Waco - Sam Houston's defense demonstrated it can be a force for the Bearkats this year and the offense showed flashes of promise in a 34-3 loss to the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 Saturday at Floyd-Casey Stadium.
Miguel Antonio provided the Kats their only points with a 27-yard field goal with 10:35 to play in the game following a 15-play, 59-yard drive.
"With more than half of our squad playing in their first NCAA Division I game before such a huge crowd, I thought we got a great effort out of our youngsters," head coach Willie Fritz said.
The 42,821 fans at Floyd Casey Stadium comprised the fifth largest crowd ever to witness a Sam Houston State football game.
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin completed 19 of 36 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns and rushed four times for 50 yards and another score to pace the Bears.
Griffin opened the scoring with a 68-yard strike to Brad Taylor at the 9:53 mark of the first quarter. Five minutes late Griffin broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown run.
Griffin hit Torrance Williams for a 23-yard touchdown with 7:52 before intermission to give the Bears a 21-0 lead at halftime.
Jay Finley dashed up the middle for a 44-yard score to make the score 28-0 in the third minute of the third quarter. Aaron Jones booted a 29-yard field goal with 6:37 remaining and a 36-yard three-pointer with 2:12 remaining.
In the first three quarters, the Bearkats had three opportunities inside the Baylor's end of the field but fumbled once and missed two field goal attempts.
There were many bright spots for the young Bearkats.
Darius Taylor and E. J. Nduka stopped Jay Finley for no gain on a fourth-and-one at the SHSU 23-yard line on Baylor's first offensive series. Taylor also picked up a fourth quarter sack of Griffin.
Former Australian rules player from Melbourne Matt Foster boomed a 43-yard punt on his first attempt in his first appearance in an American football game. Later Foster boomed a 49-yarder and completed the night with a 39.2 average on eight punts.
Robert Shaw broke up a Griffin pass in the end zone and caused another incompletion with a hard hit on a pass to the right sideline.
Sam Houston head coach Willie Fritz even got an official's call reversed via video replay to give the Bearkats a fumble recovery for a first down in Baylor territory.
Quarterback Bryan Randolph completed 12 of 23 passes for 102 yards. Tim Flanders led Kat rushers with four carries for 40 yards. Seth Patterson was Sam Houston's top receiver with four catches for 31 yards.
Taylor led the defense with six tackles including one for a loss.
Sam Houston State has an open date next week, then travels north to play Western Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 17. The first home game for the Bearkats will be Saturday Sept. 25 when Gardner-Webb visits Bowers Stadium for Family Weekend.
The contest will feature an appearance by the Houston Texans Cheerleaders, postgame fireworks display and many other events.
Tickets for Bearkat football are on sale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at 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. The ticket office telephone is 936 294-1729.
