Football meets Lions in Louisiana in offensive showdown
10/16/2009 7:30:00 AM | Football
Southeastern Louisiana is coming off a 51-50 overtime victory against Texas State. The Bearkats have rolled up 85 points in their two consecutive wins over Saint Joseph's and Nicholls.
And, the when these two teams met last year in Huntsville, the pair combined for 989 yards total offense in a contest Southeastern Louisiana won 30-27 in overtime.
Bearkat head coach Todd Whitten has not forgotten the overtime loss.
"We have a lot of respect for Southeastern Louisiana," Whitten said. "Last year, they came to our place and beat us in overtime. We know it's going to be another hard-fought Southland Conference game. It's probably going to come down to the team that plays the cleanest, makes the fewest mistakes and hangs on to the ball the best."
Sam Houston has managed to keep down the numbers of penalties and turnovers this season. The Bearkats have eight turnovers which ties them with Central Arkansas for the second-lowest number in the Southland Conference. The Bearkats have committed 30 penalties for 272 years.
Stopping the Lions will be a major concern, however.
"Southeastern Louisiana has an outstanding quarterback in Brian Babin. He has the ability to make big players," Whitten said.
Babin has thrown for 1,343 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. He threw for four touchdowns in the Lion's victory at Texas State last Saturday.
"We haven't exactly shut anybody down defensively this year," Whitten said. "We're pretty young in our secondary and they're still learning. We've got to play sound, tackle well and limit the big plays more than we have."
Sam Houston counters with an offense that ranks among the conference's most productive. Running back James Aston ranks among the top 10 in NCAA Division I FCS statistics in both scoring and all-purpose yards and wide receiver Jason Madkins stands in the top 10 nationally in pass receiving yards per game.
The Sam Houston State game at Southeastern Louisiana will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 and on the internet on www.gobearkats.com.
Following the Southeastern Louisiana contest, Sam Houston heads to Nacogdoches for the annual Battle of the Piney Woods with Stephen F. Austin State next Saturday.
Sam Houston returns home to Bowers Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31, to take on Northwestern State in a 6 p.m. match-up that will be televised to a three-state regional audience on the Southland TV Network.
Fans can order tickets to Bearkat home football games online at www.gobearkats.com or by contacting the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
