HAMMOND - Douglas Sherman rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns and No. 14 Texas State controlled the ball for nearly 39 minutes in a 30-15 win over Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Strawberry Stadium.
Sherman, who rushed for 63 yards on 10 carries, scored on second quarter touchdowns of 20 and 6 yards as Texas State (4-1, 1-0 SLC) led 13-0 at halftime. The Bobcats, who improved to 9-0 all-time against Southeastern (1-3, 0-1 SLC), held the ball for 38:33 while accumulating 393 yards total offense. Texas State controlled the ball for 12:59 in the first quarter, but committed turnovers on its first possessions as David Daniels intercepted a Barrick Nealy pass at the Southeastern 12 on the opening possession and recovered a fumble at the SLU 23 on the next drive.
Nealy, who completed 13 of 30 passes for 216 yards, threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Markee White in the third to put Texas State ahead, 20-6, before Colorado transfer Daniel Jolly added a 15-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Southeastern, which was held to 294 yards total offense, was led by Trey Willie who threw for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Willie hit Hutch Gonzales on a 1-yard touchdown to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half and hit Jeff Guidugli with a 1-yard TD toss to cut Texas State's lead to 27-15 in the fourth.
The Lions, playing their first conference game since 1985, were limited to 62 yards rushing in the game with Mario Gilbert finishing with 34 yards on 11 carries. Robby Scates caught a career-high seven passes for Southeastern, who played without leading receiver Josh Taylor.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Texas State......... 0 13 14 3 - 30 Record: (4-1,1-0)
Southeastern La..... 0 0 9 6 - 15 Record: (1-3,0-1)
Scoring Summary:
Second quarter
TXST - Sherman 20 run (Jones kick) 7:55
TXST - Sherman 6 run (kick blocked) 4:47
Third Quarter
SLU - Gonzales 1 pass from Willie (kick failed) 12:52
TXST - White 5 pass from Nealy (Jones kick) 8:24
SLU - FG Hall 22 4:52
TXST - Jolly 15 run (Jones kick) :28
Fourth Quarter
SLU - Guidugli 1 pass from Willie (kick failed) 12:17
TXST - FG Jones 42 4:50
A - 6,374
TXST SLU
FIRST DOWNS................... 25 15
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 52-177 26-62
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 216 232
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 30-13-1 40-17-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 82-393 66-294
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-1 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 1-24 6-55
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-0 1-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 2-49.5 5-38.2
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards............... 8-71 10-110
Possession Time............... 38:33 21:27
RUSHING
Texas State - Sherman 10-63; Brothers 9-45; Session 12-39; Jolly 9-21; Nealy 10-13; Team 2-minus 4. Southeastern La. - Gilbert 11-34; Willie 14-27; Savoy 1-1.
PASSING
Texas State - Nealy 13-30-1-216. Southeastern La. - Willie 17-40-1-232.
RECEIVING
Texas State - White 4-64; Williams 3-48; Miller 1-53; Jolly 1-21; Carpenter 1-13; Williams 1-13; Sherman 1-7; Brothers 1-minus 3. Southeastern La. - Scates 7-87; Gonzales 5-117; Pierce 2-20; Lanaux 1-6; Guidugli 1-1; Savoy 1-1.
