Aggies Drop Road Bout with the Bearkats, 31-11

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (KVIA) -- NM State wrapped up a two-game road swing as they returned to Conference USA play at Bowers Stadium. The Aggies (1-3, 0-2 CUSA) fell 31-11 at the hands of the Bearkats (3-1, 1-0) who picked up their first league win of the season.

While the Aggies found their way into the end zone late in the game, the Bearkats limited the NM State offense to just 152 total yards of offense. Meanwhile, the Bearkats leaned on their rushing attack to take control of the game in the second half. In total, Sam Houston finished the night with 382 yards, including 280 rushing yards.

FIRST QUARTER

The defense opened the game with consecutive 3-and-outs to put the Aggies in a good position to gain advantage of the early momentum. Earning the first start of his Aggie career, Santino Marucci used NM States’ found Jerry Lydiatt twice for a pair of third-down conversions to help drive the offense into the Sam Houston territory. After a roughing the passer set the Aggies up at the Bearkats’ 15-yard-line, NM State would be unable to move the ball from there, however, the Aggies were able to come away with three points thanks to a kick from Abraham Montaño.

Sam Houston quickly responded with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive fueled by the legs of quarterback Hunter Watson who finished the possession with a 46-yard rushing touchdown. The Bearkats’ next possession also had the Aggies on their heels before safety Josiah Cox came away with NM State’s second interception of the season to put a halt to the drive.

Unfortunately, just three plays later, the Bearkats would takeover again as Santino Marucci was hit mid-throw which led to his pass ending in the hands of a Sam Houston defender. The Bearkats would turn this turnover into points as they pushed their way into the end zone on fourth down to cap off a 35-yard drive.

Scoring plays: Abraham Montaño 32-yard field goal; Hunter Watson 46-yard rushing touchdown

End Q1: NM State 3, Sam Houston 14

SECOND QUARTER

Sam Houston went on an extended drive that spanned eight minutes and 20 seconds to place the quarter’s first points on the board as Watson rushed in for his second touchdown of the night to put the Bearkats ahead 21-3.

With the Aggies in need of a big play, Josiah Cox delivered as he came up with his second interception of the night. However, the Bearkats would take over after just one play as they came away with their second interception of the night. Following the back-to-back turnovers, neither offense was able to generate any additional points during the final minutes of action.

Scoring plays: Hunter Watson 8-yard rushing touchdown;

End Q2: NM State 3, Sam Houston 21

THIRD QUARTER

With just over seven minutes in the third quarter, the Aggies appeared to come up with a game-changing turnover as Sone Aupiu forced a fumble that Keonte Glinton picked up and returned the ball 57 yards for a touchdown. However, after a review, the officials overturned the play and announced the runner was down by contact to take the six points off the board. This would mark the only time either side would sniff the end zone as the quarter would conclude with the Aggies behind by 17 with 15 minutes to play.

Scoring plays: None

End Q3: NM State 3, Sam Houston 21

FOURTH QUARTER

This scoring spell would come to an end less than two minutes into the fourth quarter as Sam Houston connected on a passing touchdown near the front right pylon to cap off a 13-play, 89-yard drive that spanned six minutes to extend its lead to 25 points.

The Aggies would later show some life as Santino Marucci used 12 plays to guide the Aggies 74 yards down the field. On the possession, the Aggies used a balanced attack before Marucci found a wide-open Jerry Lydiatt on the left side of the end zone. Following the score, the Aggies elected to go for two and would ultimately convert to trim the deficit to 17 points with over eight minutes remaining on the clock.

The Bearkats would later add a field goal to bring the final score to 31-11 in favor of the home side.

Scoring plays: Simeon Evans 20-yard touchdown reception; Jerry Lydiatt 3-yard touchdown reception (2 pt. attempt successful - McGowan reception; Christia Pavon 46-yard field goal

Final: NM State 11, Sam Houston 31

UP NEXT

After a two-game road stint, the Aggies will return to Aggie Memorial Stadium for a Saturday rivalry bout versus New Mexico. This will mark the 114th installment of the Rio Grande Rivalry and the Aggies will look to extend a two-game win streak over the Lobos.

This game is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans interested in attending the game click here to purchase tickets online.

For complete coverage of the NM State football program, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Football), Twitter (@NMStateFootball) and Instagram (@NMStateFB).

Noteworthy

• 7-2 all-time in CUSA play entering today
• 1-0 all-time versus SHSU entering today (0-0 on the road)
• Safety Josiah Cox came up with the first interception of his college career. This also marked the Aggies’ second interception of the year and first since Tayden Barnes in the season opener. Later, Cox would claim his second interception of the night to become the first Aggie to tally two interceptions in a game since Jaden Wright did so at Appalachian State on Oct. 7, 2017.
• Jerry Lydiatt’s touchdown reception in the fourth quarter would represent the first touchdown of his career. This also marked Santino Marucci’s first touchdown pass as an Aggie. Lydiatt finished the day with a career-high four catches for 22 yards and one touchdown.
• Freshman wideout TJ Pride paced the Aggies with five catches for 33 yards. Both were career highs for the Texas-born receiver.
• Dylan Early and Tyler Martinez shared the team lead in total tackles with eight apiece. This also marked the most in Martinez’s career.
• Marucci logged 14 pass completions to mark the most pass completions for any NM State quarterback this season.
• The Bearkats’ 102 passing yards was the fewest by any Aggie opponent this season.