SAN MARCOS, Texas — Layne Hatcher completed 26 of 36 passes for 281 yards and two first-half touchdowns, Tory Spears returned an interception 93 yards for a TD and Texas State never trailed Saturday night in the Bobcat’s 36-24 win over Appalachian State.
Lincoln Pare ran for a 2-yard touchdown that gave Texas State (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) a 7-0 lead with 4:54 left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers (3-3, 1-2) went three-and-out on the ensuing drive before Hatcher — who threw an interception in the end zone on first-and-goal from the 4 to end the game’s opening drive — sandwiched a 2-yard TD pass to Charles Brown and a 23-yard scoring strike to Ashtyn Hawkins around a 33-yard field goal by Seth Keller to give the Bobcats a 24-0 lead with 40 seconds left in the first half.
The Mountaineers used an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Texas State and a 24-yard pass from Chase Brice to Dashaun Davis on third-and-7 that set up a 30-yard field goal by Michael Hughes as time expired in the first half. Appalachian State got the ball to open the third quarter and Brice completed 5 of 6 passes — including a 23-yarder to Davis on third-and-4 — to move deep into Bobcats territory before Spears’ pick-6 gave Texas State a 30-3 lead.
Brice finished 40-of-53 passing for 395 yards and three second-half touchdowns for Appalachian State.
