Sept. 8, 2007

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SAN MARCOS - Cameron Luke caught three second-half touchdown passes, capping a career day with six catches and 124 yards, but he was overshadowed as Texas State could not overcome a 28-0 halftime deficit, losing 45-27 to Abilene Christian on Saturday night.

Bradley George threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns while Morris Crosby threw a 52-yard scoring strike, and Stan Zwinggi led the Bobcats (1-1) on the ground with 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Abilene Christian (1-1) outgained Texas State 458-to-422 in offense, as Bernard Scott rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns while catching another score. Billy Malone threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Johnny Knox, who finished with eight catches for 164 yards. The Wildcat defense also forced four Texas State turnovers.

Abilene Christian opened the scoring after intercepting a George pass at the Bobcat 29 yard line. On their first play on offense following the turnover, Malone found Knox in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard scoring strike that made it 7-0 with 8:55 remaining in the first.

Texas State chewed up over four minutes of clock on its next drive but was unable to convert a third-and-long. Andrew Ireland came on to attempt a 46-yard field goal but missed wide left to keep the score 7-0.

The Wildcats stretched their lead to 14-0 right before the end of the quarter with an 11 play, 71-yard drive when Scott went off right tackle for a four yard score.

Another Bobcat turnover at the beginning of the second quarter put Texas State in a deep hole as ACU found itself in good starting field position near midfield. Four plays later, Scott again found the end zone, this time from 33 yards out to make it 21-0 Wildcats less than three minutes into the second quarter.

The Bobcats kept their next drive alive on fourth down when punter Chris MacDonald faked a punt and ran for 23 yards. Texas State's drive fizzled though, as the Bobcats couldn't convert a second fourth down attempt and gave ACU the ball back at its own 30.

After the teams traded punts on their next possession, ACU took over at the Bobcat 33 looking to add to its lead. On third and goal from the 11, Malone found Scott on the left side for the 11-yard touchdown with 3:16 left in the half, and the extra point gave the Wildcats a 28-0 lead they would hold at half time.

Texas State started its comeback attempt with an eight play, 50-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter, capped by a five yard touchdown run by Zwinggi after defensive pass interference gave the `Cats a first and goal.

ACU moved down the field on its next possession looking to answer, but the Bobcat defense held to force a 36-yard field goal by Matt Adams, capping a six play, 46-yard drive and extending ACU's lead to 31-7 with 8:57 remaining in the third.

Morris Crosby brought Texas State within 17 at 31-14 with a pair of spectacular plays. On fourth and two, Crosby ran right, broke a tackle and hurdled another for the first down yardage, and on the next play he caught a flat pass from George behind the line of scrimmage, launching a deep ball to a wide open Cameron Luke for a 52-yard score with 4:55 remaining in the third.

With two minutes to go in the third, ACU faced a fourth-and-one from the Bobcat 43. Scott moved the chains with a two yard run, and on the next play Malone found Knox down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown as he fought through pass interference, and the extra point made it 38-14 with only 1:50 to play in the third.

Zwinggi returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to the ACU 32, giving the Bobcats a chance to score before the end of the quarter. Facing a fourth-and-10 from the 32, George scrambled left and lofted a pass to a wide open Luke from just behind the line of scrimmage. Texas State went for two, but an incompletion kept the score 38-20 seven seconds into the fourth quarter.

Texas State's defense forced a punt to give the Bobcats the ball back at their own 22 with 11:18 on the clock. After a third down pass to Adrian Thomas that went for 40 yards thanks to a broken tackle, consecutive pass interference calls against ACU put the Bobcats at the 11-yard line. Luke caught his third touchdown, this time from nine yards, to cap a five play, 78-yard drive and bring Texas State to within 11 points at 38-27 with 9:47 to go.

Things looked to turn around for Texas State after ACU faced a third-and-12 from its own 18 yard line and threw an incomplete pass, but Texas State was whistled for defensive holding to give the Wildcats an automatic first down and keep their drive alive. ACU would eventually be forced to punt, but the first down allowed them to take an extra three minutes off the game clock.

When the Wildcats did punt, Alvin Canady muffed the catch for Texas State's third turnover, giving ACU the ball at the Texas State 30 yard line. Two plays later Scott ran 17 yards to pay dirt to all but seal the win, putting ACU up 45-27 with only 5:25 left. The Bobcats had two more possessions in the game, but had a turnover on downs on one possession while throwing an interception on the other before time expired.

Texas State will now take to the road for the next two games, beginning with a 6:00 p.m. game next Saturday at Baylor.