Top games of 2009-10: No. 19, Bearkats win on homecoming
8/1/2010 11:11:00 AM | Football
The countdown of the top games of 2009-10 continues today with game No. 19. The Sam Houston State football team put on an offensive display in front of a homecoming crowd against Nicholls in the first of two football games to make the list.
James Aston rushed 13 times for 81 yards and three touchdowns to lead Sam Houston State to a 44-21 victory over Nicholls in the Southland Conference opener for both squads before 11,244 fans at the Bearkats Homecoming game.
Aston scored on runs of 2, 16 and 20 yards. The senior runningback from Katy also caught seven passes for 93 yards and returned three kickoffs for 104 including a long return of 50 yards.
After Nicholls opened the second half with an 80-yard touchdown drive to take its first lead of the game at 21-17, Sam Houston State dug in and went to work.
Senior quarterback Blake Joseph had touchdown runs of 6 and 17 yards. He also threw an 11-yard scoring strike to senior wide receiver Chris Lucas.
The Sam Houston defense also buckled down and forced three punts and two turnovers on downs the rest of the way to help the Kats improve to 1-0 in Southland action and 3-2 on the season.
"I thought we played well defensively," former Sam Houston State head coach Todd Whitten said after the game. "We gave up three big plays and that has sort of been our Achilles' heel. We have to continue to work on that. Other than that, I think we have a pretty fast defense, but they are young, inexperienced and I think it is going to be a process.
"Offensively, I was pleased. We were a little sluggish. I was a little disappointed in how we ran the ball at times. I thought we threw it rather well and protected well. ... Overall, it is a really good victory for us."
The Colonels gained 321 yards of total offense, but more than half of that came on three plays.
The Bearkats scored on their opening drive to go up 7-0 when Aston bulled his way into the end zone on a 2-yard run. Joseph was 3-for-3 passing on the drive, including a 15-yard pass to running back Chris Poullard and a 20-yard bullet to wide receiver Darnell Jones.
Nicholls was forced to punt on the next possession, but got the ball back with a little over three minutes to go in the first quarter. Three plays later, running back A.J. Williams took a pitch from quarterback LaQuintin Caston and raced 77 yards down the side line.
Williams was stripped of the ball at the 2, but wide receiver Antonio Robinson fell on the ball in the end zone to help the Colonels tie the game at 7.
The Bearkats went back on top on a 16-yard touchdown run by Aston with under 12 minutes to go in the second quarter.
Again, Nicholls was able to knot the score 14-all when Robinson broke free for a 68-yard touchdown reception.
Sam Houston got a 42-yard field goal from freshman Miguel Antonio right before the half to go in up 17-14.
The final big play came on Nicholls' drive to start the second half. On first-and-10 at the SHSU 36-yard line, Caston, who threw for a career-high 172 yards, hit Williams for 35 yards down to the one. That set up the go ahead touchdown on a run by fullback Trey Hopson.
"You just can't panic, you have to settle back in," said SHSU senior linebacker Luke McCall about Nicholls taking the lead. "That is the last thing you want to happen to start the second half. The first series of the game and the first series of the second half, you want three and outs or turnovers. You want to get off the field.
"That's was the last thing we wanted to happen for them to go in and score, but we didn't panic and we settled in and played pretty good the second half."
Panicking was the last thing the Bearkats did.
Aston, who had 237 all-purpose yards and three scores, set the tone by returning the following kickoff 50 yards down to the Colonel 36. A few plays later, Joseph scored on a 6-yard quarterback keeper to put the Kats up for good at 24-21 following Antonio's point-after kick.
The Bearkats, who held Nicholls to only three third-down conversions on 12 attempts, forced another punt on the ensuing drive.
Joseph then picked apart the Colonels' secondary. He hit back-to-back passes to senior Jason Madkins for a combined 34 yards. Jones reeled in a catch for 12 more and senior Jake Lebens added an 8-yard grab.
Joseph, who threw for 269 yards and rushed for 54, finished the drive with his 16-yard touchdown run, which basically sealed it.
The Bearkats took several shots downfield Saturday, but couldn't convert any of the long pass plays. Sam Houston was at its best going over the middle on the short to intermediate routes.
Madkins had seven catches for 93 yards. Jones and Lucas each had four grabs for 56 and 31 yards, respectively.
"I thought we had some opportunities to catch some of those big balls, but I don't know if we dropped them or it was good defensive play," Whitten said. "I'm a little disappointed that we weren't able to complete some of those balls over the top."
Nicholls never threatened again. The Colonels had two three-and-outs and only got as far as the SHSU 41 following their score to start the third quarter.
"I feel like we did pretty good. Big plays are what got us today," said McCall, who led the Kats with 10 tackles. "The first two went for touchdowns and the last one was down to the 1- or 2-yard line to set up the other touchdown.
"But other than that, we played pretty good. I think we played well on third down, which is always nice to get off the field when you can. Other than those three big plays, I thought we played well."
