Three Bearkats Clawed Their Way To AP All-America Squad
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Safety Darnell Taylor, running back Timothy Flanders and defensive end Andrew Weaver have been named to the 2012 Associated Press NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-America squad.
Taylor is a first team selection while Flanders and Weaver both were named to the AP third team.
Taylor, a safety from Mesquite, has totaled 94 tackles, including 64 solos, two sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in Sam Houston State’s 13 games.
The Bearkats have reached the national semifinals for the second consecutive season, winning the Southland Conference with a 6-1 league mark and earning a number 5 national ranking with a 10-3 overall record.
Flanders, junior running back from Midwest City, Okla., is the Southland Conference “Player of the Year” for the second consecutive season.
He has been the Southland’s leading rusher the past two years. The junior stands as Sam Houston’s all-time rushing leader with 705 carries for 3,950 yards and 52 touchdowns. He has produced 24 100-yard rushing performances in his career, a total that includes a school record nine 100-yard games this year.
Weaver, junior from Waco High School, has been a key figure in the Bearkat squad that ranked No. 7 nationally in rush defense and No. 9 in total defense. Sam Houston led the Southland Conference in 2012 in rushing, scoring and total defense.
He has totaled 24 tackles including six for losses and four quarterback sacks.
AP FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Taylor Heinicke, sophomore, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Old Dominion.
Running backs — Miguel Maysonet, senior, 5-10, 205, Stony Brook; Eric Breitenstein, senior, 5-11, 230, Wofford.
Offensive linemen — Earl Watford, senior, 6-4, 290, James Madison; Mike Sellers, junior, 6-0, 295, The Citadel; Will Post, senior, 6-6, 295, Eastern Washington; Bill Turner, junior, 6-6, 300, North Dakota State; Roger Gaines, senior, 6-6, 320, Tennessee State.
Tight end — Kyle Juszczyk, senior, 6-3, 240, Harvard.
Receivers — Aaron Mellett, senior, 6-4, 220, Elon; Erik Lora, 5-10, 181, junior, Eastern Illinois.
All-purpose player — Walter Powell, junior, 6-0, 180, Murray State.
Kicker — Patrick Murray, senior, 5-7, 160, Fordham.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Caleb Schreibeis, senior, 6-3, 252, Montana State; Colton Underwood, junior, 6-4, 255, Illinois State; Brent Russell, senior, 6-2, 300, Georgia Southern; Brandon Thurmond, senior, 6-2, 260, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Linebackers — Matt Evans, senior, 6-0, 228, New Hampshire; Jody Owens, senior, 6-0, 223, Montana State; Robert McCabe, senior, 6-2, 230, Georgetown.
Defensive backs — Darnell Taylor, senior, 6-0, 195, Sam Houston State; Marcus Williams, junior, 5-11, 194, North Dakota State; Jaquiski Tartt, sophomore, 6-1, 220, Samford; Cooper Taylor, senior, 6-5, 235, Richmond.
Punter — Sam Martin, senior, 6-1, 205, Appalachian State.
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Casey Brockman, senior, Murray State.
Running backs — Zach Zenner, sophomore, South Dakota State; Deonte Williams, senior, Cal Poly.
Linemen — Terren Jones, senior, Alabama State; Michael Bamiro, junior, Stony Brook; Bryan Witzmann, junior, South Dakota State; J.C. Tretter, senior, Cornell; Corey Howard, senior, Central Arkansas.
Tight end — A.C. Leonard, sophomore, Tennessee State.
Receivers — Jordan Harris, junior, Bryant; Brandon Kaufman, junior, Eastern Washington.
All-purpose player — Dominic Dunn, senior, Northern Colorado.
Kicker — Colton Cook, junior, Southern Utah.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Cody Larsen, senior, Southern Utah; Davis Tull, sophomore, Chattanooga; Mike Catapano, senior, Princeton; Zach Wagenmann, sophomore, Montana.
Linebackers — Jeremy Kimbrough, senior, Appalachian State; Stephon Robertson, junior, James Madison; Blake Peiffer, senior, Southeast Misssouri.
Defensive backs — Robert Alford, senior, Southeastern Louisiana; B.W. Webb, senior, William & Mary; Demetrius McCray, senior, Appalachian State; Johnny Towalid, senior, Indiana State.
Punter — Andy Wilder, junior, Northern Arizona.
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Gavin McCarney, junior, Colgate.
Running backs — Shakir Bell, junior, Indiana State; Tim Flanders, junior, Sam Houston State.
Linemen — Randy Richards, senior, Missouri State; Garrett Frye, sophomore, Georgia Southern; Aaron Adams, senior, Eastern Kentucky; Sean Davies, senior, UC Davis; Dakota Dozier, junior, Furman.
Tight end — Josh Hill, senior, Idaho State.
Receivers — Cordell Roberson, senior, Stephen F. Austin; Kevin Norrell, senior, Stony Brook.
All-purpose player — Tyler Varga, sophomore, Yale.
Kicker — Jimmy Pavel, senior, Eastern Washington.
DEFENSE
Linemen — Caraun Reid, senior, Princeton; Ken Boatright, senior, Southern Illinois; Joseph Lebeau, senior, Jackson State; Andrew Weaver, junior, Sam Houston State.
Linebackers — Jordan Tripp, junior, Montana; Keith Pough, senior, Howard; Ian Sluss, senior, Portland State.
Defensive backs — Kejuan Riley, senior, Alabama State; Steven Godbolt, sophomore, Tennessee State; Ben Ericksen, senior, Illinois State; Caleb Schaffitzel, sophomore, Missouri State.
