Football to scrimmage Thursday at 7 p.m. at Bowers
8/11/2010 7:06:00 AM | Football
New head coach Willie Fritz can't wait to see the action.
"We've had a good first week of camp but obviously you learn a lot more about your team when you get to start hitting in game condition action," Fritz said. "We'll start at 7 p.m. with some specialists at the beginning. The full-fledged scrimmage will get starter at 7:30 p.m."
With only 30 lettermen returning from last year's 5-6 squad and more than 30 newcomers in camp, working on blending a mix of veterans and freshmen and transfers has been a priority in the first week's work.
"We're going to be very vanilla in this first scrimmage," Fritz said. "About half our squad is brand new. We'll be tackling and everything is live. We'll have officials out here and they will be calling everything except for clock violations."
The coaching staff has been pleased with the attitude and the work ethic in preseason camp.
"Most of the guys showed up in shape and the players have been working hard," Fritz said. "There's a couple of areas where guys are out with injuries and that's made us a bit short a depth in those positions. We've been trying to get an edge to us and we're getting in that direction. The kids are doing a good job."
The Bearkats are looking to rebuild their offense as only three starters and nine other lettermen return on that side of the ball. Sam Houston does not return a running back who made a carry in 2009 and only three receivers who caught a pass.
Defensively, six starters are back including linebacker Will Henry who earned honorable mention All-Southland Conference honors last year.
"Every starting position is up for grabs in camp this year," Fritz said. "There is a real opportunity for some of these newcomers to come in and play right away."
Preseason camp will run to the opening day of classes August 25. The Bearkats expect to hold four full-contact scrimmages during preseason work.
Sam Houston will open the 2010 slate Saturday, Sept. 4 against the Baylor Bears at Waco. The first home game will be Saturday, Sept. 25 when Gardner-Webb visits Bowers Stadium for Bearkat "Family Weekend."
The game Sept. 25 will feature a guest appearance by the Houston Texans Cheerleaders, a fireworks display and special halftime activities.
Other home games will be Oct. 16 (Homecoming) vs. Southeastern Louisiana, Nov. 6 vs. McNeese State and Nov. 20 vs. Texas State. The final three home games will kickoff at 2 p.m.
Season tickets for Bearkat football at Bowers Stadium are available through the new exciting "2-2-2" offer, order your tickets now by going to the Bearkat tickets page on www.gobearkats.com or call (936) 294-1729.
The "2-2-2" offer also includes two corner tickets to the "Battle of the Piney Woods" game with Stephen F. Austin at Reliant Stadium in Houston on October 23.
Fans also may visit the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House located in the south end zone of Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
