Sam Houston vs. Nicholls football game notes
10/6/2010 2:49:00 PM | Football
FOURTH ROAD TRIP IN FIVE GAMES
Sam Houston will hit the road for the fourth time in five games this season when the Bearkats travel to Thibodaux, La., to face the Nicholls Colonels in the 2010 Southland Conference opener for both squads.
The Bearkats posted their first road victory last Saturday with a 38-10 win at Lamar. SHSU won its home opener two weeks ago 30-14 over Gardner-Webb. The Bearkats lost to Baylor 34-3 at Waco and Western Illinois 56-14 at Macomb to start the year.
Sam Houston will be seeking its third consecutive victory. The Bearkats have not strung together three football wins in a row since they ended the 2007 season with five straight wins to finish as Southland Conference runners-up.
SAM HOUSTON IN SOUTHLAND OPENERS
Sam Houston holds a record of eight victories, 14 losses and one tie in its 23 previous Southland Conference openers. The Bearkats defeated Nicholls 44-21 in both team's league debut last year. The Kats and the Colonels have opened Southland Conference play against each other four times with SHSU winning in 2009 and 1991, Nicholls in 1998 and the two tying in 1992.
WINNING A CHALLENGE IN LOUISIANA
Sam Houston plays a football game in Louisiana for the 80th time in school history Saturday at Thibodaux.
The Bearkats stand 23-53-3 in the Pelican State. Last year, Sam Houston was 0-2 across the Sabine River, falling 37-21 at Southeastern Louisiana and 63-42 at McNeese State.
Sam Houston's last victory in Louisiana was a 47-37 victory over Nicholls in Thibodaux in 2008.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
With only 29 lettermen back from last year's Bearkat squad and only five seniors on this year's roster, the 2010 Sam Houston football team definitely is young.
Eleven freshmen dot the Bearkats' two-deep lineup and two had a big hand in Sam Houston's back-to-back victories over Gardner-Webb and Lamar.
True freshman Brian Bell of China Springs passed for 163 yards and two touchdowns in his first college start against the GWU Bulldogs and 171 yards and a score in the win at Lamar. Having played in three games, Bell is 23 of 43 for 409 yards in the air.
Tim Flanders, red-shirt freshman transfer, leads the Bearkat ground attack with 468 yards rushing (113.2 per game) and six touchdowns in four contests. Flanders leads the Southland Conference in rushing and ranks No. 11 nationally in the NCAA Division I FCS rankings
New Sam Houston head coach Willie Fritz inherited a young team with just as many newcomers as returning players and told potential high school recruits they definitely had an opportunity to play as freshmen.
SAM HOUSTON VERSUS NICHOLLS
Sam Houston and Nicholls meet for the 26th time Saturday. The Bearkats hold a slim 13-11-1 edge over the Colonels. SHSU is 5-7-1 against Nicholls in Thibodaux. The Bearkats have won the last four meetings between the pair.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Nicholls stands 1-3 for the year. The Colonels were open last weekend. Nicholls started the year with road losses at San Diego State, Western Michigan and South Florida then defeated Bacone in their home opener Sept. 25.
Jesse Turner is the Colonels' top offensive threat, leading the team in both rushing with 408 yards on 49 carries and pass receiving with nine catches for 200 yards.
Quarterback LaQuint Caston has completed 40 of 84 passes for 599 yards and four scores. Tarbbari Hicks leads the Colonels with 34 tackles including four for losses.
COACHING CONNECTIONS
Charlie Stubbs, Nicholls' first year coach, was the offensive coordinator for Sam Houston's new head coach Willie Fritz at Central Missouri State in 2008 and 2009. The Mules led their conference in passing offense both years, finishing as runners-up in the MIAA conference.
FRESHMEN RUNNING BACKS
Tim Flanders, redshirt freshman running back from Midwest City, Okla., is the first Sam Houston freshman to gain more than 100 yards rushing in three consecutive games. He rushed for 153 yards and three TDs at Lamar Saturday, 156 yards at Western Illinois and 104 in SHSU's home victory over Gardner-Webb.
