and Jonathan Lehmann stuffed Runnels, keeping the ten-point lead and first-half shut-out in tact as time expired.
SFA would find the board, however, to open the second half, as Long booted a 21-yard field goal to cut Texas State's lead to a touchdown with 12:22 left in the third quarter. The kick finished a nine-play, 57-yard drive that took the first 2:23 from the second-half clock.
Texas State answered six minutes later, as Ireland finished a 12-play, 69-yard possession and pushed the lead back to ten with his second field goal of the game at the 6:18 mark. The two-score lead would be short-lived, however, as Southall hit Dominique Edison for a 44-yard touchdown strike, cutting the Bobcats' lead to 13-10.
After Walter Musgrove saved a potential score in the third quarter with an interception inside the five yard line, Texas State was forced into a pair of fourth-quarter punts, and SFA took control of the football at its own 20 with 5:25 left in the game.
The Lumberjacks opened the drive with a holding penalty but moved the ball 20 yards on the next snap with a pass from Southall to Runnels, and five plays after, Southall got loose for the game-winning score, splitting the Bobcat defense and taking the seam into the end zone.
Chase Wasson led Texas State's receiving corps on the night, pulling in a career-best nine balls for 104 yards as the `Cats lost for the fourth-straight time, the longest losing streak for a Texas State club since the 2003 season when the Bobcats lost six straight.
Texas State will continue conference play Saturday in Lake Charles, La., taking on McNeese State in a 7 p.m. game that will be televised on FSN-Southwest. The Bobcats return home in two weeks, taking on Southeastern Louisiana on Homecoming at Bobcat Stadium with kickoff set for 6 p.m.