COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Robert Henry Jr. rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns, but No. 19 Texas A&M pulled away in the second half for a 42-24 victory over UTSA on Saturday night in front of 107,521 fans at Kyle Field.
Henry topped the century mark on the ground for his third straight game, doing so on a 75-yard TD dash on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, which got the Roadrunners (0-1) to within four points in the third all-time meeting with the Aggies (1-0). The senior from Lumberton, Mississippi, averaged 11.1 yards on his 16 carries, coming up just one yard shy of his UTSA career high of 178 posted in the win over Temple last November. He also rushed for 168 yards against North Texas the week prior, giving him 523 yards and six TDs over that three-game stretch.
Henry’s night helped the Roadrunners tally 203 rushing yards to go with 170 through the air. Owen McCown passed for 121 while Brandon Tennison came off the bench in the fourth quarter and completed both of his pass attempts, including a 34-yard TD toss to AJ Wilson.
Defensively, Shad Banks Jr. registered seven tackles with one for a loss, while Kendrick Blackshire and Jimmy Wyrick added five stops apiece. UTSA held Texas A&M to only 108 rushing yards and 399 total.
The Aggies struck first with a special teams score. KC Concepcion fielded a punt at his own 20-yard line and raced 80 yards to the end zone midway through the opening quarter.
The Roadrunners responded with a 12-play, 56-yard drive that was capped by a 36-yard field goal from Michael Petro. Henry had a 21-yard run into Texas A&M territory to key the possession.
Texas A&M took a 14-3 lead early in the second stanza after a 24-yard touchdown pass from Marcel Reed to Mario Craver.
UTSA answered again, this time with a nine-play, 75-yard march. David Amador II had back-to-back catches of 18 and 14 yards to set up Henry for a 15-yard touchdown scamper around left end and just inside the pylon.
The Aggies went back up by two scores on their next possession, which ended with a 31-yard TD catch by Concepcion with 5:38 left to play until halftime.
UTSA had a chance to cut the deficit late in the first half, driving inside the A&M 30-yard line. However, a 43-yard field goal attempt into the wind sailed wide left, leaving the score at 21-10.
Henry paced the offense in the first half with 95 yards on 11 rushes, while Amador had three catches for 41 yards.
On the first play from scrimmage of the second half, Henry padded his rushing yardage total with his 75-yard sprint up the middle to paydirt. Petro’s extra point pulled UTSA to within 21-17.
The Aggies pushed the lead back out to two scores later in the third quarter when Reed hit Theo Melin Ohrstrom on a 1-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play.
Texas A&M stretched its advantage to 42-17 after a 22-yard touchdown catch by Craver and a 3-yard plunge by EJ Smith midway through the fourth quarter.
Tennison tossed his first career touchdown pass to Wilson down the left sideline in the final minute and Petro drilled the extra point to provide the final margin.
Reed paced the Aggies with 289 yards and four TDs through the air and 39 more yards on the ground. Craver hauled in eight passes for 122 yards and a pair of scores.
The Roadrunners will return home to host Texas State in the Battle for I-35 on Saturday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Alamodome. Fans can purchase tickets online or by calling the UTSA Ticket Office at 210-458-UTSA (8872) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday excluding holidays.
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