Taylor Earns A Spot On AFCA’s All-America Team
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
For the second year in a row, Sam Houston State safety Darnell Taylor has been named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America team, the AFCA announced today.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best – the coaches themselves. Also, only the top 22 players in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision play receive the honor.
Taylor is a repeat AFCA All-America performer. He also is a two-time Southland Conference “Defensive Player of the Year” honoree after winning first team All-Southland honors at safety.
Taylor leads the Bearkat defense in tackles this season with 91 including 63 solos stops and two quarterback sacks. Sam Houston ranks No. 3 in the nation in rush defense, No. 14 in scoring defense and No. 15 in total defense. The Bearkats led the Southland Conference in rushing, total defense and scoring defense.
The Mesquite senior broke the school record for most solo tackles in a career with a four-year total of 228. The old record of 215 was set by former NFL New York Jet veteran linebacker Stan Blinka who was an NAIA All-America selection for Sam Houston in 1975-78.
2012 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches All-America Team
Offense
WR Aaron Mellette 6-4 220 Sr. Elon
WR Erik Lora 5-10 181 Jr. Eastern Illinois
TE Kyle Juszczyk 6-3 245 Sr. Harvard
OL Earl Watford 6-4 295 Sr. James Madison
OL Terren Jones 6-7 320 Sr. Alabama St.
C Mike Sellers 6-0 290 Jr. Citadel
OL Randy Richards 6-4 310 Sr. Missouri St.
OL Will Post 6-6 310 Sr. Eastern Washington
QB DeNarius McGhee 6-0 210 Jr. Montana St.
RB Miguel Maysonet 5-10 210 Sr. Stony Brook
RB Zach Zenner 6-0 215 So. South Dakota St.
Defense
DL Caraun Reid 6-2 305 Sr. Princeton
DL Davis Tull 6-3 230 So. Tenn.-Chattanooga
DL Brandon Thurmond 6-2 260 Sr. Ark.-Pine Bluff
DL Kenneth Boatright 6-4 253 Sr. Southern Illinois
LB Matt Evans 6-0 228 Sr. New Hampshire
LB Robert McCabe 6-2 234 Sr. Georgetown
LB Jody Owens 6-0 223 Sr. Montana St.
DB AJ Cruz 5-9 190 Sr. Brown
DB Kejuan Riley 6-1 208 Sr. Alabama St.
DB Marcus Williams 5-11 194 Jr. North Dakota St.
DB Darnell Taylor 6-0 195 Sr. Sam Houston
Cooper-Dyke’s Tigers To Face Bearkats At Johnson Coliseum
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
One of the most decorated players in women’s college and pro basketball will be on the sidelines at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum Wednesday night when the Sam Houston women play host to Texas Southern in a 6:30 p.m. non-conference contest.
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke is in her first season as head coach of the TSU women’s basketball program.
The former college and WNBA pro star was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August, 13, 2010.
Cooper-Dyke was an Olympic gold medalist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Most Valuable Player.
She was a four-year standout at Southern California, playing on back-to-back NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984.
She began her professional career overseas and played 10 seasons in Spain and Italy.
She returned to the United States in 1997 to play with the Houston Comets of the newly-formed WNBA.
She subsequently led the Comets to four consecutive WNBA championships and was named WNBA Finals MVP four times. Cooper-Dyke was voted the league’s MVP in 1997 and 1998 and was a four-time WNBA All-Star before retiring in 2000.
The young Tigers team brings a 1-6 record into Johnson Coliseum to face a Sam Houston team that stands 2-3.
The Bearkats are coming off a 78-50 victory over A&M-Commerce in the fifth annual “Pack-the-House” game that attracted a record crowd of more than 3800 fans last Friday.
Sam Houston’s senior trio of forwards Britni Martin and Sequeena Thomas and guard Chanice Smith each are averaging in double figures.
Martin leads the team with 16.6 points per game. Thomas boasts averages of 10.8 points and 12.2 rebounds.
Smith is pouring in 10.6 points per contest.
For the Tigers, 6-1 forward Gianne Fleming is scoring 10.4 points per game while 5-9 guard Brijan Turner sports a 10.2 scoring mean.
Following the Texas Southern game, the Sam Houston women will begin a five-game road swing that starts with a trip to South Alabama Saturday.
Wednesday features a special Christmas toy drive. Fans may bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation to the sixth annual M.A.S.H. (Make a Smile Happen) presented by 101.7 KSAM, 104.9 The Hits & Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant to support the Community Toy Drive.
Fritz Earns AFCA’s Highest Honor
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
WACO, TEX. — Sam Houston head coach Willie Fritz and Montana State’s Rob Ash have been named as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision Region Five “Co-Coaches of the Year” by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
Fritz guided the Bearkats to an 8-3 record and Sam Houston’s second consecutive Southland Conference championship and NCAA Division I Football Championships playoff berth. The Kats finished the regular season ranked No. 5 nationally. The back-to-back Southland titles and FCS playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012 are a school first.
In three years at Sam Houston, Fritz has guided the program to a 29-9 overall record, the most victories in any three-year period in the university’s 97 seasons of football. Fritz is a repeat winner of the AFCA Regional Coach-of-the-Year honor, receiving the award in 2011 after a 14-1 season that saw the Bearkats reach the national championship final.
Fritz and Ash, who directed Montana State to an 10-1 and the No. 3 seed in the FCS playoffs this year, will face off in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Championships Friday night in Bozeman. The game will be telecast nationally on ESPN2. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Central time.
The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association’s five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
The 2012 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2013 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, January 8.
