Receivers shine in first scrimmage
8/9/2008 1:00:00 AM | Football
Senior quarterback Rhett Bomar completed 14 passes for 159 yards with transfer wide receiver Jason Madkins catching five of the throws to highlight an hour-and-a-half situational scrimmage to complete the first week of preseason camp for the Sam Houston State football team Saturday.
Bomar threw for four touchdowns, two for three yards in goal line situation practice, another for 12 yards and the final one to Madkins for a 55-yard score.
“Overall, it was a good scrimmage. The offense played pretty clean with fewer missed assignments and penalties that you would expect at this time of the year,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “If we can play clean, we have a chance.”
Bomar, who ranked eighth nationally in total offense in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision action last year, looked fully recovered from off-season knee surgery. Madkins is a transfer from Navarro Junior College.
The 6-5 receiver from Mart also turned in a highlight reel grab when he caught a pass from Bomar, broke a few tackles and outraced the defense for a 55-yard touchdown.
Seniors Justin Wells and Catron Houston, junior John Dobbs and freshman Melvis Pride also caught scoring passes Saturday.
“We wanted to come back because I thought we kind of struggled yesterday in practice ? mental mistakes and stuff like that,” Bomar said. “So the quarterbacks and receivers wanted to come out today and redeem ourselves today.
“I thought we made some plays. We wanted to throw in the end zone a little bit and do a little more of that than we did last year. It helps having Madkins out there, throwing to a big guy in the end zone but he made some plays after the catch, too. They all made some plays today.”
Backup quarterback Bryan Randolph also had a solid showing Saturday. He hit Dobbs and Pride for a couple of short scores around the goal line. And to cap off the scrimmage, Randolph, the Moorpark (Calif.) College transfer, connected with Houston for a 65-yard touchdown.
Starting running back TyMagic Robinson sat out most of the scrimmage as a precaution after feeling some discomfort in his leg, but junior James Aston and freshman Will Clay each had some strong runs.
“The thing I like the best is that we played pretty clean,” Whitten added. “We only had a handful of penalties, and for this time of year, that is something that I'm proud of. We made some big plays and I thought we played pretty well defensively.
Backup quarterback Bryan Randolph, a transfer from Simi Valley Junior College in California, threw for two touchdowns including a five-yard scoring play to junior John Dobbs and an 75-yard score to senior wide receiver Catron Houston.
The scrimmage was marred by an injury. Sam Houston State lost starting weakside offensive tackle John Dirk for the season with a dislocated and fractured left ankle. The injury occurred toward the end of the scrimmage when Dirk got tangled up with some defenders while trying to clear the way on the outside for a screen pass.
“This is the hardest thing about football and it happens,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “We are going to have to have somebody step up. It's just really so unfortunate because he had a great summer and worked so hard. You just have to dig deep and somebody will step up. They always do.
“But it isn't going to be easy losing John.”
Dirk and Hunter Schmidt were the Bearkats' only two returning starters on an offensive line that helped Sam Houston State rank fourth in the Southland Conference in total yards in 2007. The former Missouri transfer and 2008 preseason All-Southland Conference selection started all 11 games last season.
Backup tackle Aaron Saunders, who also transferred with Dirk from Missouri, will move into the starting spot.
“John was a big part of our offensive line, protecting the weak side,” Schmidt said. “We got some guys that will be able to come in and fill in for him. Aaron Saunders has been around here for a while and knows what is going on. He has the best chance of stepping in, but he has some big shoes to fill. But he is capable and we will work something out.”
The Bearkats will continue with preseason camp next week, working at 8:30 a.m. in the morning each day. Whitten was particularly impressed with the play of his wide receivers.
“We have a chance to have a pretty good receiving corps this season,” Whitten said. “They still have some work to do. We dropped too many balls in practice Friday. But, today, they held on to the passes and we had some big plays.”
Sam Houston State opens the 2008 football season Thursday, August 28, with a 6 p.m. home contest against East Central University of Oklahoma at Bowers Stadium.
“I was pleased with the focus the guys had this morning,” Whitten concluded.
