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.
No.5 Bearkats Slaughters #3 Seeded Bobcats In FCS Quarterfinals
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Bozeman, Montana – Quarterback Brian Bell passed for 254 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 5- ranked Sam Houston State to a 34-16 victory over No. 2 Montana State Friday night.
The victory puts the Bearkats in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championships against the winner of Saturday’s Eastern Washington versus Illinois State contest in Cheney, Wash.
Sam Houston upped its season record to 10-3 while Montana State falls to 11-2.
The win marked the second year in a row the Bearkats have earned their semifinal berth with a victory over Montana State.
Last year, Sam Houston won 49-13 in the quarterfinals in Huntsville. SHSU went on to win in the semifinals and reach the national finals in Frisco.
In this year’s win over Montana State, the Bearkats again produced big plays on both offense and defense to advance.
Trey Diller caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Bell and Chance Nelson had scoring receptions of 16 and 45 yards.
Bell completed 11 of 21 passes.
The 254 yards marked his third highest passing total as the Bearkats’ quarterback.
Nelson ended the game with five receptions for 89 yards. Diller had three catches for 104 yards.
Timothy Flanders led the Bearkat ground game, carrying 31 times for 106 yards.
The performance is Flanders’ 24th career100-yard rushing game and his ninth during the 2012 season.
Both marks are Sam Houston school records.
The Bearkats totaled 458 yards with 204 coming on the ground and 254 in the air.
The Sam Houston defense produced two turnovers and five quarterback sacks as the Kats limited Montana State to 72 yards rushing and 292 yards total offense.
Kenneth Jenkins picked off an interception and Andrew Weaver recovered a fumble.
Weaver and Darius Taylor each accounted for two sackes and Gary Lorance picked up the fifth.
Jenkins’ interception at the Montana State 49-yard line set up Miguel Antonio’s 24-yard field goal eight-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Bell hit Sincere for a 38-yard pass to the MSU four-yard line for the long strike in the six-play, 42-yard drive.
The Bobcats responded with a 10-play 62-yard drive for a 27-yard field goal by Rory Perez with 49 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
A 33-yard run by McGhee to the Bearkat 11-yard line set up the scoring play.
Sincere scored the game’s first touchdown with a 12-yard run as the Bearkats went up 10-3 with 12:29 left in the second quarter.
The tally completed an eight-play 79-yard drive.
Diller got the drive started with a 21-yard reception.
Flanders moved the ball to the Bobcat 24 with a 27-yard run.
Bell hit Chance Nelson for 11 to the MSU 12 on a key third down play.
After a three-and-out by Montana State, the Bearkats struck quickly to go up 17-3 as Bell found Trey Diller open over the middle for a 56-yard scoring pass with 9:41 remaining the half to complete a four-play 68-yard drive.
Sam Houston closed out the half with a 12-play 74-yard drive that took 4:31 as Antonio kicked a 17-yard field to allow the Bearkats to take a 20-3 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Montana State went 75 yards in 11 plays to open the second half with McGhee capping off with an 8-yard touchdown run.
After the extra point failed, the Bobcats had trimmed the lead to 20-9 with 9:10 to go in the third quarter.
Matt Foster pinned the Bobcats at their own three with a 35-yard punt.
Three plays later, Dax Swanson forced a fumble recovered by Weaver.
The Kats took one play to up their lead to 27-9 as Bell hit Nelson in the right corner of the end zone for a 16-yard pass with 2:49 to play in the third.
Bell found Nelson wide open again for a 45-yard touchdown to put Sam Houston ahead 34-9 with 12:18 left in the final quarter.
The scoring drive covered 74 yards in seven plays.
McGhee led the Bobcats on a six-play 91-yard drive, hitting Jon Ellis for a 12-yard touchdown with 5:25 remaining, cutting the SHSU margin to 34-16.
But it was a too little, too late as the Bearkats ran out the clock to seal the victory.
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
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.