UCA Upsets No.3 SHSU 24-20
This article is courtesy of Paul Ridings, Associate Athletic Director for Sam Houston State Bearkat athletics.
Conway, Ark. – Quarterback Wyrick Smothers directed Central Arkansas on touchdown drives of 72 and 75 yards in the final five minutes as the Bears upset No. 3 ranked Sam Houston State Saturday afternoon at Estes Stadium.
SHSU had taken a 20-10 lead with 5:24 to play with drives for a touchdown and field goals after UCA tied the contest 10-10 late in the third quarter.
Smothers found Dominique Croom in the left corner of the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown for the winning score with 57 seconds remaining.
In the final minute, the Bearkats drove to the UCA 24 before the Bears intercepted a pass in the end zone on the contest’s final play.
Sam Houston dropped to 1-2 for the season while Central Arkansas upped its record to 3-1. The contest was the Southland Conference opener for both squads.
Following a loss to Baylor last week, the result marks the first time SHSU has lost two consecutive games since 2010. The Kats went 14-1 in 2011, reaching the NCAA Division I national championship game.
Smothers completed 24 of 41 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. UCA rolled up 413 yards total offense while Sam Houston totaled 470.
The end of the contest erased another strong performance by Timothy Flanders and Richard Sincere. Flanders rushed 22 times for 125 yards including TD runs of 39 and 11 yards. Sincere rushed for 53 yards including two big runs to set up scores for the Bearkets.
The 100-yard performance by Flanders is the 17th 100-yard game of his career. The two scores move him up to No. 5 in Southland Conference career rushing touchdowns with 39.
Sam Houston scored on its opening drive of the game after a UCA punt. Miguel Antonio put the Kats up 3-0 with 8:21 to play in the first quarter after an 11-play 48-yard drive.
After an exchange of punts, SHSU took two plays to score its first touchdown. Brandon Willkerson rushed 33 yards to the UCA 39 on a reserve. Then Flanders took a pitch from Richard Sincere down the left sideline for a 39-yard score. SHSU led 10-0 with 1:41 to play in the opening quarter.
Sam Houston had another scoring opportunity early in the second quarter after an interception by J. T. Cleveland. But Antonio missed a 24-yard field goal attempt.
Wynrick Smothers put UCA on the board with a 30-yard scoring pass to Terence Bobo, cutting the lead to 10-7 with 10:05 to play in the half.
UCA had three chances to score its second TD late in the third quarter, but the Bearkat defense held and forced the Bears to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Eddie Camara with 2:03 remaining in the third to tie the game 10-10.
Sam Houston answered with an 11-play 80-yard drive to go back in front 17-10. Bell hit Chance Nelson for a 20-yard gain to the UCA 29 and Richard Sincere dashed 19 yards around left end to set up the score. Flanders picked up his second TD of the day with an 11-yard run.
The defense forced a punt and the Kat offense took 5:24 off the clock and added three more points with a 12-play 66-yard drive that ended with Antonio’s 26-yard field goal.
UCA bounced back with an eight-play 75-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard run up the middle by Smothers to cut the margin back to a field goal, 20-17, with 3:18 to go.
SHSU’s Version Of “Call Me Maybe” Goes Viral
by Cheval John
Carly Rae Jespen’s single “Call Me Maybe” has been a huge hit since it was released in November of 2011.
The catchy tune has been remade and posted on YouTube by professional organizations ranging from the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team.
Now, Sam Houston State University can be added to that list as their remade ‘video’ was released on YouTube on Wednesday and has over 27,000 views.
I caught up with Brandon Cooper, Associate Director for Student Activities to get his take on the video and find out how it all came together.
Vallano Media: The video has took off like wildfire. How do you feel about that?
Brandon Cooper: We are very excited about the publicity and the views that the video has gotten. Really, it was made to promote “The Bearkat Fanatic Contest.”
The contest was the idea of Frank Parker, Vice President for Student Services.”
How it works is students will submit a Bearkat spirited photo with a caption to us and we decide who is the top fourteen out of that group.
Those fourteen that are chosen will get a ticket to the student suite at Reliant Stadium in Houston for the “Battle of The Piney Woods” game between SHSU and Stephen F. Austin State University on October 6.
VM: Who came up with the idea of the video?
BC: Debbie Nichols, assistant to Mr. Parker, was the person who came up with the idea.
She saw the “Call Me Maybe” video and believed that it was the song to be replicated from for the video.
