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New Mexico State Records A Tough 30-24 Road Win Against The Sam Houston State Bearkats

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Football

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Playing in their fourth consecutive contest in front of a nationally televised audience, NM State took to the road for a battle with Sam Houston.

Behind a dominant performance out of the backfield from James Jones and a productive day for senior receiver AJ Williams III, the Aggies defeated the Bearkats 30-24, earning their first road victory of the season while improving to 2-1 in CUSA contests.

Following a penalty that stymied the Aggies' opening drive, Sam Houston broke through to block NM State's first punt of the night. The ball then trickled into the end zone where a Bearkat defender jumped on the ball to score the game's first touchdown, putting the Aggies down 7-0 early in the contest.

In the second quarter, Sam Houston quarterback Landyn Locke threw a pass that landed in the hands of Josiah Charles, who returned the ball back deep into the Aggie red zone. This set up James Jones to punch in a one-yard score and tie the contest 7-7 with 10:07 left in the second stanza.

Following a fourth down stop by the NM State defense, the Aggie offense returned to the field with less than one minute to go in the first half. Adam Damante used precision to move the Aggies down the field and into the end zone in just two plays. Damante would close out the half with a touchdown pass to AJ Williams III who used his 6-foot-4 frame to high-point the ball and give the Aggies a 14-10 lead entering the break.

In the first half, the Aggie defense was dominant as it forced three three-and-outs, came away with an interception and allowed just 13 yards of total offense (17 passing yards, -4 rushing yards).
 
Out of the halftime break, Sam Houston put points on the board as Locke found Tim Burns Jr. for an 81-yard passing TD on the Bearkats' opening possession. NM State quickly responded as a 31-yard rush for James Jones put the running back over 100 yards for the night and set the Aggies up in the red zone. Six plays later, Adam Damante would find AJ Williams III for his second touchdown catch of the night. The touchdown put the Aggies back in front 21-17 with 10:35 remaining in the quarter.
 
Later in the third period, Kyah Francone split the uprights from 25 yards out to put the Aggies ahead 24-17.
 
A blown play on the ensuing Bearkat possession saw senior defensive tackle Kaian Roberts-Day capitalize on the error, jumping on the ball and immediately recovering it for the Aggies' second turnover of Wednesday night. Looking to increase the advantage with momentum on their side, the next play saw NM State run a double pass to the left side of the field where Adam Damante calmly found AJ Williams III for a 20-yard completion to set the offense up with a first-and-goal opportunity. TJ Washington Jr. then powered through two Bearkat defenders and into the end zone to put NM State ahead 30-17 with 33 ticks remaining in the third.
 
After the Aggies hung 16 unanswered points, the Bearkats would respond late in the fourth quarter, punctuating an eight-play, 32 yard drive with a one-yard scamper into the end zone, trimming the NM State lead to just six (30-24) with 4:00 minutes left on the game clock. 
 
As they had all night, the Aggies leaned on the ground game to seal the Weekday CUSA victory, running the ball six consecutive times. Facing 4th-and 2, James Jones closed out a 27 carry, 178 yard night with a run up the middle that inched just beyond the sticks to mark a first down and secure the six-point NM State victory. 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • With the win, NM State improves to 3-1 all-time against Sam Houston - tallying their first ever victory in Huntsville.
  • The Aggies improve to 8-5 in Weekday CUSA contests, and 3-4 in weekday road games. This also marks the team's first road Weekday CUSA win since 2023.
  • With Josiah Charles' second quarter interception and a timely Kaian Roberts-Day fumble recovery, the NM State defense has now forced a turnover in 22 of their last 23 games. 
  • Finishing with 178 yards and a touchdown, running back James Jones eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards in his NCAA career (FBS and FCS only). This also became the highest single-game total for an Aggie running back since Jason Huntley ran for 191 yards and three scores against UTEP on Nov. 23, 2019.
  • Entering Wednesday night with 3.0 sacks in his past two games, defensive end Gabe Peterson got to Sam Houston quarterback Landyn Locke in the third quarter. This was one of two sacks on the day from the Crimson & White. The Aggies have now recorded 17 sacks on the season, good for second most in Conference USA.
  • Adam Damante opened the game 8-for-8 and ultimately ended 19-for-29 with 160 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. This marks the Aggies' fourth win with Damante as the starting quarterback over the last two seasons.
  • For the third time this season, the Aggies surpassed 200 yards rushing as a team (203) - improving to 3-0 in such contests.
  • Bringing in a pair of touchdown catches on Wednesday night, AJ Williams III became the second Aggie to tally two receiving touchdowns in a game this season. 
  • Sam Houston finished with just 11 yards on 20 carries, the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Aggies in a single game since Oct. 4, 2008, when they held Alcorn State to -13 yards.
  • Closing out a 2-play, 27-yard drive with a 7-yard rush TD, TJ Washington Jr. posted his third touchdown of the season and first since punching in two scores in the Aggies' season opener against Mercyhurst.