Bearkats Edges Cardinals 14-3
Courtesy: Brandon K. Scott
/SHSU Athletics
Sam Houston State opened Southland Conference action with a 14-3 win against Lamar on Saturday.
Senior quarterback Brian Bell ran for a touchdown in the second quarter and threw for another in the third quarter for the game’s only touchdowns.
Lamar made only two trips to the red zone before a two-hour lightning delay stalled action with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.
A 47-yard field goal by Alex Ball was the Cardinals’ only score.
Lamar’s defense held all-time Southland Conference leading rusher Timothy Flanders to 83 yards on 28 carries, his lowest output since the Kats season opener against Houston Baptist.
The SHSU defense held Lamar to just five yards of total offense in the third quarter.
After a scoreless first quarter, Bell ran for a 45-yard touchdown with 7:53 to go in the half.
Ball connected on the field goal with 10 seconds to spare until halftime.
In the third quarter, Bell found sophomore wide receiver Stephen Williams in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown toss.
The Bearkats improved to 5-1, 1-0 in conference play.
SHSU holds the longest active home winning streak at 19.
The last time SHSU dropped a game at Bowers Stadium was against McNeese State in 2010.
No.5 Bearkats Holds Off No.12 Mustangs 18-16
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Huntsville, TX – Miguel Antonio kicked field goals of 20, 32 and 26 yards and running back Timothy Flanders rushed 17 times for 101 yards as No. 5 Sam Houston State held off No. 12 Cal Poly for an 18-16 victory in an NCAA Division I Football Championships second round game Saturday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
Quarterback Andre Broadous rushed for 54 yards and passed for 113 more to lead Cal Poly.
The Mustangs cut the margin to two points on a 50-yard halfback reserve pass by Ryan Taylor to Willie Tucker with 1:34 to play.
But Sam Houston’s Trey Diller recovered the on sides kick attempt and the Bearkats ran out the clock.
Keshawn Hill scored the game’s only touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Brian Bell with 0:31 left in the third quarter to end a nine-play, 83-yard drive.
After trailing 8-0 at halftime after two Antonio field goals and a safety on a punt block by Vincent Dotson, Cal Poly scored on fields goals of 23 and 27 by Bobby Zalud at the 9:34 and 3:88 mark in the third.
Sam Houston, which reached the finals of the FCS playoffs last year, advances to the quarterfinals and will face No.3 Montana State Bobcats in Bozeman on Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
Bearkats-Aggies Face Off Today At Kyle Field
by Cheval John
Everyone have been looking forward to the matchup between Sam Houston State Bearkats and Texas A&M Aggies since it was announced earlier this year.
Bearkats fans were in high gear since they finished at 14-1 as NCAA FCS finalist while Aggies fans were excited to be playing their first season in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Now the day is here when the Bearkats (8-2 overall, 6-1 Southland Conference) square off against the Aggies (8-2 overall, 5-2 SEC) today at Kyle Field in College Station at 2:30 p.m.
The game is sold out to capacity and is available on Fox Sports Southwest via Pay Per View in the state of Texas and on ESPN Game Plan nationwide.
Here are some players to keep an eye on in this game:
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
Johnny “Football” Manziel has played lights out for the Aggies this season.
The freshman quarterback has passed for 2,780 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 1,014 yards and 15 touchdowns.
He’s only the second freshman to ever pass for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards in NCAA FBS history (Brad Smith of Missouri did this in 2002).
He was the arquitect behind A&M’s 29-24 “upset” of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, when he passed for 294 yards and 2 scores.
Many are looking for him to have a huge day against the Bearkats.
Ryan Swope, Texas A&M
Swope is the go-to guy for this A&M offense.
The senior receiver has 236 catches for 2,956 yards and 22 touchdowns in career for the Aggies.
He needs 136 yards to break A&M’s school record for reception yards.
He also has 13 career 100 yards receiving which is also a school record.
Look for him to have a big day.
Deamontre Moore, Texas A&M
Moore has been the anchor for the A&M defense.
The junior defensive lineman leads the team in tackles and is ranked No.2 in the nation in tackles for losses (2.00 per game) and averages 1.5 sacks per game.
Brian Bell, SHSU
Bell is not flashy as Manziel, but has been managed the Bearkat offense efficiently.
The junior is 27-6 as a starter and has passed for 45 touchdowns, the most in SHSU history.
He has a 5,333 career passing yards which is second in SHSU.
Timothy Flanders, SHSU
What more can you say about Flanders.
He has made his name known in the nation and at SHSU.
The junior All-American and Walter Payton Award candidate has twenty-two 100 yard games and is the all-time leading rusher for SHSU (3,679). That mark also ranks him at No.6 in the Southland Conference.
He scored 51 career rushing touchdowns which puts him at No.2 in the SLC.
The Bearkat defense
The Bearkat defense has been been solid throughout the season.
They are ranked No.3 in the nation in rushing defense (68.3 per game) and No.5 in total defense (283.2 per game).
During their seven-game winning streak, they have held opponents to an average 255.4 yard and allowed only 83 total points.
The prediction:
Many analyst in major media from CBS Sports to ESPN have already predicted an Aggie win because of the opponent that A&M faces today.
Me, I am not going to do that.
Instead, I am going to predict that this game will be closer than everyone thinks because SHSU is no chump team.
Many forget that the Bearkats had an 20-10 lead at halftime against Baylor earlier in the season and kept it close at 24-23 in the fourth quarter before they eventually lost 48-23.
Though A&M have an all-time record of 10-0-1 against the Bearkats, anything can happen.
This will be a game that both Bearkat fans and Aggie fans will never forget.
