SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas State junior running back Stan Zwinggi scored a tie-breaking 46-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to send the Bobcats past Southeastern Louisiana, 45-31, in Southland Conference action Saturday night in Bobcat Stadium.
The Lions (2-7, 1-4 SLC) dropped its fourth game in a row and fell to 0-11 all-time versus the Bobcats. Texas State (4-5, 3-2 SLC) extended its winning streak to three games. The two teams combined for 927 total yards in a wild, back and forth affair.
"When you score 31 points on the road, you should be able to win the ballgame," Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas commented. "We were not physical enough in our run defense and we made too many mental errors when the game was on the line."
Southeastern junior running back Jay Lucas had another outstanding game in a losing effort for the Lions. The Baton Rouge native carried the ball 19 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching seven passes for 57 yards. The two scores give Lucas 12 on the season, tying him with former Lion Jerry Butler for the fourth-most in school history.
Southeastern sophomore kicker Jeff Turner set a new Southland Conference record with six field goals in the contest. The old record of five was shared by seven players, with the last league player to accomplish the feat being McNeese State's Shonz LaFrenz in 1997.
Southeastern sophomore quarterback Brian Babin completed 23-of-37 passes for a career-high 297 yards. The Lions racked up 470 total yards in the loss. Senior wide receiver Byron Ross led Southeastern with 96 yards receiving.
Texas State sophomore quarterback Bradley George completed 12-of-24 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Karrington Bush carried the ball 20 times for a game-high 179 yards and a touchdown, while Zwinggi added two scores and 71 yards on eight carries. Junior wide receiver Cameron Luke led TSU with five catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Texas State took the lead for good with 5:26 remaining in the contest. Zwinggi broke off a long run around the left side on third-and-one to break a 31-31 tie and give the Bobcats a 38-31 edge.
Southeastern muffed the ensuing kickoff - the team's first turnover of the game - to give Texas State the ball back in Southeastern territory. Texas State junior fullback Blake Burton added the clincher with 1:37 remaining, scoring from five yards out to provide the final 45-31 margin.
Texas State broke a 28-28 fourth-quarter tie with 9:34 left in the contest. Andrew Ireland drilled a school-record tying 52-yard field goal to give Texas State a 31-28 lead. Southeastern tied the score on the next drive with Turner's 47-yard field goal - his SLC-record sixth of the game - with 7:32 remaining.
Southeastern built on its one-point halftime lead on the second half's first drive. A 39-yard kickoff return by senior wide receiver Keylam Davis set Southeastern up near midfield. A 21-yard pass from Babin to freshman tight end Luis Sobalvarro and a 10-yard run by Lucas set up a 47-yard field goal by Turner - a career-long that he matched later in the half - to give the Lions a 25-21 lead with 12:14 remaining.
Texas State answered on the following drive. Facing a third-and-18 in his own territory, George hit Luke with a 47-yard strike to keep the drive alive. Three plays later, George hit sophomore running back Alvin Canady with a 10-yard swing pass for a 28-25 lead with 7:58 left in the third quarter.
Following the Texas State score, Southeastern was forced to punt. On the next drive, the Bobcats faced a fourth-and-one from their own 37. The Bobcats attempted a fake punt, but senior Donald Frazier and freshman Ryan Godare threw Bobcat punter Chris MacDonald for a two-yard loss, setting Southeastern up with good field position heading into the final quarter.
A Babin 19-yard pass to junior wide receiver Merrick Lanaux set Southeastern up with first and goal at the Bobcat five. Texas State stiffened and Southeastern had to settle for a 23-yard Turner field goal to tie the game at 28 with 12:12 left in the game.
After Southeastern forced Texas State to punt on the game's opening drive, the Lions took their first offensive possession into the end zone. Lucas carried the ball six times for 52 yards on the opening drive, capping the nine-play, 72-yard march with a two-yard scoring run to give Southeastern a 7-0 lead with 9:19 left in the opening quarter.
The lead would last only 13 seconds, however, as on the next play from scrimmage, Bush burst through the line for an 80-yard scoring run to ties the score with 9:06 left in the first period.
The two teams exchanged punts on the next two possessions and senior cornerback Eric Jackson set Southeastern up at the Texas State 37 with a 23-yard punt return with five minutes left in the quarter. Southeastern took advantage of the good field position and methodically marched 34 yards on 12 plays to set up a Turner 20-yard field goal. Turner's kick gave Southeastern a 10-7 lead in the final minute of the first quarter.