Punter — Bobby Wenzig, junior, Alabama State.
Bearkat Volleyball Player, Coach Earns SLC’s Top Honors
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Deveney Wells-Gibson is the 2012 Southland Conference volleyball “Player of the Year,” Brenda Gray received league “Coach of the Year” honors and five Bearkats have been voted as All-Conference performers after leading Sam Houston to its first regular season volleyball championship since 1994.
Wells-Gibson was the top-scorer with 496 points for a Bearkat volleyball team that rolled to a 20-10 overall regular season mark and posted its highest Southland victory total ever with a 15-3 league mark.
The sophomore from San Antonio ranked No. 2 in kills (421) in the Southland and also was No. 10 in digs (339) and No. 12 in aces (34). She totaled double figure kills in 26 of the Bearkats’ 30 matches and was a two-time Southland Conference offensive player of the week selection.
Wells-Gibson is the first Bearkats to claim the honor since Julie Franzen won after SHSU’s 1993 conference championship season.
Gray, one of only 29 active head coaches in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball to post more than 500 career victories, to a season of 20 or more victories for the 12th time in her coaching career.
The 2012 Sam Houston team rolled up 13 consecutive victories at one point during the march to the conference title.
The 13-match winning streak is the longest since SHSU moved up to the Division I level in 1986.
In her 29th year of coaching this year’s honor marks her third “Coach of the Year” award in the Southland Conference.
After starting the season 3-7, the Bearkats went 17-3 the rest of the season including 12 three-set sweeps.
Her 595 career wins ranked third all-time among Southland Conference volleyball coaches.
Kendall Cleveland joined Wells-Gibson as a first team All-Southland Conference selection.
The senior from Houston totaled 389 points with 350 kills (3.53 per set) eight aces and 56 total blocks.
Tayler Gray and Kim Black, both Huntsville High School products, were second team selections.
As the Bearkats’ setter, Gray assisted on 1,162 of Sam Houston’s 1,413 kills this year and lead the squad with 383 digs.
Black was a force in the middle for the Bearkats, leading the Southland Conference in total blocks (140).
She stands No. 2 at Sam Houston in career blocks.
Kaylee Hawkins received honorable mention.
This marks the third time that she has made the All-Southland team (2009 first team, 2010 honorable mention).
The senior from Dickson is currently No. 3 in career digs (1,597).
Sam Houston is the No. 2 seed in the Southland Conference post-season tournament this weekend in Conway, Arkansas.
The Bearkats open play Friday at 11 a.m. against No. 7 seed Nicholls State.
The tournament semifinals will be played Saturday with the finals at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
Wells-Gibson Earns SLC’s “Player of The Week”
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Sam Houston State’s Deveney Wells-Gibson has been named as Southland Conference volleyball “offensive player of the week” after leading the Kats to home victories over McNeese State and Lamar to help SHSU clinch its first regular season league title since 1994.
Wells-Gibson averaged 4.78 kills per set and totaled 49 points for the week.
The San Antonio, Texas (Churchill H.S.), native chipped in with 29 digs and produced double figure kills in each match.
The sophomore outside hitter is second in the conference with 4.06 kills per set while the Bearkats clinched a share of the regular season title Saturday.
Sam Houston State will be making its sixth consecutive Southland Conference post-season tournament appearance and its 18th trip to the event overall.
The Bearkats won the Southland post-season tournament in 1993 and 1996 and finished as runner-up in 1987.
Sam Houston is the No. 2 seed at this year’s event hosted by Central Arkansas in Conway.
The Kats begin action against No. 7 seed Nicholls at 11 a.m. Friday.
The semifinals will be played Saturday with the championship finals on Sunday.
The tournament winner represents the Southland Conference in the NCAA national volleyball championships.
Bearkat Basketball Narrowly Lost To Razorbacks
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Fayetteville, Ark. – Sam Houston head coach has said all fall that the 2012-13 edition of the Bearkat men’s basketball team will be much better shooters.
The young Kat squad proved their coach right as they threw a scare into Arkansas, falling by only five points 73-68 Friday night in both team’s season opener.
Darius Gatson led Sam Houston with 20 points, hitting four of six three-point attempts.
James Thomas added 14 points and Demarcus Gatlin scored 10.
Coty Clark led the Hogs with 20 points. Twenty four of Arkansas’ points came at the free throw line.
“With a lineup that includes seven young guys who were playing their first NCAA Division I game against a team like Arkansas that presses for 40 minutes and an atmosphere like this one in Fayetteville, I was really happy with the way these guys refused to fold under pressure,” Hooten said.
“We’re just working on becoming a better team right now. We’d only worked on their press the last three days.”
Sam Houston started strong, jumping out to an 8-4 lead with a layup by Gatson at the 16:52 mark.
The Razorbacks roared back to tie the contest at 14-14.
James Thomas gave the Bearkats their last lead, 16-14, with a layup with 12:01 to play.
Arkansas went on a 12-2 run to build their largest lead of the first half, 29-18, with 6:40 remaining.
A trio of three-point baskets, the third by Nathaniel Mason, brought Sam Houston back within four 33-29 with 1:07 remaining before intermission.
The Hogs led 37-29 at halftime.
The Bearkats kept the contest close throughout the second period.
Gatson cut the lead to four 42-38 with 16:19 to play and a three-pointer by Marquel McKinney brought SHSU within three 46-43 at the 13:18 mark.
Jeremy McKay’s trey with 51 seconds to play made it a four-point game, but the Hogs held on for the victory.
Sam Houston State will play their 2012-13 home opener Tuesday at Johnson Coliseum against Hardin-Simmons.