SAN MARCOS, Texas – HBU held a 9-0 lead after the first quarter over an FBS foe, but Texas State scored 20 unanswered points to claim a 20-11 victory in the football season opener Saturday night at Bobcat Stadium.
True freshman quarterback
Bailey Zappe completed 21-of-34 passes for 199 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions for HBU (0-1). Senior running back
Terrance Peters rushed 12 times for 53 yards and the Huskies' lone touchdown, but did not play in the second half after leaving the game with an injury.
"I thought Bailey did a lot of good things for the first 25 minutes of the game," HBU head coach
Vic Shealy said. "When we lost
Terrance Peters to an injury, it put a lot more on his plate and Texas State was able to bring some pressure. I was impressed by how he held his composure, he threw some really good balls and I'm confident we have the right guy back there."
Freshman receiver
Dennis Houston made seven catches for 73 yards, while senior
Ethan Fry had four receptions for 62 yards.
"I really like our wide receiving corps," Shealy said. "They are athletic, play hard and really go after the ball. We definitely have a better throwing offense than we did last year and I think it showed. I'm excited about this group and what they can do this year."
Senior linebacker
Cody Moncure led the Huskies with 11 tackles, sophomore defensive end
Andre Walker made nine, including a safety, and senior linebacker
Garrett Dolan added seven stops. Junior defensive end Johnavhon Graaham recovered a fumble forced by senior safety
Taylor Thompson and sophomore safety
Nicholas Smith made an interception.
Damian Williams completed 18-of-28 passes with no touchdowns and an interception, while also rushing 13 times for 43 yards and a score for the Bobcats (1-0). Anthony Smith carried the ball seven times for 71 yards and a touchdown. Elijah King was the leading receiver for Texas State with four catches for 85 yards.
Ishmael Davis led the Bobcats with nine tackles, while A.J. Krawczyk and Bryan London each made seven. Texas State sacked Zappe five times, with two by Easy Anyama.
The Bobcats gained 155 yards on the ground, while holding the Huskies to 59 yards. HBU held the advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 31:15, while Texas State had it for 28:45. The Huskies were penalized 11 times for 113 yards and the Bobcats were called for seven penalties for 70 yards.
After Texas State turned the ball over on downs on the game's opening possession, Zappe marched HBU on a 71-yard, seven-play touchdown drive. Zappe went 5-for-5 for 68 yards, hooking up with Houston for 18 and 20 yard completions on back-to-back plays, then a 10-yard pass to
Isaiah Hall down to the 3. After being stopped at the 1, Peters punched it in for the score. The extra point was blocked as the Huskies led, 6-0, with 11:57 left.
Later in the first, the Bobcats were on the move and had a first down at the Huskies' 30, but a Williams pass was deflected by junior cornerback
Raphael Lewis and picked off by sophomore safety
Nicholas Smith. On HBU's ensuing drive, Zappe found Fry for a 30-yard completion to convert on third-and-long, then hit Fry for a 12-completion to the Texas State 34. A pass interference penalty set up HBU inside the red zone at the 19, but had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by junior kicker
Alec Chadwick to lead 9-0 with 58 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
On the Huskies' first drive in the second quarter, Zappe was sacked for a 15-yard loss, fumbled on the play and it was recovered by Texas State's Ishmael Davis at the HBU 19. The Bobcats moved the ball down to the 3-yard line, but Anthony Taylor fumbled after being hit by Thompson and Graham came up with the recovery for the Huskies.
HBU went three-and-out and Texas State took over at the HBU 49 with 7:25 to go in the half. Williams led the Bobcats down to the 8 and got on the board with James Sherman's 25-yard field goal with 4:25 on the clock. Texas State got the ball back at the HBU 46 with 2:01 remaining, then were helped by a pair of penalties. A roughing the passer penalty put the ball at the 30, then a facemask moved the ball to the 13. Williams had runs of seven and four yards, before scoring from four yards out with 43 second left to send Texas State to the locker room with a 10-9 lead.
Late in the third, Smith broke through a hole on the right side and went 48 yards for a touchdown as the Bobcats took a 17-9 lead with 2:06 remaining. Sherman added a 26-yard field goal with 13:05 to go in the game to extend Texas State's lead to 20-9.
A bad snap chased Williams 15 yards back into his endzone and Walker caught him for a safety as the Huskies trailed 20-11 with 9:03 remaining.
Late in the game, the Huskies drove down to the 2-yard line, but were turned away on fourth down with 4:37 to go.
The Huskies will have a short week as they turn around to face crosstown rival Texas Southern Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at BBVA Compass Stadium.
