Bearkat Wide Receiver Earns Invite From NFLPA
by Cheval John
With all the attention that the Sam Houston State Bearkat football team has received during their consecutive run at the FCS National Championship, many wondered could it get any better than this?
Well, it gets even better when Bearkat wide receiver Trey Diller received an invite to participate in the NFLPA All-Star Collegiate Bowl that’s set to be played in Carson, California on Jan. 19 on ESPN2.
Diller, who caught the ball 62 times for 927 yards and four touchdowns, became the first Bearkat to ever participate in the NFLPA.
The Woodlands, Texas native also was the return specialist, as he finished third in the Southland Conference with 354 yards in punt returns.
In addition, he became the first Bearkat to make the All-Southland Conference honors both as a wide receiver and a return specialist.
He played a huge part during the Bearkat playoff run at the FCS Championsip when in the quarterfinal round at Montana State, he caught a 56-yard pass TD pass from quarterback Brian Bell that allowed the Bearkats to blow the game wide open.
Diller completes his collegiate career with 1,190 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
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.
Bearkats Edges Lumberjacks 51-43 In Piney Woods Battle
Courtesy: Charlie Blalock
Courtesy: Paul Ridings,Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Houston, Texas – Brian Bell passed for 168 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for two other scores to lead Sam Houston State to a 51-43 Southland Conference victory over Stephen F. Austin Saturday before a record crowd of 26,185 at Reliant Stadium.
Bell’s second touchdown, a nine-yard run, gave Sam Houston a 51-28 lead with 13:05 to play in the fourth.
Stephen F. Austin, led by wide receiver Cordell Roberson who caught 14 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns, battled back. Roberson scored on passes of three and eight yards after back-to-back 51 yards.
When the Bearkats could not pick up a first down, the Jacks drove down to the Bearkat 30 yard line where, on fourth down and 10, Brady Attaway’s pass sailed just over Roberson’s hands to end the game.
Attaway completed 39 of 76 paases for 545 yards and six touchdowns.
Sam Houston State rolled up 566 yards total offense while SFA totaled 396.
All-America running back Tim Flanders gained 125 yards on 27 carries including a long of 44 yards. Bell rushed for 69 yards.
Trey Diller led the Bearkats with 97 yards receiving.
Sam Houston trailed 14-3 in the first quarter but fought back to take a 23-14 halftime lead. The big play in the first half was a 92-yard interception return by Bookie Sneed. The return set a school record, breaking the record of 90 yards by Paul Wenzel set in 1968 against Sul Ross.
Sneed, Darnell Taylor and Kenneth Jenkins led the Kat defense, each with 10 tackles. Taylor also intercepted an Attaway pass.
Sam Houston upped its record to 3-2 for the year while SFA dropped to 2-3. Both teams are 1-1 in Southland Conference action.