No.3 Kats Clinched Second Straight SLC Title
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Natchitoches, Louisiana-Timothy Flanders, Brian Bell and Trey Diller combined to lead the offense and the Bearkat defense remained tough as well as Sam Houston State rolled to a 52-17 victory over Northwestern State Saturday.
The win gives Sam Houston State their second consecutive Southland Conference regular season football championship, a feat unequaled in the Bearkats’ 26 seasons in the league.
Sam Houston and Central Arkansas stand as co-champions, both with 6-1 league records.
The No. 3 ranked Bearkats upped their season record to 8-2.
Flanders produced the 22nd 100-yard rushing performance of his career, carrying 17 times for 138 yards including scoring runs of 56 and 4 yards.
Bell completed 17 of 23 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns.
Diller caught seven of those passes for 119 yards and a score.
The Kat defense allowed Northwestern State only 141 total yards and 42 on the ground.
The Sam Houston offense rolled up 509 total yards (253 rushing and 256 passing).
The championship marks Sam Houston’s fifth Southland football title.
The Bearkats also won championships in 1991, 2001, 2004 and 2011.
After being forced to punt on their first two possessions, the Bearkats got rolling on a seven play 93-yard drive with Flanders scoring on a 56-run through the right side at the 3:07 mark in the first quarter.
The run marked the ninth time in his career Flanders has scored a touchdown of more than 50 yards.
Ed Eagan returned the kickoff 82 yards to tie the game 7-7 ten seconds later.
Miguel Antonio gave the Bearkats a 10-7 lead with just 21 seconds into the second quarter after a 10-play 55-yard drive.
Sam Houston reached the five-yard line on the drive but was moved back to the 20-yard line by a personal foul penalty.
A quarterback sack by Robert Shaw forced Northwestern State to punt from its end zone against the wind on the next Demon possession.
On the first play after the punt, Bell found tight end T. J. Jones open over the middle for a 50-yard touchdown as SHSU went up 17-7 with 12:08 to play in the half.
The Bearkat defense came up with the next score.
J. T. Cleveland forced a fumble that pinned the Demons on their own one.
On third down, Bookie Sneed intercepted a Brad Henderson pass and returned the pick 11 yards for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead 7:54 before intermission.
The interception was Sneed’s fourth of the year and his second for a touchdown.
The junior cornerback now has eight career interceptions, tying him for eighth in the all-time SHSU interception standings.
Bell threw 38-yards to Trey Dillar and 10-yards to Chance Nelson for a pair of touchdowns in the final 2:57 of the first half.
The pass to Diller completed a seven play 68-yard drive and Nelson’s catch ended a 10 play 61-yard march.
John Shaughnessy kicked a 27-yard field goal on the last play to make the score at intermission 38-10.
Sam Houston opened the second half with a 14-play 80-yard scoring drive capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by Flanders.
The Bearkats finish their regular season schedule next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in College Station against Texas A&M.
No.5 Bearkats Dismantled Lions 70-0
by Cheval John
Whether it was rain or shine, the Sam Houston State Bearkat football team came ready to play.
The Bearkats totaled 575 yards of offense in the 70-0 beat down of Southeastern Louisiana Lions in their last regular season home game at Bowers Stadium.
The win increased their streak at Bowers to 14 games since 2010 and have kept them in the hunt for a share of the Southland Conference (SLC) title.
The majority of those yards came on the run, especially in the second half when they ran for 275 yards and scored 28 points without attempting a pass.
The massacre began when running back Tim Flanders ran for a 14-yard touchdown that capped a 7-play, 48-yard drive for a 7-0 lead.
That was only the beginning.
After a three and out by the Lions, the Bearkats (5-1 SLC, 7-2 overall) started their second drive with a 2-yard run by utility man Richard Sincere.
Later, junior quarterback Brian Bell threw it up the middle and wide receiver Chance Nelson dove and made the catch for a 23-yard gain for a first down.
A few plays later, Sincere ran with the blockers and cut to the left for an 8-yard touchdown that increased the lead to 14-0.
The Lions (3-2 SLC play, 3-6 overall) had their best chance of the day to score when they drove it down the field to the Bearkat 21 yard line.
After a five-yard penalty that moved them back to the 26, defensive back Robert Shaw blocked the potential field goal and defensive back Kenneth Jenkins recovered it and took it 72-yards for the touchdown that increased the lead to 21-0.
Jarrett Brown’s interception on the Lions 34 put the Bearkats in great field position.
It seemed as if the Bearkats were going to settle for a field goal as they were only moved 7-yards on three plays.
But an offside penalty on the Lions on 4 and 3 allowed the drive to stay alive and a few plays later, junior running back Ryan Wilson went up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown that increased the lead to 28-0.
The Bearkats added two more scores on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Bell to Nelson and a 23-yard pass from Bell to wide receiver Torrance Williams to increase the lead to 42-0 by halftime.
After an hour lighting/rain delay, the Bearkats got back to it as Flanders found a seam and exploded for 71-yards for the score that made it 49-0.
They added three more scores on a touchdown run by freshman quarterback Chris Grett and two TD runs by sophomore running back Keyshawn Hill (8, 55) that sealed the deal at 70-0.
Flanders finished with 146-yards and two scores on 9 carries while Bell went 8 of 9 for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Hill totaled 132 yards and two scores on 15 carries.
The Bearkats finishes SLC play on Saturday when they go on the road against Northwestern State Demons.
If the Bearkats win against the Demons, they will have a share of the SLC title with Central Arkansas.
The start time for the game was moved to 3 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. due to the fact that it will be televised on the Southland Conference Television Network.