San Marcos, Texas – Matt West’s 5-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown helped Northern Colorado end a week of punter-related turmoil with a 14-13 victory over Texas State on Saturday night.
Jacob Carlson’s rush pushed the upback into Texas State punter Chris MacDonald, and West picked up the deflected punt and scored with only seven seconds left in the first half to give the Bears a 14-0 lead.
Northern Colorado (1-2) was playing for the first time since backup punter Mitch Cozad was accused of stabbing starter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg. Mendoza, who was treated and released from the hospital after the Monday incident, missed Saturday’s game.
Jason Hildenbrand and Michael York shared Northern Colorado’s punting duties, combining for a 28.1-yard average on nine punts.
Patrick Ealy caught a 30-yard touchdown pass to cap an 80-yard drive to start the game, but the Northern Colorado offense didn’t score again. Ealy had seven catches for 85 yards.
Texas State (1-2) scored all of its points in the third quarter, starting with James Aston’s 3-yard touchdown run. Kyle Bronson followed with field goals of 49 and 21 yards.
The Bobcats’ last scoring chance ended with an incomplete pass on a fourth- and-32 play with 50 seconds left.
Texas State’s Morris Crosby had five catches for 160 yards, including a 73-yarder from Bradley George, who threw for 275 yards on just 11 completions. The Bobcats were 18-of-36 passing for 324 yards.
Northern Colorado quarterback Dominic Breazeale passed for 168 yards, completing 17-of-27 attempts without being intercepted.