She contacted me and I agreed with the idea.
From there, we got Patric Sleightholm, of Sleightholm Productions, to participate in the project.
We were the directors. He shot and edit the scenes.
After it was finished, we put it out there and the rest is history.
VM: What was Mr. Sleightholm’s take on it?
BC: Mr. Sleightholm is an alumnus of SHSU.
We have hired him quite a bit in the past to do promo videos for us.
When we approached him with this idea, he was excited about the project.
He did a really great job.
VM: How did you get the Bearkat football team to participate?
BC: We contacted Bobby Williams, director of athletics to see if they would be interested to participate in the video.
He was able to get them on board.
They were eager to participate.
We shot their scene on Labor Day after they finished taking their team photos.
VM: Do you think the video will lead into the promotion for the “Battle of the Piney Woods?”
BC: Yes, I really believe that it will.
It has taken on a life of it’s own and it is great for SHSU as a whole.
Bearkat Football Team Are No.3 In FCS Rankings
The Sam Houston State Bearkats are No. 3 in the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) polls after the 48-23 loss to the Baylor Bears.
It’s their 15 straight week at being in the top 25 in FCS polls and the longest streak in the history of the program.
The streak began when they defeating No.18 University of Central Arkansas (UCA) Bears 31-10 in the third week of the 2011 season and slowly risen to No.1 in the nation after going 11-0.
They went on to defeat three nationally ranked teams in the playoffs as the No.1 seed before losing to North Dakota State Bison in the national championship game in Frisco and finished the year at No.2.
The Bearkats next opponent is against UCA in Conway, Arkansas at 3 p.m.
The game is their Southland Conference opener and will be televised on the Southland Conference Television Network.
Baylor Avoids Upset Against Sam Houston
by Cheval John
It was a tail of two halves for the Sam Houston State Bearkat football team.
The Bearkats were in control in the first half when they held the Bears to only a field goal in their first three possessions.
On the other hand, the Bearkats scored 6 points on a pair of field goals by Miguel Antonio in their first three possessions to lead 6-3.
The Bears scored their first touchdown when quarterback Nick Florence connected with wide receiver Terrance Williams for 18 yards to lead it 10-3.
The Bearkats finally scored their first touchdown on a 1 yard run by quarterback Brian Bell to lead it 10-6.
The touchdown run capped off a 7 play, 75 yard drive by the Bearkats that had a pass interference penalty on the Bears.
They scored in their next possession when Brian Bell connected with running back Tim Flanders for a 26 yard touchdown that extended the lead to 20-10.
It seemed as if they were going to pull off a major upset at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.
But the Bears came out in the second half and outscored the Bearkats 38-3, behind a gutsy second half performance by Florence to win 48-23 and improve to 2-0.
Though Florence went 24 of 41 for 312 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, he made plays when it was needed.
With the Bears (2-0) leading 31-23, Florence ran for 60 yards all the way to the 3 yard line that set up the score to extend the lead to 38-23 and eventually put the game out of reach.
The Bears finished with 544 yards of total offense while the Bearkats (1-1) produce 411 yards, with Bell passing for 285 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
Flanders finished with 84 yards on 16 carries.
Honesty Is The Best Policy
by Cheval John
Some media pundits would say ‘if you’re not cheating, you are not trying.’
Many can attest that soccer is the poster child for that statement.
The casual fan sees the majority of players diving or faking an injury in order to get a call from the referee.
They would immediately have a stereotypical view of the sport because of that.
I saw the opposite of that in a match between Everton F.C. and Newcastle United on Monday.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the 64th minute, Everton’s Victor Anichebe was going for the ball on a breakaway to try to score the go-ahead goal.
However, Newcastle’s goalkeeper Steve Harper came out of his box to clear the ball and in the process was clipped by Anichebe.
The referee signaled a foul and it seemed like Anichebe was going to be penalized.
In an instant, Harper told the referee that Anichebe was for the ball and not for him.
Normally in that circumstance, a player would receive a yellow card.
If the foul was really severe, then a red card would be issued and the player would be ejected from the match.
Harper had the opportunity to get Anichebe sent off because the Nigerian forward was playing very well late in the competition.
But he decided to be honest and it kept Anichebe in the game.
That shows that they are some people who are willing to play the right way and do what is right no matter what.
Many would focus on the outcome of the game or the missed calls by the referees.
For me, Harper’s action was the shining moment of the match.
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