SAN MARCOS, Texas – Joshua Rowland kicked a 31-yard field goal with just over six minutes to play, and the Texas State football team (3-6, 2-3 Sun Belt) held on for a 30-28 victory over South Alabama (1-8, 0-5 Sun Belt) in its annual Homecoming game Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Vitt threw for career-highs of 373 yards and three touchdowns, and ignited Texas State's first drive in the game when he completed a 28-yard pass to Calvin Hill. That set up a 20-yard field goal by Rowland.
South Alabama answered with a three-yard touchdown run by Carlos Davis to take a 7-3 lead. But, Texas State responded with 10 more points when Rowland kicked a 41-yard field goal, and Vitt hit Javen Banks for a 40-yard touchdown pass to give the Bobcats a 13-7 lead.
The Jaguars closed the half with Desmond Trotter throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Davyn Flenord to give South Alabama a 14-13 lead at halftime.
Texas State's offense answered again with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter when Vitt connected with Trevis Graham, Jr. on a 38-yard pass and a 17-yard strike. Those two TD passes gave the Bobcats a 27-21 lead to end the third quarter.
South Alabama came back to take a 28-27 lead when Tra Minter's six-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive with 9:57 left to play.
The Bobcats responded once again when they scored the final points in the game on Rowland's third field goal to clinch their second straight victory in Homecoming games. The win also gives Texas State a 48-34-1 overall mark in Homecoming contests.
QUOTES FROM THE SIDELINE
"That is what I sit and preach all the time is complementary football," head coach Jake Spavital said. "These kids don't have any quit in them and continue to fight until the end. Today is the first time I have seen us step up and respond when one side of the ball isn't playing as well. Both teams were going back and forth. We would answer each time after they answered while playing complementary football. We made some crucial mistakes, but we overcame them. We are improving. We had a lot of starters out (with injuries), but we had some freshmen out there making plays. It was the next man stepping up. That is how you build a program."
BOX SCORE
- Not only did Tyler Vitt have career-highs of 373 yards passing and three touchdown passes, but he also led the Bobcats in rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries.
- Texas State had its second-highest offensive output of the season with 415 yards of total offense.
-Senior wide receiver Hutch White had his best day as a receiver with career-highs of 10 catches for 165 yards against the Jaguars.
- White also returned two kicks for 62 yards, and freshman DeJordan Mask had a 60-yard kickoff return for the Bobcats.
-Javen Banks had four catches for 63 yards, including a 40-yard TD reception.
- Senior linebacker Nikolas Daniels led Texas State's defense with 10 tackles, and he had one stop for a loss.
- South Alabama registered 51 rushing attempts for 184 yards. Tra Minter led the Jaguars with 87 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Carlos Davis added 63 yards and a TD on 16 rushes.
- Desmond Trotter completed 13 of 17 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns for South Alabama.
KEY MOMENTS
- Texas State scored a field goal on its first offensive drive of the game when Joshua Rowland booted a 20-yard kick.
-Texas State regained a 27-21 lead with 4:36 left in the third quarter when sophomore Trevis Graham Jr. caught his second TD pass. It marked the first time a Bobcat receiver had more than one TD reception in a game this season.
- Today's game against South Alabama marks the second game in which Joshua Rowland has kicked three field goals. The first time was against Georgia State when he led the Bobcats to a win in triple-overtime.
- Following Texas State's fumbled punt attempt, the Jaguars drove down to Texas State's 11-yard line to set up a field goal attempt with 1:15 left to play. But, South Alabama's 28-yard attempt was wide left, and the Bobcats ran out the clock for the 30-28 victory.
NOTABLES
- Tyler Vitt's 373 yards passing is the second-highest total by a Bobcat quarterback this season. Gresch Jensen had 394 yards passing against Wyoming.
- Senior linebacker Bryan London II recorded nine tackles and will have 430 career tackles entering the Troy game next week. London II is the only player in Sun Belt Conference history to record 400 tackles, and he ranks third among Texas State's all-time leaders.
UP NEXT
Texas State will return to Bobcat Stadium for its final home game of the 2019 season when the Bobcats host Troy in a Sun Belt Conference game at 2 p.m. on Nov. 16.
@TXSTATEFOOTBALL
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