Texas State wins home opener over Jackson State on record night for Bobcats

SAN MARCOS — G.J. Kinne promised to “light up the scoreboard” when he was hired by Texas State last December. It didn’t take long for him to live up to that promise, lighting up the scoreboard Saturday night to the tune of a 77-34 win over Jackson State in his first home game at Bobcat Stadium.

It was the second-most points scored in program history, and the 684 total yards also were the second-most ever.

“That’s really the standard,” Kinne said. “That’s what we strive for every time we go out to practice. Every time we go out on the field, we expect to score touchdowns on every possession. We’ve got to continue to clean up some things, but I thought this week of practice, like I said, sometimes it’s good to get punched in the mouth because you kind of figure out your deficiencies and kind of figure out where you are as a club. I thought we did that and we’ll continue to get better.”

Texas State is 2-1 to start the season for the first time since 2013, securing the win in front of the ninth-largest crowd ever at Bobcat Stadium with 24,118 in attendance.

“The fans and what we had in the stadium today was really special,” Kinne said. “The pregame, the Cat Walk, that was unbelievable. That’s why I came to Texas State: for stuff like that. We can do some special things here with that. Just really appreciative of the fans.”

Quarterback TJ Finley accounted for five of the Bobcats’ 11 touchdowns — three passing and two rushing. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 251 yards before sitting the entire second half.

“Ultimately, it comes down to us,” Finley said. “Are we going to execute or not? As you can see, when we execute, we’re very dangerous.”

Finley was one of four quarterbacks who saw snaps. Malik Hornsby played most of the second half, completing 2 of 4 passes for 34 yards and a pick, while rushing for 131 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns. CJ Rogers and PJ Hatter alternated plays on the last drive, but neither threw a pass.

Texas State needed two plays before finding the end zone on the opening drive, with running back Ismail Mahdi taking it 56 yards for a touchdown in the first minute. The Bobcats jumped out 14-0 on Finley’s first touchdown toss, a 14-yarder to Drew Donley, who finished with three catches for 83 yards.

Jackson State responded by capping an 11-play drive with a 7-yard run by quarterback Jason Brown, making it 14-6 after a blocked extra point. The Bobcats countered with a 15-yard rushing touchdown on fourth-and-inches by Jahmyl Jeter to make it 21-6 after the first quarter.

Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan scored twice in the second quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the six touchdowns by the Bobcats: a 9-yard run by Donerio Davenport, a 3-yard run and then a 6-yard run by Finley, a 27-yard pass to Ashtyn Hawkins and a 20-yarder to Kole Wilson. The Bobcats took a 56-20 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Tigers finally answered after 35 straight points by the Bobcats on a 9-yard catch by Isiah Spencer. Hornsby found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter while the Tigers scored once, cementing the final score.

Texas State defensive lineman Myron Warren had to be carted off the field after an injury. Warren, a Texas transfer, gave a thumbs-up as the cart was driving off. There were no other details given after the game, but he was released from the hospital Saturday night.

“We prayed for Myron (Warren) after,” Kinne said. “That’s where my head is at right now. Hopefully he’s going to be good. … We’ll know more, but I don’t want to say something and it not be true.”

Texas State will host Nevada on Saturday at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State football team pounds Jackson State on record night