SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State football team (1-8, 1-4 Sun Belt) battled until the end of the game, but fell Saturday afternoon to Appalachian State (5-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) 38-17 at Bobcat Stadium.
 
"Appalachian State is a very good opponent, and I have to give a lot of credit to coach (Shawn) Clark and the App State players," Texas State head coach Jake Spavital said. "The message all week was that we were going to have to fight and fight. That is what we did until the end."
 
Starting his third game under center this season, Tyler Vitt found Javen Banks on a free play after the Mountaineer defense jumped offsides on the third play of the game. Banks out jumped two defenders to catch the ball around the Bobcats' own 40, then broke a tackle before taking it the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown.
 
The touchdown pass was Vitt's 25th career pass to break a tie for eighth in program history with Jess Perkins (1964-67) and Spergon Wynn (1998-99).
 
App State answered back with a 7-play, 72-yard drive that was capped off by a 32-yard pass from Zac Thomas to Miller Gibbs. Texas State's defense nearly ended the drive a play earlier when Texas State's Sione Tupou forced a fumble by Daetrich Harrington, but App State's Henry Pearson recovered the ball at Texas State's 44-yard line.    
 
The Mountaineers grabbed a 14-7 lead when Brendan Herrington intercepted a pass by Vitt and returned it 49 yards for the touchdown on Texas State's next possession late in the first quarter.
 
Texas State came back to score three points when Seth Keller kicked a career-long, 42-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 with 12:20 left in the first half. Jahmyl Jeter began the scoring drive running for 53 yards on the first three plays. He had his second-longest run of the season with a 33-yard scamper on the first play in the second quarter.
 
 
App State responded by closing out the half with 10 more points to take a 24-10 lead at halftime. The first score came when Thomas threw a one-yard TD pass to Caleb Spurlin. Chandler Staton also converted a 33-yard field goal in the closing seconds.
 
Thomas threw a nine-yard touchdown to Jalen Virgil to end a 91-yard drive for App State that spanned 16 plays and 7:26 to see the visitors take a 31-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
 
Facing 3rd and 10 on the ensuing drive, Marcell Barbee drew a defensive pass interference call to keep the series alive. Five plays later, Vitt found Banks over the middle for 17 yards to the App State 28-yard line and 14 yards more were added on a roughing the passer call. The very next play, Vitt found Barbee for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 31-17.
 
The touchdown reception was Barbee's eighth of the season to tie for fourth on the program's single-season list. The junior wideout matched the totals of Da'Marcus Griggs (2009), Billy Dunk (1978) and Johnny Parker (1969).
 
The Mountaineers sealed their victory when Camerun Peoples ran it from 32 yards out with just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
 
Offensively, the teams were nearly equal in total yards with App State finishing with 426 and Texas State ending with 420. The Bobcats finished with 215 yards on the ground led by Jahmyl Jeter's career-high 135 yards on just 11 carries.
 
Vitt completed 21-of-38 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns while tossing two interceptions. He was also the team's second leading rusher in the game with 38 yards.
 
Barbee hauled in a season-high six catches for 65 yards on seven targets. Banks ended the night with a career-high 89 receiving yards on four catches.
 
Defensively, both Nico Ezidore and Jarron Morris recorded nine tackles with Morris matching his career high. Junior linebacker London Harris recorded his first career sack in the game.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is their final road game of the season next Saturday when they travel to take on Georgia Southern at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3.