Sam Houston - Lamar Game Notes
10/26/2011 2:22:00 PM | Football
LAMAR FOOTBALL RETURNS TO HUNTSVILLE
For the first time since 1988, Sam Houston State University and Lamar University will meet in a football game in Huntsville, Texas. Lamar returned its football program last year and the two played in Beaumont as Sam Houston won 38-10. The Cardinals lost 16-14 in their last trip to Bowers Stadium in 1988. Sam Houston holds a 22-9-1 advantage in the all-time football series with Lamar. The Bearkats stand 11-1-1 against the Cardinals in Huntsville.
SAM HOUSTON's 7-0 START
The Bearkats are off to a 7-0 season start for the first since since 1964. In the university's 97 football seasons, the team has opened with seven victories only twice before - in 1956 and 1964. 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.
NINE-GAME WINNING STREAK
Sam Houston closed the 2010 season with victories over Central Arkansas and Texas Sate and have won seven in a row this season to put together an nine-game winning streak.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.
SAM HOUSTON IN THE TOP 10
Sam Houston climbed to No. 6 in this week's Sports Network FCS national poll.The Kats cracked the Top 25 for the first time this year after the win over No. 18 Central Arkansas Sept. 17.
SHSU has climbed higher each week, starting at No. 20 (after the UCA win), No. 16 (New Mexico), No. 10 (SFA), No. 7 (Nicholls) and now No. 6 (after the win at McNeese State). 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.
LAST YEAR'S SHSU-LAMAR GAME
Tim Flanders rushed for 153 yards and one touchdown and Brian Bell passed for 171 yards and another score to lead Sam Houston to a 38-10 non-conference victory over Lamar before a standing room only crowd of 17,187 at Humphrey Provost Stadium.
Brandon Closner returned a punt for a 37 yards for a touchdown to give the Kats a quick start. The return mark the first time since 2006 a Bearkat has scored on a punt return. Darnell Taylor and Bookie Sneed led the Kat defense, each with five tackles. Victor Carmichael and Kenneth Jenkins each had an interception.
Bell directed an 11-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Seth Patterson in the left corner of the end zone. Flanders scored touchdowns on 27-yard and one-yard runs to put Sam Houston up 28-3 at intermission. The freshman running back added a two-yard score in the third quarter.
BEARKAT OFFENSE
Sam Houston ranks No. 9 in NCAA Division FCS rushing (237.14 yards per game), No. 11 in scoring offense (35.86 points) and No. 34 in total offense ( 399.14 yards). The Bearkats lead the Southland in rushing yards and scoring and rank third in the league in total offense.
RUNNING BACK TIM FLANDERS
Tim Flanders leads the Southland Conference in rushing (109.29) and scoring (11.14) and ranks No. 2 in NCAA FCS scoring and No. 13 nationally in rushing yardage per game. The sophomore from Midwest City, Okla., continues to continues to carve his notch in the Sam Houston record book. Last weekend, he jumped from 24th to 14th in Sam Houston career rushing with his 162 yards rushing on 19 carries in the Bearkats' 38-14 victory over No. 24 McNeese State.
Flanders has rushed for 1,704 yards in 17 games in his two years as a Bearkat. Of the 13 running backs ahead of Flanders, Luther Turner (who rushed for 1,925 yards) has the fewest games played with 24. Flanders already has tied Charles Harris (1991-94) for most 100-yard games with 11. Flanders is tied with Harris in career rushing touchdowns with 26. Only McNeil Moore (30 in 1950-52) and Luther Turner (35 in 1985-87) have scored more.
