Bearkat Football Players Earns SLC’s “Player of the Week”
Courtesy: Paul Ridings,Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Sam Houston State swept the weekly Southland Conference football player of the week honors after its 51-43 win over Stephen F. Austin in the 87th “Battle of the Piney Woods” at Reliant Stadium in Houston Saturday.
Junior quarterback Brian Bell was the offensive player of the week, junior cornerback Bookie Sneed won defensive honors and senior punter Matt Foster was the special teams player of the week.
Bell picked up 22nd career victory as starting quarterback for Sam Houston.
He directed the offense to 566 total yards in a 51-43 win over rival Stephen F. Austin.
The junior from China Spring, Texas (China Spring H.S.), completed 12 of 20 passes for 168 yards and totaled 69 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. He passed for scores of 5, 31 and 30 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 9 yards and accounted for 237 yards total offense.
Sneed returned an interception 92 yards for touchdown that put Sam Houston State in the lead, 20-14, with 5:55 remaining in 2nd quarter. The return by the junior from Conroe, Texas (Conroe H.S.), was a school record, topping the previous mark of 90 yards set by Paul Wenzel against Sul Ross in 1968. He added 11 tackles against SFA.
Foster helped Sam Houston win the field position battle with a 45.1 average, including long of 61 yards. The senior from Melbourne, Australia, landed three punts inside the 20 that includes a high 43-yard punt with 3:10 left to play in the fourth quarter.
That put SFA on its own 15-yard line, forcing them to drive 85 yards in order to score a touchdown and go for a two-point conversion.
Sam Houston travels to Thibodaux, La., to take on the Nicholls State Colonels this Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Bearkats return to Huntsville in two weeks for their Homecoming battle with the McNeese State Cowboys. The game will be played at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Bowers Stadium.
Bearkats Clawed Their Way Over Bears 2-1
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Informatio
Katie Ferrara and Kirby Zak each scored, then Sam Houston held off a determined charge by the top scoring offense in the Southland Conference as they defeated Central Arkansas 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Pritchett Field.
UCA had scored 38 goals in their first 10 games this season, but the Bears were held scoreless for 84 minutes by SHSU goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton and her Bearkat backline.
Ferrara scored at the 12:53 mark, the earliest goal by Sam Houston this season, for a quick 1-0 lead.
She intercepted an attempt by UCA goalkeeper Kelsey Gouchnauer to roll a ball out to one of her defenders and promptly put a shot from 19 yards out in the back of the net.
Zak fired in what turned out to be the match winning goal on a cornerkick from the left side to the far post.
Shelby McDaniel’s corner found Lindsey Posner who made a short pass to Zak.
The senior forward fired in her second goal of the weekend at the 58:33 mark.
UCA’s goal also came on a cornerkick as Elizabeth Bradley’s ball found Kristin Pollard at the far post and scored with six minutes to play.
Central Arkansas took 14 shots with Hambleton saving four.
Sam Houston now stands 2-0 in Southland Conference play and is 5-7 for the year. Central Arkansas drops to 8-2-1 for the season and 0-1-1 in league action.
“It’s huge to start conference play 2-0,” SHSU head coach Tom Brown said. “Our goal is to win all our home games and then try and pick up as many as we can on the road. Our tough non-conference schedule has really helped us. We played No. 16 Rutgers and tough opponents on the road like Air Force and UTEP. It really has made us play better and harder and it paid off this weekend.”
Sam Houston faces a long road swing next weekend, playing at Southeastern Louisiana, then heading to Oral Roberts.
SHSU Soccer Team Opens Southland Conference Play With Win
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr, SHSU Sports Information
Huntsville – Two of the top four scorers for Sam Houston in its 10-year history of women’s soccer accounted for second half goals to lead the Bearkats to a 2-0 shutout of Nicholls State Friday at Joseph Pritchett Field.
The victory marked SHSU’s first game on the new artificial field turf at Pritchett and put the Kats at 1-0 in Southland Conference play.
Tricia Mallory scored the Bearkats’ first goal on a cross from Amanda Biega from the right side in the 55th minute. Less than three minutes later, Kirby Zak tallied on a long ball from Kayla Anderson.
Mallory now has 22 career goals to her credit to rank No. 2 in SHSU all-time scoring behind Raquel Bueno (27 goals from 2005 to 2008). Zak’s tally marked her 18th career score, tying her with Yoanna Garcia (2004-07) for third place in the record book.
Freshman goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton picked up her third shutout of the season, marking three saves on Nicholls’ eight shots. The Bearkats totaled 14 shots.
“The players really were excited about playing on the new turf here at Pritchett,” head coach Tom Brown said. “We created some good chances in the first half but couldn’t convert. But we had a good attacking mentality and were able to take advantage of some space on the right side. It’s good to pick up the win in our first conference game.”
Sam Houston now stand 4-7 for the season. Nicholls dropped to 5-6.
The Bearkats return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. at Pritchett, hosting Central Arkansas.
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.