http://txstatebobcats.cstv.com/sports/m ... 08aaa.html
Bobcats Stun McNeese State 45-42
Texas State wins third straight game in Lake Charles
Bradley George threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns at McNeese State
Oct. 12, 2008
Lake Charles, La. - Heading into Saturday night's game at McNeese State, the Texas State football team knew they would have to execute effectively on offense and make some big plays on defense if the Bobcats hoped to upset the No. 3-ranked Cowboys on their home field.
That is exactly what they did. Bradley George completed 29 of his 45 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns and Karrington Bush ran for 127 yards and one TD on 13 carries, giving him his third-straight 100-yard game and his ninth 100-yard performance in his collegiate career. In addition, Cameron Luke ended the game catching nine of George's passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
"We attacked the whole game and defensively we had some key stops," Texas State head coach Brad Wright said.
McNeese State scored the first points of the game on their first possession when Todd Pendland ran for a 22-yard touchdown on the game's second play from scrimmage.
But, Texas State answered when George hit Luke for a 39-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 7-7 with 11:39 left in the game.
The Bobcat defense had a fourth-down stand at its own 41-yard line when Marcus Clark tackled Steven Whitehead for a one-yard gain on a fourth-and-one play.
The Bobcats took advantage as they drove 60 yards in six plays. Bush capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.
McNeese answered when Cowboy quarterback Derrick Fourrou hit Richard Conner on a 15-yard TD strike to make the score 14-14 through the first quarter.
One of Texas State's key defensive stops came in the second quarter after McNeese State's Todd Pendland had run for 38 yards down to the Bobcats' two-yard line. Marcus Clark forced a fumble while tackling Pendland and Derek Lopez recovered, giving Texas State the ball back.
The Bobcat offense took over and marched 98 yards in 11 plays. Stan Zwinggi and Karrington Bush combined for 22 yards and George completed five of his six passes for 75 yards before Blake Burton scored on a one-yard run up the middle to give the Bobcats a 21-14 lead.
Texas State closed out the scoring in the first half when Andrew Ireland kicked a 36-yard field goal on the last play to make the halftime score 24-14.
The Bobcats came right back in the third quarter when George threw for two touchdown passes in the first eight minutes. The first TD pass was to Luke from 11 yards out to cap a 10-play, 69-yard drive. Then he completed another 11-yard TD pass to Daren Dillard to increase Texas State's lead to 38-14.
"That has been the script for us the last three times we have played here," Wright said. "We have gotten ahead by a couple of touchdowns and they started scrambling a bit. It doesn't matter who you are playing, if you can get a couple of touchdowns ahead, you have to like your chances."
McNeese closed to within 38-20 when Fourrou hit Wes Mangan for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Texas State's second big defensive stand came after George made his only mistake in the game. Jeremy Haynes intercepted his pass and returned it 38 yards before Bush chased him down at the three-yard line. On a first-and-goal play, Courtney Smith recovered a fumble by McNeese State's Terez Jackson after he gained one yard down to the two-yard line.
Texas State scored their final points of the game when George hit Luke for a 45-yard touchdown pass to give the Bobcats a 45-20 lead.
The Cowboys made the game interesting down the stretch, as Fourrou threw two more touchdowns to Whitehead and Pendland to make the score 45-34 with 3:14 left. After McNeese recovered an on-side kick, the Cowboys scored the final points of the game when Fourrou ran for a two-yard TD run and Whitehead ran for the two-point conversion with 56 seconds left to play.
This time, the Bobcats recovered the on-side kick and ran out the final seconds to win for the third straight time in Lake Charles and improve their record to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in Southland Conference play.
Texas State returns home on Oct. 18 to play host to Central Arkansas in its annual homecoming game that kicks off at 3:00 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
