Texas State Bobcats Use Strong Defensive Effort to Roll Past #17-Ranked Cal-Poly at Home
SAN MARCOS, Texas—The Texas State Bobcats moved their record to 2-1 on the season Saturday evening with a 21-12 win over Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
The Bobcats gave up 268 rushing yards against a powerful nationally ranked Cal-Poly (2-1) offense but was able to come up with the big plays when they needed them. “Playing against the option is a completely different game plan for that (defensive) front. Coach Bleil and his staff did a great job. They put in extra work on Sunday. We got the little things done that it takes to be successful”, said Bobcat Head Coach Brad Wright.
Texas State led the entire way and got on the board with their first touchdown of the game when Karrington Bush took the handoff and raced 31-yards for a Bobcat touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Cal-Poly answered with a drive deep into Texas State territory but had to settle for a Jake West 32-yard field goal which cut the lead to 7-3.
West added another field goal at the 3:47 mark of the third quarter when Cal-Poly scored the first points of the second half to pull to within 7-6.
The Bobcats answered right back with a nine play 72-yard drive that was capped by a Dexter Imade 2-yard plunge into the end zone extending their lead to 14-6 with 4:29 left in the third quarter. “I was relieved to help out the defense mainly. They had been working so hard the whole game”, said Imade.
Cal-Poly’s Jordan Yocum helped the Mustangs keep things close as he rushed for 39-yards on their next possession to help lead a nine play 72-yard scoring drive that culminated in a Doug Shumay one yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed leaving the Bobcats with just a two point lead at 14-12 with 28 second left to play in the third quarter.
The Bobcat’s stretched their lead to 21-12 with 13:01 left in the game when Imade raced in from 37-yards out for his second touchdown of the game. The drive covered 73-yards on four plays and took just over two and a half minutes off the clock.
The Texas State defense would take care of business the rest of the way as they forced two punts and held Cal-Poly’s offense in check to come away with a hard fought 21-12 win.
Dexter Imade led the Bobcats in rushing with 104 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Karrington Bush rushed 14 times for 88 yards. TylerArndt passed for 123 yards on 9-of-14 passing. DaMarcus Griggs was the leading receiver with three catches for 52 yards.
Cal-Poly’s Yocum Jordan was the leading rusher in the game with 145 yards on 17 carries. Teammate Doug Shumway rushed for 88 yards on 23 carries.
Texas State will be back in action next Saturday night when they host Southern Utah with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 pm.