2012 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
Football Bowl Subdivision
Region 1: Charlie Strong, University of Louisville
Region 2: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M University*
Region 3: Brian Kelly, University of Notre Dame
Region 4: Bill Snyder, Kansas State University
Region 5: Mike Riley, Oregon State University
Football Championship Subdivision
Region 1: Sean McDonnell, University of New Hampshire
Region 2: Brian Jenkins, Bethune-Cookman University &
Chuck Priore, Stony Brook University (tie)
Region 3: Dino Babers, Eastern Illinois University
Region 4: Trent Miles, Indiana State University
Region 5: Rob Ash, Montana State University &
Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State University* (tie)
Division II
Region 1: Mark Maciejewski, Shippensburg University
Region 2: Connell Maynor, Winston-Salem State University
Region 3: Lee Owens, Ashland University
Region 4: Don Carthel, West Texas A&M University
Region 5: Aaron Keen, Minnesota State University-Mankato
Division III
Region 1: Mike Cragg, Hobart College
Region 2: Tom Watts, Ohio Wesleyan University
Region 3: Pete Fredenburg, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Region 4: Larry Kehres, University of Mount Union*
Region 5: Patrick Cerroni, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
NAIA
Region 1: Bill Cronin, Georgetown College (Ky.)*
Region 2: Ted Karras, Jr., Marian University*
Region 3: Paul Troth, Missouri Valley College
Region 4: Steve Ryan, Morningside College*
Region 5: Chuck Morrell, Montana Tech
Bearkat Bowlers Takes Kat Klash Tournament
by Cheval John
HUNTSVILLE, TX-The Sam Houston State Bearkat bowling team won the second annual Track Kat Klash Bowling Tournament on Sunday.
The tournament was the third that the Bearkats have won in this season.
It was also their second time that they won the Kat Klash tournament.
“This tournament was our biggest one so far and coming off with the win is huge,” senior Michelle Secours said.
The Bearkats came into the tournament ranked at No.8 nationally.
They went 12-1 in the three-day event with wins against four nationally ranked teams.
In the final day, they defeated No.9 Valparaiso Crusaders, No.2 Arkansas State Redwolves and No.14 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks.
But it wasn’t an easy road for the Bearkats.
Trailing 2-1 in the best of seven baker style play against Valparaiso and in danger of finishing in fifth place, SHSU had to dig deep in order to even the score.
With the Crusaders finishing at 183 and the Bearkats having two more frames to go at 145, Secours and junior Kimi Davidson got back-to-back strikes in the ninth and ten frame, respectively to keep their hopes alive.
On the next roll, Davidson got the last nine pins to give the Bearkats the match at 191-183 to even the match at 2.
“We made shots when we had to,” head coach Brad Hagen said.
“When we had to make strikes, we did. Everything worked out.”
The Bearkats won the fifth match 266-209 to pull out to a 3-2 lead.
However, the Crusaders took the sixth match to even it at 3 and forcing a winner takes all match.
Both teams were neck-and-neck in the first five frames of the match.
But with the Crusaders rolling nine pins in the sixth frame, opened up the door for the Bearkats to rum away with it.
That is exactly what they did.
Freshman Anna Groce started the party with a strike in the sixth frame.
Then the flood gates opened as junior Neishka Cardona, freshman Erin Brown, Secours and Davidson each made strikes to finish off the Crusaders and move on to the semifinal round against the Redwolves.
“There was a good cynergy between the upperclassman and the underclassman,” Hagen said.
“When everybody had to make a shot, they did.”
The Bearkats eventually defeated Arkansas State 4-2 to reach the finals against the Warhawks.
UW-Whitewater took the opening match 214-163.
It seemed as if the Warhawks was going to take a 2-0 after finishing the match at 202 courtesy of two strikes in the tenth frame.
But Davidson rolled 9 pins and a spare in the the tenth frame that allowed her to get another chance to even the score for the Bearkats.
Davidson got the much needed 9 pins to win the match at 212-202 to tie it at 1.
From there, the Bearkat took advantage of their opportunities and got three straight wins against the Crusaders to win the tournament.
“We did what we needed to do and we kept the momentum going and overall it was a great weekend,” Davidson said.
“She (Kimi Davidson) come a long way,” Hagen said.
“She had a great first half which is good. … .We looking for her to do it again in the second half of the season.”
Davidson finished the day with an 211 pin average. That was second behind a 214.2 averegage by Secours.
Brown averaged a 194 while Cardona averaged a 185.8.
Though Groce had a 180.25 average, her game played an important role in the Bearkats getting their third tournament title.
“She set the tone for us and overall she did a great job,” Davidson said.
Bearkat Basketball Loses To Northern Arizona 77-60
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Flagstaff, Ariz – Despite double figure performances by Demarcus Gatlin and Terrance Motley, Sam Houston State fell 77-60 in a non-conference men’s basketball game Saturday at the Skydome.
Gatlin scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Motley added 13 points and 11 boards as Sam Houston dropped to 3-5 for the season.
Northern Arizona was led by DeWayne Russell with 22 points and Gabe Rogers with 19.
NAU stands 3-4 for the year.
Sam Houston took an early four-point lead as Aaron Harwell’s jumper put the Kats up 8-4 six minutes into the contest.
After a 12-12, Northern Arizona went on a 22-10 run to build a 14 point lead with 3:15 in the half and led 34-25 at intermission.
NAU eventually led by as many as 21 points, 57-36 at the 10:37 mark.
Erik Williams, playing in his second game of the season, added nine points for Sam Houston.
The Bearkats out-rebounded Northern Arizona 44-37, outscoring their opponents 26-20 in the paint and collecting 22 second chance points.
But Sam Houston managed only 22-of-68 from the field for 32.4 per cent.