By Cody Stark
Huntsville Item
Assistant Sports Editor

Quarterback Rhett Bomar passed for 257 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 36 yards including another score to lead Sam Houston State to a 48-10 non-conference victory over NCAA Division II Arkansas-Monticello of the Gulf South Conference.

The victory gives Sam Houston State a 2-0 season start for only the seventh time since the Bearkats moved up to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 1986. This is the first 2-0 start for the Kats since their 2001 Southland championship season.

Things went a little smoother Saturday and the Bearkats got the big win they were looking for heading into a tough stretch with back-to-back road games.

Sam Houston State scored on four of its first five possessions and overcame a rocky defensive start to cruise to a 48-10 victory over Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday at Bowers Stadium.

A week after holding on for dear life in a 17-14 win over Angelo State, the Bearkats failed to score on only three drives Saturday, tallying 491 yards of total offense to improve to 2-0 on the season.

“It's good to get off to a good start and kind of build your confidence. Tonight we did that,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “We kind of got on a roll there. We still had a few dropped balls, and that's got to be a concern. When we get down in that scoring area, we have to be able to convert.”

SHSU jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter when quarterback Rhett Bomar hit tight end Blake Martin for a 7-yard touchdown then ran one in from 12 yards out.

But the Boll Weevils found room to run and marched 82 yards to start the second quarter. UAM ran the ball on all nine plays before quarterback Scott Buisson capped off the drive with a 17-yard score on a busted option play to cut the lead to 14-10.

The Bearkats defense allowed 268 yards of total offense in the first half, but settled in and shut the Boll Weevils out in the second. The Kats only allowed 100 total yards after halftime. SHSU also got three turnovers, two of which were turned into touchdowns and the other a missed 40-yard field goal.

“The first half, they put two 12-play drives together and I think they scored on one,” said SHSU safety Byran Richmond, who finished the game with a game-high 13 tackles and a forced and recovered fumble. “But our philosophy is bend don't break. And I know we need to pick it up after those long drives and regroup.

“I think after one of those 12-play drives we had a three and out. We made adjustments at halftime and changed our philosophy to shutting them out in the second and we did that.”

The Bearkats scored 10 unanswered points to close out the first half. With 9:02 left before the break, SHSU got three big pass plays from Bomar, one to Martin for 16 yards, another to Darnell Jones for 24 before hitting Jake Lebens for 27 more to get inside the UAM 10.

The Boll Weevils defense stiffened around the goal line and the Kats had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Taylor Wilkins.

SHSU got its first big break of the game on UAM's ensuing possession when Richmond jarred the ball loose from wide receiver Jywin Ceasar and recovered it at the Boll Weevils' 44.

Five plays later, running back Chris Poullard took it in from 5 yards out to give the Bearkats a 24-10 lead at the break.

It was the kind of offensive start SHSU needed, and it carried over into the second half. The Bearkats weren't able to find the end zone after scoring 17 points in the first half last week. They erupted for 24 points after intermission Saturday, including a 56-yard touchdown pass from Bomar to Jones on the second play after the break.

“This was kind of what everybody was expecting last week, but it didn't happen,” Martin said. “We opened up the playbook more this week and took a lot shots down field and it happened for us. It was just great. I think last week was good for everybody. I think it was a good thing for some of the kids on the team to see if you don't come prepared, you can be beat by anybody or it can be a close game.”

Bomar finished the game 17-of-26 passing for 237 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball five times for 22 more yards and another score. Jones was the leading receiver with five grabs for 104 yards, while Martin had three for 26 and two touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Justin Wells also had a big night with five catches for 69 yards, while Trey Payne added three receptions for 35 yards.

The Bearkats spread the ball around on the ground with Poullard, Isaiah Sneed and TyMagic Robinson combining for 199 yards rushing. Poullard had 11 carries for 54 yards, Sneed 13 for 87 and Robinson eight for 57, including a 21-yard score.

Saturday night's explosive win came at the right time with SHSU hitting the road to face North Dakota State, which is ranked No. 4 in the Sports Network Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 poll, next week. After that, the Bearkats travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State.

Those are the only two games left on the schedule before Southland Conference action begins Oct. 6 with a home game against Central Arkansas.

“We have a lot of new guys, including myself, who hadn't played in a while before last game,” Bomar said. “I guess we all had to shake the rust off a little bit. But we were close last week and we knew it. It should have been worse, and we struggled on offense. But we wanted to come out tonight and dominate coming into these big games we got coming up in the next few weeks.

“I thought we were clicking on al cylinders and were comfortable out there. Everything was flowing right.”

Bearkat football notes

Tailgating and football ? Before Saturday's game, plenty of students packed Bearkat Alley for some pregame tailgating. Along with misting stations available for those battling the oppressive heat, free food was handed out and there was also a Moonwalk for the kiddos.

By the time kickoff rolled around, everybody made their way inside Bowers Stadium to see their favorite team in action.

Comic relief ? Trailing 41-10 with 4:12 left in the third quarter and facing a third and 14 on the Bearkats 45-yard line, Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Scott Buisson was forced out of the pocket and had to throw the ball away. Buisson did connect on that throw, but it was the Boll Weevil mascot who was on the receiving end of the pass.

The green Boll Weevil got drilled in the face, causing him to stumble backward. The SHSU student section got a good chuckle out of it.


Staying fresh ? The Bearkats had trouble keeping their players in the game because of cramping last week against Angelo State. The SHSU coaching staff took extra precautions this week, getting the players plenty of fluids before the game.

The result? None of the Bearkats had to come out of Saturday's game prematurely.


The start of something good? ? For the first time since 2001, the Bearkats started out the season with a record of 2-0. The last two times Sam Houston State started out the season with two victories (1991 and 2001), the Bearkats went on to win the Southland Conference championship.