SHSU - Nicholls Homecoming Game Notes
10/13/2011 1:53:00 PM | Football
HOMECOMING 2011
Game day excitement begins early as Brookshire Brothers hosts a special Saturday morning pregame tailgate party in the Brookshire Brothers parking lot at 2601 11th Street in Huntsville. The event will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The event will feature an appearance by Sammy Bearkat and the Sam Houston marching band. There will be free food, prize and football ticket giveaways.
The excitement shifts back to campus at 12 noon with the Bearkat band's weekly march to Bearkat Alley and the start of the Homecoming tailgate in the lot north of the Bowers Stadium parking lot.
Kickoff is at 2 p.m. as the Bearkats play host to Nicholls. Homecoming action continues at 7 p.m. at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum when the Sam Houston volleyball team takes on Texas State.
The first 500 students who enter through the north gate Saturday will each receive a free homecoming 2011 t-shirt.
BEARKATS' RECORD AT HOMECOMING
Sam Houston hosts Nicholls for its 78th annual homecoming football game Saturday. The Bearkats have won 36, lost 40 and tied once in their previous homecoming contests. The Colonels are making their sixth appearance as a Bearkat homecoming foe. Since Elliott T. Bowers Stadium became the home of Bearkat football when Sam Houston moved up to the NCAA Division I FCS level in 1986, SHSU stands 16-9 in homecoming games.
SAM HOUSTON's 5-0 START
The Bearkats are off to a 5-0 season start for the first since since 1994 when Sam Houston started the year with five consecutive victories. In the university's 97 football seasons, the team has opened with five victories only five times - 1915, 1956, 1964, 1994 and now 2011.
The 1915 team ended 5-1-1, tying Southwest Texas and falling to North Texas in its final two games. The 1956 squad is Sam Houston's only undefeated, untied team, going 10-0 and winning both the Lone Star Conference and Refrigerator Bowl titles. The 1964 Lone Star Conference winners and NAIA national co-champions won eight in a row before falling to Sul Ross. The 1994 team opened with five wins then lost five in a row before ending the year 6-5.SEVEN-GAME WINNING STREAK
That's the longest winning streak for the Kats since the 2004 Southland Conference championship team won seven in a row before falling 45-25 at Northwestern State. The longest Bearkat winning streak in Sam Houston history was 12 games including the final two games of 1955 and the 10-0 undefeated 1956 season. The streak ended with a 14-7 loss to Southwestern Louisiana in the 1957 season opener.
Sam Houston was put together three eight-game winning streaks. The first was in 1930 and 1931, ended by Rice 32-0. The second came during the 1961 and 1962 seasons and was stopped by an 8-0 loss to Louisiana College. The 1964 team won eight in a row before a 14-7 loss to Sul Ross.BEARKATS VICTORIES IN 2011
The victory over UCA marked Sam Houston's 21st win over a top 25-ranked NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent and was the Kats first Top 25 victory since defeating No. 25 Nicholls in 2007.
The win over New Mexico marked Sam Houston's third victory over an FBS opponent. Sam Houston defeated UTSA's inaugural football squad 22-7 in a defensive struggle. The Kats' fifth victory came over two-time defending Southland Champion Stephen F. Austin 45-10 at Reliant Stadium.SAM HOUSTON BACK IN THE TOP 20
Before the UCA win, Sam Houston had gone 55 weeks out of the poll, the longest drought since the Bearkats went from Oct. 16, 1994 to Sept. 4, 2000. Ironically, it was a 35-14 loss to Central Arkansas that knocked Sam Houston out of the polls in 2007. Sam Houston's highest national ranking ever was 3rd on Nov. 8 and Dec. 20 in 2004.
The Bearkats stood No. 20 after the UCA win then moved up to No. 16 after defeating New Mexico, then to No. 11 before the SFA game.SOUTHLAND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Richard Sincere, who rushed for 111 yards and two TDs and caught three passes for 36 yards, was named "Offensive Player of the Week."
Linebacker Darius Taylor was named "Defensive Player of the Week" after picking off two interceptions and making five tackles. Both interceptions set up important scores for the Bearkats.
Punter Matt Foster, who had five kicks for a 46.0 average including a long of 56 and two punts killed inside the 20, was "Special Teams Player of the Week."
After wins over Central Arkansas and New Mexico, the Southland Conference "Offensive Player of the Week" has been a Bearkat.
Running back Tim Flanders earned the honor after the overtime win at New Mexico State where he scored a school record five touchdowns and rushed for 194 yards.
Wide receiver Richard Sincere took the honor after the victory over Central Arkansas in which he ran the ball seven times for 107 yards and two scores.
Darnell Taylor took Southland "Defensive Player of the Week" honors after the UCA game in which he led Sam Houston with 11 total tackles and one tackle for loss. With his twin brother Darius earning the same award after the SFA win, the pair look to be the first set of twins to both earn Southland "Player of the Week" awards during the same season.
RUNNING BACK TIM FLANDERS
With two touchdowns Saturday at Reliant Stadium, Flanders now stands fourth in Bearkat career TDs. Luther Turner scored 35 in 1985-87. McNeil Moore tallied 30 in 1951-53. Charles Harris scored 26 in 1991-94.