Only four other Kat running backs ever have strung together three consecutive 100-yard games -- Roger Wiley (1982), Curtis Thomas (1990), D.D. Terry (2006) and Chris Poullard (2007). Wiley and Terry both posted four consecutive 100-yard games. Wiley totaled exactly 500 yards against Southwestern Oklahoma, Texas Lutheran, East Texas and Southwest Texas in 1982 and Terry 670 yards versus Northwestern State, Nicholls, Central Arkansas and McNeese in 2006.
Flanders and Joe Rauls (as a senior the top rusher for Sam Houston's 2001 Southland Conference champions) are the only Bearkat freshmen ever to run for 100 yards in three games during their freshman seasons.
With 453 yards rushing in four games, Flanders already stands No. 4 on the list of top single season rushing performances by Sam Houston freshmen. Joe Rauls gained 867 yards in 1998, James Oliphant 655 in 1973 and Stevie Smith 475 in 2002. Joe Vickers set the school record for most rushing touchdowns by a freshman with seven in 1971.
Seventeen running backs have rushed for 100 yards in three or more games in one season at Sam Houston a total of 19 times. Three (Roger Wiley 1982, D.D. Terry 2006 and Chris Poullard 2007) totaled six 100-plus rushing performance in one year.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Tim Flanders and return specialist Brandon Closner, who helped lead the Bearkats to a 38-10 victory at Lamar last Saturday, were named the Southland Conference offensive player of the week and special teams player of the week, respectively, the league announced Flanders totaled 153 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns in the non-conference win at Lamar last Saturday. Closner gave the Bearkats early momentum at Lamar with a 37-yard punt return for Sam Houston State's first touchdown in 38-10 victory. The touchdown marked Sam Houston's first punt return for a score since 2006. The senior from Arlington, Texas (Seguin), is averaging 9.5 yards per return this season with 114 yards on 12 returns. He ranks No. 2 in the Southland Conference in punt return average.SAM HOUSTON BEARKAT FOOTBALL IN 2010
Sam Houston head coach Willie Fritz knew coming into the season that he was going to have his hands full turning around the Bearkats' football program. Sam Houston returns only 29 of the 63 players who lettered on last year's 5-6 squad.
The 34 lost letter-winners is the highest total of departed players since the Bearkats moved up to the NCAA Division I FCS level in 1986. The previous high was 28 lost lettermen in 1993 when Sam Houston went 4-7 for the year and 2-5 in Southland action. Just eight starters (two on offense and six on defense) are among the returnees. Sam Houston does not return a running back who touched a ball in the 2009 season and the Bearkats' top six receivers from last year are gone.
Of the 90 players who reported for the opening of preseason camp on August 6, only 48 took part in Fritz's spring practice in April. The other 42 players were either freshmen or transfers.
The Bearkats' 44-man two-deep for the Baylor game breaks down as follows - 11 freshmen (6 offense, 5 defense); 17 sophomores (8 offense, 9 defense), 10 juniors (6 offense, 4 defense) and 6 seniors (2 offense, 4 defense).
"We lost a bunch of guys - 27 seniors - from last year's group," Fritz said. "We told every kid we recruited that, if you want to play this year, you have the opportunity. Coming into preseason camp in August, every position was wide open. I like the direction we are going. I feel like we signed a good class. I like the staff we have put together. I think this is going to be a good mix."
SHSU's coordinators both are former Southland Conference head coaches - Bob DeBesse (Southwest Texas) and Scott Stoker (Northwestern State).
THE BEARKAT OFFENSE
The biggest change for the 2010 Bearkats will come on offense where Sam Houston will look to become more balanced.
"I think you have to run the ball successfully to win," Fritz said. "We are going to control the game and we are going to look and see where the weaknesses are and see what we can take advantage of. We will have a lot of different formations, but most everything we are going to do is with the same philosophy."
Brian Bell, a true freshman from China Spring, has started the last two games. Bell came off the bench in the second quarter at Western Illinois and directed the team to two touchdown drives. Bell has completed 23 of 43 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Bryan Randolph started both at Baylor and WIU. He had been the backup the last two years, playing behind Rhett Bomar (now with the New York Giants) in 2008 and Blake Joseph (who passed for 2,440 yards and 14 touchdowns last year).
