Bobcat Football Sparks Disappointment After Tough Loss At Home

By Mark Brown
Sports Reporter
ktswsports@txstate.edu
Twitter: @KTSWSports

The Bobcats leave the stadium in shame after the strenuous 42-27 loss to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. The Bobcats are now 1-4 after a hauling bye week beforehand. True freshman Tyler Vitt, graduate transfer Keenan Brown, and junior Hutch White were some of the key contributors in game five.

The first quarter deemed a quiet one due to a lightning delay prior to kickoff and a slow start for both teams. Bobcat head coach Everett Withers was adamant about notifying the fans of the starting quarterback for game five. Vitt took snaps with the starters, therefore gaining the starting role. Junior defensive back JaShon Waddy put an end to ULL’s long drive into Bobcat territory after an athletic interception. The Ragin’ Cajuns had a quick answer by shutting down the Bobcat offense. ULL was the first team to insert points on the board after sophomore running back Trey Ragas bulldozed a one yard run into the endzone with a 7-0 lead with just under five minutes remaining.

The second quarter is when the Bobcats really began to fall off the map. The Ragin’ Cajuns effortlessly added three more touchdowns to the scoreboard with a whopping 28-0 lead prior to half. By halftime Texas State only had 110 total yards of offense while ULL racked up 340. Early in the third quarter, the Bobcat offense finally scored their first touchdown from Vitt’s 36 yard pass to wideout Jeremiah Haydel. This resulted in firing up the Bobcat defense, causing them to finally put a halt to the Cajun offense. By the time the Bobcat offense made their second drive in the third quarter, Vitt led the offense on a six play, 77 yard drive adding another seven points to the board. Bobcat Wide receiver Hutch White threw a five yard touch down pass to Vitt in a trick play. The Bobcats were down 28-13 halfway through the third.

The Cajun offense quickly retaliated when running back Elijah Mitchell barged his way through the Bobcat defense resulting in a five yard touch down run, topping the Bobcats 35-13 at the end of the third quarter. The Bobcats looked to make a miracle comeback at the start of the fourth quarter when the standout tight end Brown added a 27 yard touch down pass from Vitt. The Bobcats were now trailing 35-20. The Cajun offense attempted to put an end to the Bobcat momentum from wide receiver Ryheem Malone catching a six yard touch down pass leaked out by quarterback Andre Nunez in just a five play drive. Brown and Vitt were not stopping anytime soon especially after the 15 yard touch down pass connection between the two, ending an eight play scoring drive. The Bobcats fell short to the Ragin’ Cajuns 42-27.

Bobcat linebacker Bryan London II led the team in tackles with a total of 10 and 0.5 tackles for a loss. Linebacker Frankie Griffinwas a close runner up with nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss. Vitt had an impressive game racking up 296 passing yards on 28 completions and three touchdown passes with 0 interceptions. Brown had four receptions with 90 yards and two touchdowns followed by White’s 11 receptions for 60 yards. Vitt was also the leading rusher churning 92 yards on 17 carries followed by Caleb Twyford’s 21 yards on six carries.

The Bobcats are looking to put an end to their three game losing streak against the Georgia Southern Eagles at home. Tune in this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on KTSW 89.9.

Featured image by Tino Manor.