Football: Texas State Outlasts Idaho

(Sr. RB Terrance Franks, pictured, set a career high in rushing yards with 284)

BY: KARL SCHOENING, SPORTS REPORTER

@K_Scho15

In their first Sun Belt Conference game of the season, the Texas State Bobcats defeated the Idaho Vandals, 35-30, at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos Saturday night.

Idaho started the game with a methodical drive lasting just under five minutes which ended in a made 29-yard field goal.

Texas State was held scoreless in the first quarter until Terrance Franks took the ball 70 yards on a carry to open up the scoring for the Bobcats and give them a 7-3 lead after Will Johnson kicked through the extra point.

Following an interception in the end zone by Germod Williams, Terrance Franks again exploded for a big run; this time the senior running back took it 95-yards for a touchdown, while extending Texas State’s lead to 14-3.

As time was winding down in the second quarter, the Bobcats ended multiple scoreless exchanges with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Jones to tight end Bradley Miller.

Texas State took the 21-3 lead into halftime. Thanks to Franks’ explosiveness, the Bobcats only ran 17 offensive plays in the first half.

The third quarter scoring belonged to Idaho.

In a 6:15 drive that went 84-yards over 15 plays the Vandals’ Richard Montgomery carried the ball five yards to score a touchdown, narrowing the Bobcat lead to 21-10. Four series later Idaho scored again on a six-yard run from Eliijhaa Penny, making it a 21-16 ball game. The Vandals elected to go for two points after the touchdown and did not convert.

The first play of the fourth quarter took 12 seconds as Terrance Franks carried the ball for 70 yards and a touchdown, giving the Bobcats breathing room and making it a two-score game, 28-16.

The Vandals would respond on the next drive with a touchdown from freshman running back Aaron Duckworth. With 12:31 left in the game, Texas State is barely hanging  on to a 28-23 lead.

The shoot-out continued on the next series when Tyler Jones would take the ball 27 yards for a touchdown on a zone read play. After the successful Johnson PAT the Bobcats lead 35-23.

Idaho would keep up the eventful scoring fourth quarter with a 75-yard drive ending with the second touchdown of the evening from Eliijhaa Penny on a one-yard scoring rush, putting the score at 35-30.

With one chance left to try to the win the football game, Idaho passed the ball down the field only for Germod Williams to get his second interception of the game, sealing the victory for Texas State.

Terrance Franks would set a new career high in rushing yards with 284 on 15 carries. That’s nearly 19 yards a carry,

The Bobcats improve to 3-2 on the season and 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Idaho Vandals drop to 0-5 overall and are now 0-3 against Sun Belt opponents.

As a team the Bobcats had nine sacks, 4.5 coming from Michael Odiari.

Fran on close games “We’re going to have to play close, hard fought games. That’s just going to have to be our mantra.”

Fran on the up coming schedule, “We’re gonna play one game in the next 20 days. The great thing about that is we have a chance to come out of this, mentally, emotionally and physically rested. Which I think will be huge.”