With no running backs who carried during either the 2009 season or in spring practice, Sam Houston has collected a strong stable of runners in preseason camp. Tim Flanders, a redshirt freshman transfer from Kansas State, leads the Southland with 113.2 yards rushing per game. True freshmen Ridgeway Frank (Spring HS) and Cameron Brown (Austin LBJ HS) and transfers D. J. Morrow (Louisiana Tech) help carry the load.
Junior center Travis Watson and left tackle Chris Crockett were starters in 2008 who missed playing in 2009 because of injury. Sophomore tackle Kaleb Hopson was a starter as a freshman last year and sophomore tackle Rily Smith and guard Cameron Pound were backups last year, giving the Kats an experienced front line.
Wide receivers Brandon Closner and Melvis Pride and tight end T. J. Jones were the only returning Bearkats to catch passes last year (combining for 13 catches for 170 yards). Western Michigan transfer Seth Patterson leads the Bearkat receivers with 10 catches for 105 yards and one TD.
THE BEARKAT DEFENSE
It is no secret that one of Sam Houston's biggest weaknesses last season came in the secondary. The Bearkats started three freshmen, two safeties and a cornerback, who got on-the-job training while taking their fair share of lumps. Sam Houston ranked sixth out of eight teams in the Southland Conference in pass defense at 253.5 yards a game. Things got better towards the end of the season including a victory over Central Arkansas in which the Kats gave up only 106 yards passing and picked off two passes.
What was once a major weakness now is a strength. Those three freshmen - Darnell Taylor, Kenneth Jenkins and Robert Shaw - are a year older, and more importantly, have now been in defensive coordinator Scott Stoker's scheme for an entire season. Throw in senior cornerback Jarvis Pippins and senior safety Victor Carmichael, true freshman Bookie Sneed and sophomore transfer Daxton Swanson and the Kats have put together a talented secondary.
Linebacker is another solid position with four veterans - Will Henry, Kash David, Darius Taylor and Eric Fieilo - all returning. Henry is the only player among nine Bearkats who were recognized as All-Southland Conference last year back for 2010.
Up front, the defensive line is untested but has performed well in preseason camp with E. J. Nduka, Dwight Kennedy, J. T. Cleveland and Eddie Decambre listed as starters.
The Bearkat defense produced eight quarterback sacks in its last two games.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Miguel Antonio, who led Sam Houston in scoring with 73 points on 12 field goals and 37 PATs as a true freshman in 2009, returns. Antonio was named Southland Conference "Special Teams Player of the Week" following the 30-14 victory over Gardner-Webb. Antonio kicked three field goals and was perfect on three extra points.
The sophomore from Lovelady leads the Southland in kick scoring with 25 points (10 of 10 PAT, 5 of 9 FG).
Matt Foster, a veteran of Australian rules football in Melbourne, will handle punting chores. A red-hirt at Purdue last year, Foster will be played in his first American football game in the opener at Baylor.
Brandon Closner returned a punt 37 yards for a touchdown for the first touchdown in the Lamar victory. Sam Houston had not had a punt return brought back for a score since 2006. Closner ranks second in the Southland in punt returns with a 9.5 per return average.
Another area where the Kats expect to create opportunities for the offense through special teams play is the "Block Party." A special teams tradition established when Willie Fritz was special teams coordinator for Sam Houston in 1991 and 1992, the "Block Party" has seen Sam Houston block 80 punts, field goals and extra points in the 14 seasons from 1991 to 2004. Already, special teams has blocked three field goals in preseason scrimmages.
LAST WEEK - SAM HOUSTON 38, LAMAR 10
Tim Flanders rushed for 153 yards and one touchdown and Brian Bell passed for 171 yards and another score to lead Sam Houston to a 38-10 non-conference victory over Lamar before a standing room only crowd of 17,187 at Humphrey Provost Stadium.
Brandon Closner returned a punt for a 37 yards for a touchdown to give the Kats a quick start. The return mark the first time since 2006 a Bearkat has scored on a punt return. .
Darnell Taylor and Bookie Sneed led the Kat defense, each with five tackles. Victor Carmichael and Kenneth Jenkins each had an interception.
Bell directed an 11-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Seth Patterson in the left corner of the end zone. Flanders scored touchdowns on 27-yard and one-yard runs to put Sam Houston up 28-3 at intermission. The freshman running back added a two-yard score in the third quarter.
