FROM THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM
By Cody Stark

FARGO, N.D. ? Sam Houston State refused to go down Saturday night, but North Dakota State wasn't about to let the Bearkats pull of an upset in its house.

Quarterback Steve Walker connected with Kole Heckondorf for a 27-yard touchdown with seven seconds left in the game to help the fourth-ranked Bison (2-0) rally for a 41-38 victory over Sam Houston at the Fargodome.

The touchdown came 19 seconds after the Bearkats (2-1) went up 38-34 on a 7-yard scoring pass from quarterback Rhett Bomar to Darnell Jones. The upset win just wasn't in the cards for No. 14 SHSU, which outgained NDSU 496 total yards to 414.

The Bison went 54 yards in just three plays for the winning score.

“I'm just as proud of the guys than if we won the game,” Bearkats head coach Todd Whitten said. “The players played their hearts out, but we just didn't get it done. We traveled well into a hostile environment and played a great game. I feel really good about this team.”

The Bison opened up a close game in the third period, taking a 34-21 lead, but SHSU rallied thanks to a 55-yard touchdown pass from Bomar to wide receiver Justin Wells.

Two big defensive stops by the Bearkats set up the go-ahead drive that featured four passes of 10 yards or more.

Bomar finished the night 36-of -61 passing for 358 yards and four touchdowns. He added 103 yards on the ground.

Wells had five grabs for a team-high 88 yards and two touchdowns, while Catron Houston added eight catches for 85 yards and one score. Tight end Blake Martin caught seven passes for 67 yards.

“We know we can play like that because we have a lot of good athletes,” Bomar said. “North Dakota (State) is a really tough, physical team and we knew it would be a battle. We kept coming at them but we just couldn't pull it out.”

SHSU reclaimed the lead for the first time since the first half with a long drive in the third. Bomar started things with a 21-yard run, then converted a huge fourth and seven when he found Jones for 21 more yards to the NDSU 13-yard line. Houston hauled in a 5-yard pass two plays later to put SHSU on top 21-20.

But the Bearkats' lead didn't last long.

The Bison got a pair of touchdown passes from Walker, including a 75-yard bomb to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher that looked like it could be the dagger in the Bearkats' back. SHSU left Wurzbacher all alone in the secondary. He caught a pass around the SHSU 40 and went in untouched for the score.

The Bearkats did a good job stopping the run, but didn't have many answers for the Bison passing attack. Walker finished the night 18-of-26 for 295 yards and five touchdowns.

“It was on the defense tonight,” safety Carlton Cobey said. “There is no question about that. The offense put up close to 40 points, so we have to play better. That's all there is to it.”

The Bearkats outgained North Dakota in the first half 197 total yards of offense to 169, but just couldn't find the end zone. SHSU took the opening kickoff and plowed down to the Bison 5-yard line thanks to a mixture of passes and runs.

NDSU stuffed Bomar for no gain on third and 3, forcing the Bearkats to settle for a 22-yard field goal by sophomore Taylor Wilkins.

After the Bison matched that kick with a 19-yard field goal on the ensuing possession, SHSU went back to work. Bomar got the Kats into NDSU territory with a 23-yard strike to Martin.

A late hit on the next play moved SHSU to the Bison 23, but the Bearkats couldn't find a way to pick up another first down. Wilkins was called upon again, this time hitting a career-long 40-yard field goal to make it 6-3.

North Dakota State then found some holes in the SHSU secondary to score 14 unanswered points. After only throwing for 47 yards in the first quarter, Walker found five different receivers in the second period for 94 yards, including a pair of touchdown passes to Heckendorf and Jordan Schultenover to go up 17-6 with 5:28 to play.

“When you work so hard to stop the run, big plays in the secondary can happen,” Whitten said. “We didn't want them to beat us on the ground, so we worked really hard on stopping the run in practice. I thought our defense played hard but they gave up some big plays tonight. North Dakota has a really good offense.”

The Bearkats finally found the end zone right before the end of the half. Bomar connected with Jones for 11 yards and later hit Houston for 17 more to get things rolling before finding Wells for a 5-yard touchdown.


Game notes

Dealing with a hostile crowd ? In order to keep the players focused, the Bearkats did their pregame warmups outside the locker room under the stands instead of on the field. North Dakota State has a rowdy student section positioned behind the visiting team's sideline, and the SHSU coaches didn't want the players to have to deal with the fans before the game.

Two states, one day ? While passing the time before the start of Saturday's game, several SHSU administrators and the cheerleading squad were treated to a tour of Fargo. They got to see Roger Maris Park, a tribute to the former Major League single-season home run record holder who grew up in Fargo, and they got to walk to Minnesota.

Fargo and Moorehead, Minn., are separated by the Red River, and Roger Maris Park has a bridge about 100 yards across that grants access to both states.


Another sellout ? Saturday's game marked the Bison's second straight sellout this season. All 18,961 fans were treated to fireworks and the NSDU mascot Thundar rode out on the field on the back of cart decked out in a red cape while the Superman theme song blared in the background. The crowd got so loud when the Bison took the field, it felt like the Fargodome was shaking.