Bearkats head to Nicholls for last road game
11/5/2008 1:00:00 AM | Football
THIS WEEKSam Houston State Bearkats (3-4, SLC 1-3) vs. Nicholls State Colonels (2-4, SLC 2-2)
Saturday, November 8 -- 1 p.m. -- Guidry Stadium -- Thibodaux, LA
Sam Houston State heads on the road for the final time in the 2008 season, heading to Thibodaux, LA, to face a Nicholls State Colonel squad that has acheived two major victories the past two weeks.
Unable to play its first two games because of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the Colonels started the season 0-4. But, the past two Saturdays, Nicholls has knocked off Southland front-runners McNeese State and Central Arkansas.
THE GAME ON RADIO
Sam Houston State's contest Saturday will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM in Huntsville. The broadcast, with Kooter Roberson and Leroy Wilkinson, can also be heard on the internet at www.gobearkats.com.
BEARKAT-COLONEL FOOTBALL SERIES
Saturday marks the 24th meeting of Sam Houston and Nicholls State on the football field. The series is even with 11 victories for the Kats and 11 for the Colonels with one tie in 1992. Nicholls holds a 4-8-1 edge over Sam Houston in Thibodaux. SHSU has won the last two meetings by scores of 37-7 and 16-13, both games in Huntsville. Nicholls has won the last two times the teams met in Thibodaux -- 37-17 in 2005 and 37-12 in 2003.
SAM HOUSTON IN LOUISIANA
Louisiana traditionally is a tough venue for Sam Houston State. The Bearkats have won 17, lost 50 and tied three times in their 70 appearances in the Pelican State. Sam Houston's last victory in Louisiana was a 20-16 win at Southeastern Louisiana last year.
THE BEARKAT OFFENSE
Sam Houston State ranks No. 6 in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision passing offense. The Bearkats are averaging 306.1 yards per game and have thrown the ball for 2,143 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Quarterback Rhett Bomar stands No. 3 in total offense (319.1 yards per game) and No. 6 in passing yardage (302.6 per game) nationally. Bomar is listed by Sports Network as a 2008 Walter Payton Award candidate.
The senior from Grand Prairie has completed 152 of 264 passes for 2,118 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Bomar received Southland and national FCS Offensive "Player of the Week" honors after throwing for five touchdowns and 390 yards in the victory at Gardner-Webb.
The quarterback also threw for 340 yards in the Bearkats' contest with No. 19 ranked Kansas of the Big 12. SHSU fell 38-14 to the defending Orange Bowl champions. SHSU trailed 14-7 with a minute left before intermission and cut the Jayhawk margin to 28-14 in the third quarter.
The contest marked only the second time in Southland Conference football history an SLC team lost to an NCAA Division I Bowl Championship Series Top 25 team by less than a four-touchdown margin. Northwestern State fell to #21 Missouri 35-14 in 1998
In his 16 games at Sam Hosuton State the past two years, Bomar already has moved up to No. 3 in all-time Bearkat passing and total offense. His career statistics now included 4,327 yards passing and 4,849 yards total offense.
Bomar is 576 yards away from passing Arthur Louis (4,902 career yards in 1977-80) as Sam Houston's all-time passing leader. He is 302 yards away from breaking Reggie Lewis's mark for career total offense (5,150 yards in 1984-87).
BEARKAT PASS RECEIVERS
Senior wide receiver Catron Houston is the top target for Rhett Bomar's passes. Houston has 31 catches for 606 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He was named Southland Conference Offensive "Player of the Week" after the SFA victory. Houston caught four passes for 190 yards including touchdowns of 55, 66 and 64 yards.
Houston has moved to No. 12 in Sam Houston all-time receiving with 89 catches for 1,310 career yards and 10 touchdowns.
Running back James Aston ranks second in receiving for the Kats with 29 catches for 214 yards including three scores.
Senior wide receiver Justin Wells, a local product from Huntsville High School, has gained 384 yards on 25 catches this year. Wells has 81 career catches for 1,217 yards to rank No. 14 in Bearkat receiving annals.
Other top receivers for the Bearkats are Chris Lucas with 27 catches for 405 yards including an 80-yard TD in the McNeese State game, Jason Madkins 15 catches fo 197 yards and Trey Payne 13 grabs for 178 yards.
BEARKATS ON THE GROUND
Junior transfer James Aston and sophomore TyMagic Robinson get the call when the Bearkats run the ball.
Aston has gained 485 yards on 85 carries including five touchdowns. He has posted two 100-yard plus rushing games. His long run of the season was a non-scoring 73-yard dash at Central Arkansas. Robinson has 11 carries for 55 yards.
Quarterback Rhett Bomar has rushed for 116 yards on 51 carries including three scores and a long gain of 44 yards.
THE BEARKAT OFFENSIVE LINE
Senior Nick Grimes (5-11, 278), juniors Jordan Bowersox (6-2, 277) and Hunter Schmidt (6-3, 304) and freshmen Travis Watson (6-2, 295) land Chris Crockett (6-3, 283) lead the way for the Bearkat offense in the front line.