Texas State retook the lead on the opening drive of the second quarter. The Bobcats converted on two fourth down and short yardage situations on a 14-play, 76-yard drive that took 6:34 off the clock. Zwinggi scored from 14 yards out to give the Bobcats a 14-10 lead with 9:19 left in the opening half.
The Lions answered back quickly, however. Babin hit Ross for a 26-yard gain to move into Bobcat territory. Lucas then took a pitch on the next play, ran left behind a unbalanced Southeastern line and scored from 30 yards out. Turner missed the extra point, but Southeastern was back up, 16-14, with 7:53 left in the second period.
Southeastern forced a three-and-out on Texas State's next possession, but MacDonald boomed a 61-yard punt to pin Southeastern back on its own four-yard line.
The Lions wouldn't remain in the shadow of their own goalposts for long, as Babin hit Ross for a 67-yard bomb on the first play of the drive, followed by a 20-yard screen pass to Sobalvarro to give Southeastern first-and-goal at the Texas State nine-yard line. The Bobcat defense held, however, and Southeastern had to settle for a 24-yard Turner field goal and a 19-14 lead with 4:01 remaining in the half.
Texas State responded with its own quick strike drive after the teams traded three and outs. The Bobcats needed just three plays and 50 seconds to cover 68 yards. George hit Luke with a 34-yard strike to give Texas State a 21-19 lead with just over two minutes left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, a facemask penalty on TSU senior Morgan Taylor gave Southeastern the ball near midfield with two minutes left to start the final drive of the half. Babin engineered a drive to put Southeastern in field goal position with 18 seconds left. Turner drilled a 43-yard field goal to give Southeastern a 22-21 halftime lead.
The Lions gained 316 yards in the opening half, with Babin connecting on 12-of-18 passes for 173 yards and Lucas adding 99 yards on the ground.
Southeastern will return home next Saturday and will face league foe Sam Houston State for Homecoming at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. All military personnel with valid military identification cards will be admitted for $5.
TSU - 7 14 7 17 - 45 (4-5, 3-2 SLC)
SLU - 10 12 3 6 - 31 (2-7, 1-4 SLC)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
9:19 - SLU - Lucas 2 run (Turner kick) 9-72 3:50
9:06 - TSU - Bush 80 run (Ireland kick) 1-80 0:13
0:53 - SLU - Turner 20 FG 12-34 4:02
2nd Quarter
9:19 - TSU - Zwinggi 14 run (Ireland kick) 14-76 6:34
7:53 - SLU - Lucas 30 run (Turner kick failed) 3-59 1:26
4:01 - SLU - Turner 24 FG 6-89 2:35
2:07 - TSU - Luke 34 pass from George (Ireland kick) 3-68 0:50
0:21 - SLU - Turner 43 FG 8-26 1:49
3rd Quarter
12:33 - SLU - Turner 47 FG 6-26 2:27
7:58 - TSU - Canady 10 pass from George (Ireland kick) 9-72 4:35
4th Quarter
12:12 - SLU - Turner 23 FG 8-30 3:05
9:34 - TSU - Ireland 52 FG 8-31 2:38
7:32 - SLU - Turner 47 FG 7-27 2:02
5:26 - TSU - Zwinggi 46 run (Ireland kick) 5-66 2:06
1:37 - TSU - Burton 5 run (Ireland kick) 7-36 3:49
SLU TSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 23 21
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 34-178 44-271
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 292 186
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 37-23-1 25-12-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 71-470 69-457
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 3-40 1-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 7-134 6-96
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 1-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 3-31.3 4-53.2
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards............... 10-89 6-59
Possession Time............... 28:46 31:14
Third-Down Conversions........ 4 of 13 6 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 5-5 3-3
RUSHING: TSU-Bush 20-179; Zwinggi 8-71; Burtin 2-14; Crosby 1-13, George 6-12; Team 1(-1); MacDonald 1-(-2); Canady 5-(-10). SLU-Lucas 19-130; Gilbert 9-38; Ross 1-8; Cryer 1-5; Neville 1-0; Babin 3-(-3).
PASSING: TSU-George 12-24-0-186; Bush 0-1-0-0. SLU-Babin 23-37-1-292.
RECEIVING: TSU-Luke 5-110; Thomas 2-26; Canady 2-16; Dunk 1-19; Crosby 1-11; Bush 1-4. SLU-Lucas 7-57; Wardell 4-50; Ross 3-96; Sobalvarro 3-62; Lanaux 2-13; Cryer 2-7; Gilbert 1-5; Garrett 1-2.
Attendance: 9981
