Coach Fritz Finally Gets What He Deserves
by Cheval John
Another award has been bestowed on head coach Willie Fritz.
Fritz was named the 2012 “Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year” in the FCS level earlier today after leading the Sam Houston State Bearkats to an 11-4 record and a second consecutive NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, TX.
Fritz has received $70,000 that will go to the charities of his choice ($50,000) and scholarships for the Sam Houston State University Alumni Association because of his committment on the field and off.
Here is the article that was written last year about why he deserved to win the award.
Bearkats Falls Short In Quest For First FCS Title
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
FRISCO – Penalties and turnovers by Sam Houston State played a big role as North Dakota State earned their second consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship with a 39-13 victory over the Bearkats at FC Dallas Stadium Saturday.
The Bixon coverted the miscues in to 441 total yards as game “most valuable player” quarterback Brock Jenson totaled 159 yards total offense including 115 yards rushing and three rushing TDs.
Running back Sam Ojuri rushed 14 times for 92 yards and two more scores.
No penalty hurt more than a holding call that wiped out an apparent 37-yard third quarter run into the end zone by Timothy Flanders. The play would have given the Kats a 17-10 lead early in the third quarter.
On the next play Carlton Littlejohn intercepted a pass at the 40-yard line.
The turnover set up a 10-play 60-yard drive as Jenson scored from the one to put North Dakota State up 17-10 with 8:30 left in the period.
The Bison rolled to 29 second half points.
Sam Houston ended the day with seven penalties for 70 yards including three that gave the Bison first downs.
North Dakota State picked off four Sam Houston passes. Three of the turnovers set up scores.
The loss in the Bearkats’ second consecutive NCAA football finals appearance ended Sam Houston’s season with an 11-4 mark.
The No. 1 seed in the 2012 playoffs, North Dakota finished with a 14-1 record. With the win, the Bison join Georgia Southern (1985 & 86 and 1989 & 90), Youngstown State (1993 & 94) and Appalachian State (2005, 06 & 07) to repeat as FCS national champions.
Bearkat quarterback Brian Bell completed 19 of 33 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Timothy Flanders led SHSU on the ground with 18 carries for 46 yards.
Linebacker Darius Taylor led the Kat defense with 11 tackles including five solo stops.
In a first quarter dominated by the defenses, both teams had field goal opportunities.
Sam Houston’s Miguel Antonio was wide right on a 32-yard attempt, then the Bison’s Adam Keller was successful on a 22-yard kick to North Dakota State up 3-0.
The score with 3:49 left in the first period was set up by a 57-yard run by John Crockett to the SHSU 23.
Antonio nailed his second field goal attempt just 42 seconds into the second quarter to tie the contest 3-3.
A 26-yard Bell pass to Sincere to the Bison 49 was the big play on the 11-play, 55-yard scoring drive.
Marcus Williams 17-yard interception return set up a five-play, 72-yard touchdown drive to put North Dakota State up 10-3 with 3:09 to play before halftime.
Three big plays sparked the drive as Jenson rushed 21 yards to the Bearkat 44, Ryan Smith ran 24 to the SHSU 20 and Jenson scored from the 20.
On Jenson’s run into Sam Houston territory, the Kats lost their leading tackler, Darnell Taylor to a leg injury.
Bell’s arm powered the Bearkats to a quick nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
The junior quarterback completed six passes for 60 yards on the two minute and 36 second series.
K. J. Williams caught the final pass for a one-yard score with 33 ticks remaining in the period.
Sincere’s 30-yard diving reception at the one was the key play on the scoring march.
After Adam Keller was short on a 50-yard field goal on the half’s final play to leave the score tied 10-10 at intermission.
Driving after Jenson’s go-ahead touchdown in the third period, a Bell fourth down pass at the North Dakota 43-yard line fell incomplete,and the Bison drove 65 yards in six plays for another score.
Sam Ojuri scored from the one and a two-point conversion pass was successful as NDSU went up 25-10.
The Kat offense responded with an 11-play, 50 yard drive for a 32-yard Antonio field goal as SHSU cut the Bison margin to 25-13 with 13:20 to play in the fourth quarter.
Jenson added another one-yard touchdown after a six-play 65-yard drive as North Dakota State extended its lead with 32-13 with 10:13 to play.
Ojuri scored on an 11-yard score with six minutes left.
Bearkat Safety Earns Another National Award
by Cheval John
The awards keep piling up for SHSU’s safety Darnell Taylor.
Today, Taylor earned a spot in the 2012 Walter Camp All-America Squad.
The senior from Mesquite, TX led the team in tackles this year with 100.
He was named the Southland Conference (SLC) “Defensive Player of the Year” for the second year in a row.
Defensively, he played a critical role when the Bearkats won their second consecutive SLC title this year that allowed them to be selected for the NCAA FCS playoffs.
In the playoffs, the Bearkats went through three Big Sky Co-Champions in Cal Poly, Montana State and Eastern Washington to make it to the FCS National Championship Game in Frisco, TX for the second year in row.
It was the first time that the Bearkats have ever made consecutive appearances in the FCS playoffs and the title game.
They will have a second go-around with defending champion North Dakota State Bison on January 5 at 1 p.m eastern time on ESPN2.
Both teams played last year in the championship game with the Bison coming on top with 17-6 win.
The Walter Camp All-America squad honors players who made a significant impact for their respective teams from nine conferences and 24 institutions in the FCS.
The honor is named after Walter Camp, who is considered the “Father of American Football” because he developed the present game as we know it.
