First place McNeese visits Bowers Stadium Saturday
11/6/2010 6:42:00 AM | Football
By Cody Stark The Huntsville Item
Nebraska has Texas, Georgia has Florida and Sam Houston State, well pretty much every team in the Southland Conference, has McNeese State. There are just some programs that cause others fits.
To say the Cowboys have dominated the SLC over the years would be an understatement. In the last decade, McNeese State has piled up conference championships like Joey Chestnut has put away hot dogs at the annual "Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest" on the Fourth of July.
Since 2000, the Cowboys have claimed a share or an outright Southland Conference title six times in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009 and boast a winning percentage of .758 in league play.
But that is just the icing on the cake. McNeese State has won a record 13 league championships dating back to 1972 when the Cowboys first joined the conference, which is five more than the next in line.
The program over in Lake Charles, La., is a machine. The Cowboys seem to always field a team with a two-dimensional offense and a stout, hard-hitting defense. McNeese State keeps churning out contender after contender and this year's group isn't any different.
Heading into today's showdown with Sam Houston State at Bowers Stadium, the Cowboys are currently tied for first place in the SLC with Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State at 3-1.
Bearkats defensive coordinator Scott Stoker knows firsthand about the McNeese juggernaut. He played against the Cowboys as the quarterback at Northwestern State in the 1980s and faced them from the opposite sideline as the Demons head coach.
Oh, and Stoker was also an assistant at McNeese from 1994-2002, a span in which the Cowboys made the playoffs six times and played in the Division I-AA national championship game.
"It goes back to the early 90s, really, when Bobby Keasler took over and kind of built a dynasty," said Stoker, who went 1-6 against McNeese in seven seasons as the Demons head coach. "It has kind of hung on and been that way for a long time. They are probably the only team in the conference that has been over .500 (winning percentage) over a 20-year period.
"There is just a tradition over there. They do a good job of teaching the players that tradition and they expect to win. It's really a unique place."
There is no other team in the SLC that has caused as much heartache for Sam Houston State as the Cowboys have.
The Bearkats are a measly 3-19 against McNeese State since Sam Houston joined the league. Overall, the Cowboys lead the series 23-7-1.
In the last 10 years, Sam Houston has just one win over the Cowboys and it took one of the school's best-ever teams to do it.
Quarterback Dustin Long guided the Bearkats to a thrilling 52-47 home victory over the Cowboys during SHSU's 2004 SLC co-championship season, which resulted in a trip to the national semifinals. That was also a down year for McNeese, which went 4-7, its only losing season in the past 13 years.
There is a certain mystique surrounding the Cowboys' program, kind of like the boogeyman. McNeese has been such a power in the SLC that some teams are beat before even taking the field.
That's the challenge facing this young Bearkat squad today. Sam Houston has to focus on the present and not worry about the lopsided history between the two schools.
"Every ballgame, you can't go in thinking about what has happened in the past. If you go into a game thinking you are going to lose, then you are," Bearkats junior linebacker Kash David said. "We have a young team, and we don't know how to quit. With McNeese and any other team in the Southland Conference, you have to know that in this league, on any given Saturday, anybody can win. That is the approach you have to take."
Sam Houston State is currently in a rebuilding year under new head coach Willie Fritz. The ultimate goal is to establish a program that competes for a conference championship year after year like McNeese.
The Bearkats began SLC play with a pair of wins over Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana, but have since suffered two devastating losses to Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern State by a combined six points.
Without a true signature win since the 2004 season, a victory over McNeese today could be exactly what Sam Houston needs to take the next step.
"I think it would be a huge feather in our cap to beat McNeese. They have a great program and have done it over many, many years," Fritz said. "Coach (Matt) Viator has carried the torch and won more games than any coach in this conference. It would be a big win for our program to beat those guys."
The McNeese State contest November 6 is the four annual "Pinkout" game at Bowers promoting breast cancer awareness and research. Special "Pink Out Kats for the Cause" t-shirts will be on sale with 25 per cent of the proceeds supporting breast cancer awareness. The shirts will be sold during pregame tailgate from 12 noon to 2 p.m.
The Texas State game November 20 is "Senior Day" at Bowers with special pregame ceremonies honoring the five seniors on the 2010 team. The Bearkats vs. Bobcats matchup also is "Kids Day." Kids 17 years of age and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult with a paid ticket. Up to four youngsters may accompany each adult.
Tickets for both home games and other Bearkat home events are on sale online now at www.gobearkats.com/tickets . Fans also may purchase tickets at the Sam Houston office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
