Offensive fireworks highlight SHSU-UCA football rivalry
11/10/2010 5:17:00 AM | Football
The Bears are the newest member of the league, joining the Southland in 2007. Central Arkansas holds a 3-1 margin in its meetings with Sam Houston. The Bearkats chalked up their first victory over UCA last year in Huntsville.
For the first time in the series, the Sam Houston defense was able to slow down the Central Arkansas attack when the pair battled in 2009.
Trailing by three with less than a minute to play, Central Arkansas had one last-ditch effort. With 40 seconds to play and no timeouts, Bears quarterback Robbie Park looked downfield, but was picked off by junior cornerback Jarvis Pippins, the second interception of the day for SHSU, at the UCA 44-yard line to essentially clinch the game for the Bearkats.
That was icing on the cake for the SHSU defense, which held Central Arkansas to 243 yards and below 20 points for the first time all season. The previous week at McNeese, the Kats had given up more than 600 yards total offense.
"We were so embarrased after our performance last week," said sophomore linebacker Will Henry, who recorded six tackles against UCA, including a 13-yard sack. "I felt like today that we had to come out and show what we could do."
Sam Houston State made it difficult on the Central Arkansas backfield as it continually penetrated the offensive line and applied pressure.
"If you're going to be on this defense and you're going to be starting, you're going to go hard," Henry said. "You've got to give effort. The main focus is going hard, give effort and play your heart out."
The Bearkats trailed 7-3 at halftime, but got a third quarter boost from their special teams.
On fourth-and-23 from SHSU's 49-yard line, Central Arkansas lined up to punt. The speedy Vincent Dotson was able to break in from the corner and block Jonathan Beard's punt. Dotson then scooped up the ball and sprinted toward the end zone 36 yards for the score.
"We just worked so hard all week on specials. Our main goal was executing," Dotson said. "I saw that they had only one person on my side, so I saw that I could move in a little closer. That's what gave me the edge to get closer to the ball and block it."
Senior quarterback Blake Joseph hit senior receiver Jason Madkins along the sideline for a 36-yard gain and Chris Poullard ran 11 yards to the one then finished off the drive, barreling up the middle and scored what proved to be the winning points.
The first three meetings were offensive shootouts as All-Southland Conference quarterback Nathan Brown led the Bears to three straight victories.
UCA took the 2008 shootout 48-46 in a game where the two teams combined for 988 yards total offense and 94 points.
Bearkat quarterback Rhett Bomar completed 29 of 47 passes for 361 yards and added 64 more on the ground on 15 carries. Three turnovers, some missed tackles and an average UCA starting field position of its own 46-yard line to hand the Bearkats a 48-46 loss in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
The Bears totaled 414 yards of total offense as Brown completed 20-of-28 passing attempts for 269 yards and three touchdowns, including a 60-yard pass to Willie Landers with 5:51 to go in the game.
The Bearkats were just as unstoppable, gaining 503 yards of offense behind Bomar and running back James Aston. Bomar threw for three scores. Aston reached the century mark on the ground, rushing for 136 yards on 16 carries.
Brown completed 28 of 37 passes for 308 yards including touchdown passes of five and 16 yards in Central Arkansas' 35-14 victory over Sam Houston State in 2007 at Bowers Stadium. Brown threw to 14 different receivers as he led the Bears to 476 total yards on 83 plays.
The Bearkat offense turned the ball over three times in UCA territory. The defense stopped four Bear drives (two punts, a fumble and a missed field goal) in the loss.
Bomar finished the night 22-of-38 for 241 yards and two interceptions. Catron Houston led the Kats with seven catches for 90 yards, and tight end Blake Martin added five grabs for 56 yards. Payne finished the game with four catches for 49 yards and a score.
As a sophomore in 2006, Brown again found success in the air against the Kats, leading UCA to a 38-30 win. Central Arkansas rolled up 208 yards passing and took advantage of four SHSU turnovers and 81 yards in penalties.
The Bears build a 31-13 lead but Sam Houston came back with nine points in the fourth quarter.
Saturday's Sam Houston vs. Central Arkansas matchup in Conway will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM in Huntsville and on the internet on www.gobearkats.com .