Here are the list of the Camp All-America Squad
2012 Walter Camp Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team
OFFENSE
Pos. Name, School Hgt Wgt Class Hometown
WR Erik Lora, Eastern Illinois 5-10 181 Jr. Miami, FL
WR Aaron Melette, Elon 6-2 220 Sr. Sanford, NC
TE A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State 6-4 245 Soph. Jacksonville, FL
OL Earl Watford, James Madison 6-4 295 Sr. Philadelphia, PA
OL Mike Sellers, The Citadel 6-0 290 Jr. Summerville, SC
OL Billy Turner, North Dakota State 6-6 300 Jr. Shoreview, MN
OL Chris Howley, Maine 6-3 295 Sr. Runnemede, NJ
C Corey Howard, Central Arkansas 6-1 290 Sr. Wichita Falls, TX
QB Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion 6-1 295 Soph. Atlanta, GA
RB Miguel Maysonet, Stony Brook 5-10 205 Sr. Riverhead, NY
RB Zach Zenner, South Dakota State 6-0 215 Soph. Eagan, MN
PK Patrick Murray, Fordham 5-7 182 Sr. Mahwah, NJ
DEFENSE
Pos. Name, School Hgt Wgt Class Hometown
DL Caleb Schreibeis, Montana State 6-3 252 Sr. Billings, MT
DL Colton Underwood, Illinois State 6-4 255 Jr. Washington, IL
DL Brandon Thurmond, Arkansas Pine Bluff 6-2 260 Sr. Augusta, GA
DL Davis Tull, UT-Chattanooga 6-3 230 Soph. Knoxville, TN
DL Joseph LeBeau, Jackson State 6-1 245 Sr. New Orleans, LA
LB Jeremy Kimbrough, Appalachian State 5-11 240 Sr. Decatur, GA
LB Matt Evans, New Hampshire # 6-0 228 Sr. Hanover, MA
LB Stephon Robertson, James Madison 5-11 225 Jr. Alexandria, VA
DB Marcus Williams, North Dakota State 5-11 194 Jr. Minneapolis, MN
DB Darnell Taylor, Sam Houston 6-0 195 Sr. Mesquite, TX
DB Cooper Taylor, Richmond 6-5 235 Sr. Atlanta, GA
DB Jaquiski Tartt, Samford 6-1 220 Soph. Mobile, AL
P Andy Wilder, Northern Arizona 6-3 205 Jr. Scottsdale, AZ
KR Jerodis Williams, Furman 5-11 208 Sr. Prattville, AL
Bearkats Grounded The Eagles To Make A Return To FCS Title Game
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Cheney, Wash. – For the second year in a row, Sam Houston State and North Dakota State will meet in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game in Frisco, Texas, thanks to a 45-42 Bearkat victory over No. 2 seed Eastern Washington at Roos Field Saturday.
Sam Houston led 35-0 at halftime, but quarterback Vernon Adams engineered an Eagle comeback as the Bearkats had to run out the clock on their final possession to earn a win by the margin of Miquel Antonio’s 42-yard field goal.
Eastern Washington drove to the Sam Houston 15-yard line but was forced to settle for a field goal attempt.
Jimmy Pavel missed from 32 yards just 39 seconds into the second period.
Three plays later, on a third-and-two, Bell rolled left, kept on the quarterback option and dashed downed the left sideline for a 72-yard touchdown with 12:56 to play in the half.
The run was Bell’s longest as a Bearkat and the longest TD run for Sam Houston this season. His previously long was a 54-yard score in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals against Montana State.
Six minutes later Keshawn Hill took a pitch from Sincere around left end and dashed 15 yards into the end zone to put the Kats up 28-0 with 6:44 before intermission.
The drive covered 48 yards in eight plays.
Shaw broke up a pass attempt on fourth down to give the ball to the Kats at the EWU 45.
The Kats needed only three plays to score again, this time on a six-yard run by Sincere with 3:48 remaining in the second quarter.
Flanders’ 39-yard run to the six on the second play of the drive set up the score.
Sam Houston went into the locker room with a 35-0 lead.
A different East Washington team came out in the third quarter.
First, Vernon Adams hit Greg Herd for a 31-yard touchdown to complete a seven play 79-yard drive.
Then Adams found Brandon Kaufman for a 22-yard score ending a six-play, 55-yard scoring march.
A successful onsides kick set up a third TD pass by Adams, this time for 43 yards to Aston Clark to make the score 35-21 with 1:05 in the period.
Kaufman was the target for a 43-yard score with 13:08 to go in the fourth and, in just 15 minutes, EWU had cut the lead to 35-28 with 9:48 to play.
Finally, the Bearkat offense got its mojo back, taking two minutes and 19 seconds to go 86 yards in five plays for a four-yard scoring pass from Bell to Shane Young to put them with a two touchdown lead at 42-28.
A 49-yard run by Flanders to the EWU three-yard line was the key play in the drive.
Adams picked up where he had left off, finding Kaufman for a 60-yard gain to the SHSU seven, then two plays later hitting Nicholas Edwards for a four-yard touchdown.
The Eagles were back within a touchdown 42-35 with 9:48 to play.
Miguel Antonio increased the Bearkats’ margin to 45-35 with a 42-yard field goal with 5:33 remaining.
Sam Houston drove 36 yards in eight plays.
Adams again struck, hitting Kaufman for a 33-yard touchdown as the margin now was 45-42 with 3:04 to play.
But the Bearkats stood their ground and made the plays when it was needed with Flanders’ key first down conversion run on 3 and 3 to ice the game.
They will now look to finish what they started as they face the No. 1 ranked and defending national champion NDSU Bison on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 12 noon at FC Dallas Stadium.
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.