Not yet midway through his sophomore season, Flanders now ranks 24th in all-time SHSU rushing with 1,494 career yards. His 194 yards (including TD runs of 61, 53, three, two and four yards at New Mexico) ranks as the 11th highest single game rushing total by a Bearkat back.
Flanders has posted 10 career 100-yard rushing games, one short of SHSU school mark. All-time rushing leader Charles Harris set the school record of 11 100-yard games in his four-year career from 1991-94. Flanders set a school mark as a freshman in 2010 with six consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
With his 109.2 yards per game this season, Flanders leads the Southland Conference and ranks No. 18 nationally in Football Championship Subdivision rushing. He stands No. 2 nationally in scoring with nine TDs this year and No. 17 in FCS all-purpose yards (149.2).
Flanders earned Southland Conference's "Freshman of the Year" honors and was a first team all-league selection in in 2010. His 13 rushing touchdowns were the most ever by an SHSU freshman running back.
MULTI-TASKING WIDE RECEIVER
Sincere has posted two 100-yard rushing performances, carrying 10 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns against Central Arkansas and 11 times for 111 yards and two scores against SFA.
An option quarterback in high school, Sincere does double duty as a receiver and running SHSU's "Wild Bearkat" formation. As a freshman in 2010, Sincere rushed 42 times for 282 yards and caught eight passes for 192 yards. His 45-yard touchdown run on a pitch out from Bearkat quarterback Brian Bell was the game-breaker for Sam Houston in the team's 31-10 upset of the No. 18 ranked Bears. He had a 51-yard run to set up a touchdown in the SFA victory.SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK BRIAN BELL
This season Bell stands No. 5 in the Southland Conference in total offense with a 194.5 per game average. He has directed the Kats an average possession time of 35:10 minutes and has completed 51 of 76 passes for 685 yards and six touchdowns.
NATIONALLY-RANKED DEFENSE
The Bearkat defense leads NCAA FCS teams in rushing defense (46.0 yards per game). The defense ranks No. 3 in scoring defense (15.6) No. 4 in turnover margin (1.30) and No. 19 in total defense (307.3).
Junior safety Darnell Taylor of Mesquite leads the Bearkats with 43 total tackles. Other top tacklers include defensive backs Bookie Sneed (27), Mike Littleton (24) and Robert Shaw (24), linebackers Darius Taylor (24) and Kash David (22) and defensive lineman Eric Fieilo (10).
Fieilo and transfer defensive end Jarrett Brown combined to tackle UTSA quarterback Eric Soza for a safety for the Bearkats' first score in the win over the Roadrunners.
The defense has created 13 turnovers this year including nine interceptions. Sam Houston picked off four passes in the Stephen F. Austin victory. Dax Swanson has three interceptions this year and Kenneth Jenkins and Darius Taylor have two apiece.
Darnell Taylor is one of nine defensive starters returning from last year's team that won six of its last nine games. Senior linebacker Will Henry and junior defensive lineman J. T. Cleveland were second team all-conference in 2010. Defensive backs Taylor, Dax Swanson and Bookie Sneed all were honorable mention All-Southland selections last fall. Other returning starters on defense include linemen and senior Eddie Decambre and senior linebacker Kash David.
PUNTER FROM DOWN UNDER
Foster owns a 42.8 average on 25 punts this season. The Bearkats rank No. 8 in NCAA Division I FCS net punting with a 38.9 average. Foster ranks second in the Southland in punting average (42.8). The junior specialist has eight punts of more than 50 yards including a long of 62 and 12 punts that have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
ELEVEN KATS NAMED TO PRE-SEASON ALL-SOUTHLAND SQUAD
Five Sam Houston State University football players have been named as first team selections and six more have been listed on the second team of the 2011 preseason All-Southland Conference football squad. The squad was selected by vote of the league's head coaches.
Bearkats recognized as first team honorees are running back Tim Flanders, defensive linemen J. T. Cleveland and Preston Sanders, linebacker Will Henry and defensive back Kenneth Jenkins.
Second team selections from Sam Houston are offensive linemen Travis Watson and Caleb Hopson, defensive back Darnell Taylor, place kicker Miguel Antonio, punter Matt Foster and return specialist Brandon Closner.
Only defending Southland champion Stephen F. Austin placed more players on the preseason honor squad. The Lumberjacks had 12 players honored. Central Arkansas and McNeese State followed Sam Houston with eight selections.
TRANSFERS FIND SPOTS IN KAT LINEUP
Trey Diller, a transfer from Wofford College who red-shirted at Sam Houston last fall, caught three passes for 53 yards including a long of 37 against WIU. Diller was an all-district performer at College Park High School in the Woodlands.
Andrew Weaver, a transfer defensive end from Texas A&M, posted two tackles for losses in the victory over the Leathernecks. Weaver was a two-time all-district player at Waco High School.
Chris Rogers, a two-time All-Iowa Conference offensive lineman at Iowa Central Community College, started for the Kats against WIU.
Emory Miller, a transfer from the University of Wyoming, provides depth at quarterback for the Bearkats. He was all-district in both football and basketball at Mesquite Horn High School.
Keith Blanton, a wide receiver from Garland High School, joined the Bearkats last week as a transfer from Iowa State.