THE BEARKAT DEFENSE
Defensive end Chris Brown, an honorable mention All-America selection last year as a sophomore, is again a candidate for national honors. Brown has 41 tackles with six quarterback sacks. Brown totaled three sacks in the Gardner-Webb victory, one short of the SHSU school record set by NFL star (Cardinals) Michael Bankston in 1991. Brown's quarterback sack on third down in the second overtime pushed SFA out of field goal position to hold the Jacks scoreless in the second overtime and allow the Kats to win the game on a field goal.
Brown accounted for five of the Bearkats' 13 sacks in 2007 as he earned first team All-SLC conference honors.
Defensive tackle Eric Mikolajchak also earned All-Southland Conference honors last year. Recruited as an offensive lineman, the senior moved to defense as a sophomore and has totaled 90 tackles including 12 for losses in his three years as a starter.
At linebacker, Nolan Bucek led the Southland in tackles (88) in 2007. Bucek has 57 stops this season.
Safety Billy Skinner leads the team with 65 total tackles this season.
BEARKAT OFFENSIVE SUCCESS
In the past nine seasons, Sam Houston has led the Southland Conference in passing four times and total offense three seasons. Three Bearkat quarterbacks have earned Southland "Player of the Year" honors and been finalists for the Walter Payton Award as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision offensive player of the year -- Chris Chaloupka (1999), Josh McCown (2001) and Dustin Long (2004).
Quarterbacks total touchdowns Completion percentage in a career
Passing yards Career
1. Arthur Louis
1977-80
4,902
2. Dustin Long
2004
4,588
3. RHETT BOMAR
2007-08
4,327
4. Reggie Lewis
1984-87
4,269
5. Ashley Van Meter
1989-92
3,869
6. Lanny Dycus
1984-85
3,843
7. Don Gottlob
1950-52
3,832
8. Albert Bradley
1996-2000
3,713
9. Chad Schramek
1994-97
3,585
10. Josh McCown
2001
3,481
Passing yards Season
1. Dustin Long
2004
4,588
2. Josh McCown
2001
3,481
3. Chris Chaloupka
1999
2,503
4. Don Gottlob
1952
2,325
5. Rhett Bomar
2007
2,209
6. RHETT BOMAR
2008
2,118
7. Reggie Lewis
1986
2,078
8. Reggie Lewis
1987
2,063
Passing Touchdowns Season
1. Dustin Long
2004
39
2. Josh McCown
2001
32
3. Chris Chaloupka
1999
21
4. RHETT BOMAR
2008
20
5. Don Gottlob
1952
18
6. Reggie Lewis
1987
16
7. Arthur Louis
1978
14
8. Arthur Louis
1979
13
9. Reggie Lewis
1986
12
10. Ashley Van Meter
1992
11
Rhett Bomar
2007
10
Chad Schramek
1997
10
Passing Touchdowns Career
1. Dustin Long
2004
39
2. Arthur Louis
1977-80
34
3. Don Gottlob
1950-52
33
4. Josh McCown
2001
32
5. Reggie Lewis
1984-87
30
RHETT BOMAR
2007-08
30
7. Albert Bradley
1996-2000
23
David Kubiak
1967-1970
23
9. Chad Schramek
1994-1997
20
1. Arthur Louis
1977-80
42 (8 rushing)
Don Gottlob
1950-52
42 (8 rushing, 1 fumble recovery)
3. Dustin Long
2004
41 (2 rushing)
David Kubiak
1967-70
41 (17 rushing, 1 receiving)
5. Reggie Lewis
1984-87
40 (10 rushing)
RHETT BOMAR
2007-08
40 (10 rushing)
7. Josh McCown
2001
38 (6 rushing)
8. Albert Bradley
1996-2000
33 (10 rushing)
9. Guido Merkins
1973-76
29 (13 rushing, 1 receiving)
10. Dennis Gann
1965-66
24 (10 rushing, 1 receiving)
Completions in a career
1. Dustin Long
2004
333
2. RHETT BOMAR
2007-08
324
3. Chad Schramek
1994-97
309
4. Lanny Dycus
1984-85
299
5. Reggie Lewis
1984-87
298
6. Ashley Van Meter
1989-92
297
7. Albert Bradley
1996-2000
296
8. Arthur Louis
1977-1980
272
9. Josh McCown
2001
259
10. Don Gottlob
1950-52
234
1. Dustin Long
2004
.627 (333-of-531)
2. Chris Chaloupka
1999
.620 (168-of-271)
3. Josh McCown
2001
.604 (259-of-429)
4. RHETT BOMAR
2007-08
.584 (324-of-555)
5. Reggie Lewis
1984-87
.568 (298-of-524)
Total offense career
1. Reggie Lewis
1984-87
5,150 (4,269 pass, 471 rush)
2. Arthur Louis
1977-80
4,933 (4,902 pass, 31 rush)
3. RHETT BOMAR
2007-08
4,849 (4,327 pass, 522 rush)
4. Dustin Long
2004
4,576 (4,588 pass, -12 rush)
5. Don Gottlob
1950-52
4,200 (3,832 pass, 368 rush)
6. Ashley Van Meter
1989-92
4,193 (3,869 pass, 324 rush)
7. David Kubiak
1967-70
4,183 (2,655 pass, 1,528 rush)
8. Albert Bradley
1996-2000
4,034 (3,713 pass, 321 rush)
9. Lanny Dycus
1984-85
3,839 (3,843 pass, -4 rush)
10. Josh McCown
2001
3,832 (3,481 pass, 351 rush)
