Oct. 25, 2009

Final Stats

Natchitoches, La.- - In a game in which its high-powered offense struggled to score, the Texas State football team turned to a freshman kicker and its defense in the final quarter to escape with a 20-17 victory over Northwestern State at Turpin Stadium Saturday night.

The Bobcats trailed 17-14 with 11:49 left to play after Northwestern State's William Griffin scored on a 28-yard touchdown run.

But, the Bobcats drove down the field to Northwestern State's 12-yard line to set up the first of Justin Garelick's two fourth-quarter field goals. The first field goal came from 28-yards, which was the second-longest field goal kicked by Garelick this season. That kick tied the score at 17-17 with 7:26 left to play.

Texas State's defense forced the Demons to punt the ball four plays later after Travis Houston and Adley Eshraghipour sacked Northwestern State's Paul Harris for a loss of seven yards on a third down and six play at the Demons' 31-yard line.

The Bobcats took over at their 47-yard line and drove down to Northwestern State's four-yard line to set up a game-winning, 21-yard field goal by Garelick with 1:48 left to play.

Following the kickoff, Northwestern State took over on its own 42-yard line before Harris ran for 24 yards down to Texas State's 44-yard line. But, senior nose tackle Garrett Hood recorded the first sack of his two-year career at Texas State when he pinned Harris for an eight-yard loss. That play proved pivotal in the outcome of the game.

After Harris completed a pass to Darius Duffy at Texas State's 39-yard line to set up a third-down and five yards play, his next pass bounced off Griffin and fell incomplete. Then, Bobcat linebacker Josh Minde caught Harris behind the line for a two-yard loss, giving Texas State possession and preserving the victory.

Texas State took over and ran out the remaining 32 seconds on the clock to win their second straight game in the State of Louisiana following Texas State's 34-28 victory at Nicholls last week.

After the two teams failed to score in the first quarter, Northwestern State scored the first points of the game when John Shaughnessy kicked a 37-yard field goal to cap a 13-play, 65-yard drive.

The Bobcats took their first lead of the game when Bradley George hit Da'Marcus Griggs for a five-yard touchdown pass and Garelick added the extra point to make the score 7-3 at halftime.

The Bobcats opened up a 14-3 lead midway in the third quarter when Alvin Canady rushed for his longest touchdown run of the season when he scored on a 39-yard run and Garelick added another extra point.

But, Northwestern answered with a touchdown of its own when quarterback Paul Harris scored on a run from 14-yards out and Shaughnessy kicked the extra point with 4:28 left to play in the third quarter. That is how the quarter ended as the Bobcats retained a 14-10 lead.

Northwestern State took its first fourth-quarter lead of the 2009 season when Griffin scored his touchdown. Garelick's field goals and the Bobcat defense secured the victory.

The win improves Texas State's overall record to 4-3 and the Bobcats improve to 2-1 in conference this season heading into next Saturday's homecoming game against Stephen F. Austin at Bobcat Stadium in a game that kicks off 2:00 p.m.

Game Notes-

Texas State won its sixth straight Southland Conference road game.

Texas State was held scoreless in the first quarter for just the second time this season with the only other time coming at TCU.

The Bobcats scored seven points in the first half against Northwestern State to equal their fewest points in a half this year. The other time came at Southern Utah.

Senior tailback Alvin Canady ran for his fifth touchdown of the season with a 39-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was the longest touchdown run for Canady this season and his second-longest run of the 2009 season.

The victory give Texas State a 2-0 road record in games played in the State of Louisiana for the second straight year and third time since the 1995 season. Last season, the Bobcats won road games at McNeese State and Southeastern Louisiana.

This marks the third straight year that a game played between Texas State and Northwestern State has been decided by three points. Before Saturday night's 20-17 victory, the Bobcats also won a 20-17 victory at Northwestern State in 2007 and suffered a 34-31 overtime loss at San Marcos in 2008.