The Games of the Decade, No. 4
12/25/2009 9:00:00 AM | Athletics
The No. 4 game of the decade doesn't have the dramatic finish that many of the top games over the last 10 years had. What it did have was a statement that the Bearkats were for real. In 2004, Sam Houston State hosted the No. 1 football team in the country when Montana came to Bowers Stadium.
The win was about as dominant as a team can have against a top-ranked opponent. The Bearkats built a 31-point lead before holding off the Grizzlies for a 41-29 victory. It remains as the only victory for the Bearkats over a top-ranked opponent.
The Bearkats went on to win a share of the Southland Conference title and eventually lost to the Grizzlies in the semifinals of the I-AA playoffs in Montana.
The following is the game story from the next morning's Huntsville Item:
No. 1 bites the dust
Originally published September 19, 2004
By Jason Barfield
The Huntsville Item
All the Bearkats were asking for was a chance to get Montana at home. Saturday they go that opportunity and made the most of it against the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.
Sam Houston State jumped up 20-0 on the Grizzlies and held on for a 41-29 victory at Bowers Stadium for the first-ever win over a top-ranked opponent in SHSU history.
"As I told the players in the locker room, I was just awfully proud of all of them," SHSU head coach Ron Randleman said. "This is one of those games they can enjoy individually and we can enjoy this as a team. " More than that, we can enjoy this as a university. That is a win for everybody."
The Bearkats combined and aerial assault with a strong running attack to rack up 512 yards of total offense against the Grizz defense. Senior quarterback Dustin Long passed for 329 yards, but maybe the most telling number for the offense was the 183 yards they racked up on the ground, despite not having starting tailback Jason Godfrey.
"I think the rushing yardage was really big for us because we were able to wear them down a little bit, especially early," Randleman said. It was hot for them and our offensive line was coming off the football and that was key. Our ability to move the football on the ground set the tone foe this football game."
Stevie Smith, who filled in for Godfrey, never missed a beat. He capped the opening drive of the ballgame for the Bearkats with an 11-yard touchdown run, the first of two for Smith. He finished the night with 113 yards on 23 carries.
"I saw something in Stevie's eyes before the ballgame that I have never seen before," Randleman said. "I said to myself 'This guy looks like he is ready to go,' and he looked good. He didn't look tentative tonight. He hit it up in there and I was proud of him."
A week after giving up a pair for scores in the final two minutes of the ballgame in a loss to Southwest Missouri State, it was the SHSU secondary that set the tone early in the game.
Montana took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to the SHSU 30-yard line. But senior quarterback Craig Ochs was intercepted in the end zone by Mark Hughes, one of nine players on the SHSU roster who were part of both previous losses to the Grizzlies.
Hughes helped lead a defense that limited Ochs to just 198 yards on 18-of-31 passing.
"That is what we expected," Hughes said of the victory. "We worked hard all week long, and we knew if we came out and played four quarters of football we would come out on top.
"Our coaches had the perfect game plan for us coming into this. All we had to do was execute and that is what we did. We had seen it all on film, and is was just a matter of us going out and doing what we were told to do."
Following Hughes' interception, the Kats marched 80 yards in 11 plays setting up Smith's first touchdown. The Kats were on the board again early in the second quarter on a 9-yard run by Robert Garmon. Once again, SHS was able to put together a long drive, moving the ball 89 yards in 12 plays for the score.
Long and the Bearkats went to the air for the third score of the game. Long hit Vince Cartwright on a crossing route at the 10-yard line. The 6-foot-4 receiver then broke four tackles to get to the end zone for a 17-yard score and a 20-0 lead.
A late field goal by the Grizzles cut the Kats' halftime advantage to 20-3.
The Kats got the ball to start the second half, and picked up right where they left off. Ling completed his first four passes on the drive, three on them to Jarrod Fuller, quickly moving the ball to the Montana 19. On the fifth play, Fuller took a handoff from Long, sprinted to the left corner and turned it up the sideline for a 19-yard score.
"Anytime when you have a lead and you can come out and score on your opponent to start the third quarter, it is huge," Randleman said. "I think we had several plays tonight that played a big part in keeping the momentum in our favor."
Fuller's only score of the game was on the ground, but he did most of his damage on the Montana defense catching the ball. He led all receivers with 10 catches for 133 yards.
"We knew all we had to do was keep fighting, and if you keep punching they will finally go down," Fuller said. "It was like a heavyweight fight. Sometimes they go down early and sometimes you have to go 12 rounds. Well tonight, this was a heavyweight fight that lasted 12 rounds and we came out on top."
Jason Mathenia also had a big game receiving for the Kats grabbing five balls for 102 yards. No catch was bigger, though, than his diving grab in the end zone with 1:39 left to go to put SHSU up 34-10.
"Dustin made a great audible," Mathenia said about the touchdown catch. "He audibled to a deep pass like he did the last game, and I make an out move and the cornerback bit on it. Then Dustin just threw a great pass. I knew I had it, you always know when you can get to a ball."
Long finished the night completing passes to seven different receivers, and unlike last week where he was intercepted four times, didn't toss a pick.
"Those guys are good," long said about his receiving corps. "It just makes my job easier because I can just put the ball in the air and let those guys go get it. They can make plays and if I can hit them running full speed they will make guys miss and score. The good thing about our offense is we have four or five guys that can do that."