On Sept. 24 in Albuquerque, in a 48-45 overtime victory against New Mexico, the sophomore from Midwest City, Okla., set a school record for most rushing touchdowns with five. The old mark was four by Charles Harris, Sam Houston's all-time rushing leader, against North Texas in 1992 and James Aston versus Nicholls in 2009. 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 produced runs of more than 50 yards four times this year and added a 45-yard gain on a pass in the UTSA victory and a 50-yarder on a catch in the McNeese win. He is the Bearkats' leading receiver this year as well with 18 catches for 279 yards. He ranks No. 16 nationally in all-purpose yardage (148.14). Flanders set a school mark as a freshman in 2010 with six consecutive 100-yard rushing games.He 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
Richard Sincere, sophomore from Galveston Ball, is a true triple threat with his ability to run, catch and throw the ball. A wide receiver who also lines up behind center in the "Wild Bearkat" formation, Sincere has rushed 57 times for 363 yards and five touchdowns. He has caught 14 passes for 129 yards.
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 rushed 42 times for 282 yards and caught eight passes for 192 yards as a freshman in 2010.
This year, 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
Since the sophomore took over as starting quarterback as a true freshman in the third game of the 2010, the China Spring product has led the Bearkats to an 12-3 record. An All-District quarterback in high school for his coach and father Mark Bell, the signal-caller completed 110 passes for 1,381 yards and 7 touchdowns last year.
This season Bell stands No. 7 in the Southland Conference in total offense with a 173.3 per game average. He has directed the Kats an average possession time of 34:33 minutes and has completed 70 of 103 passes for 946 yards and eight touchdowns. Bell ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division I FCS passing efficiency with a 170.74 rating. He now has thrown 117passes without an interception. His last interception came in fourth quarter of last year's loss to McNeese State. Since then Bell has completed 91 of 117 passes. Sam Houston ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division I FCS football in turnover margin. This season, the Kat offense has suffered only four turnovers (three lost fumbles and one interception thrown by the backup quarterback).
NATIONALLY-RANKED DEFENSE
The Bearkat defense ranks No. 1 nationally in rushing defense (60.43 yards per game). The defense ranks No. 2 nationally in total defense (282.86) and turnover ratio (2.43), No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (14.14), No. 3 in turnover margin (2.33) and No. 4 in total defense (402.5). Only New Mexico produced more than 300 yards total offense against the Kats. Sam Houston has limited five foes to less than 100 yards rushing.
TOP DEFENDERS
Junior safety Darnell Taylor of Mesquite leads the Bearkats with 65 total tackles. Other top tacklers include defensive backs Robert Shaw (38), Bookie Sneed (36), Darius Taylor (35) and Kenneth Jenkins (34) and linebackers Kash David (31) and Will Henry (25). The defense has created 21 turnovers this year including 12 interceptions and nine fumbles. Sam Houston picked off four passes in the Stephen F. Austin victory and three in the win over Nicholls.
ROBERT SHAW TOUCHDOWNS
Junior Robert Shaw from Converse Judson has become a special teams and defensive scoring machine. Shaw covered a punt blocked by Torrance Williams for a touchdown in Saturday's win at McNeese. It was his second TD on a blocked punt as a Bearkat (the first coming last year in a win over Southeastern Louisiana). Shaw has returned three interceptions for touchdowns in his career including a 61-yard score a week ago in a win over Nicholls State.
PUNTER FROM DOWN UNDER
Matt Foster, Sam Houston's "Punter from Down Under," owns a 40.33 average this season to rank No. 3 in Southland Conference punting. The Bearkats rank No. 12 in NCAA Division I FCS net punting with a 38.06 average. Foster has nine punts of more than 50 yards including a long of 62 yards. He has 16 punts that have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
BLOCK PARTY RETURNS
After several close calls, Sam Houston special teams finally got their first punt block of the season Saturday at McNeese State. Torrance Williams blocked a punt from the McNeese 16-yard line and Robert Shaw recovered the ball in the end zone for six points. Bearkat special teams blocked punts and returned the blocks for TDs twice during the 2010 season. The blocks marked the return of the "block party," a Bearkat special teams tradition established when Willie Fritz was special teams coordinator for Sam Houston in 1991 and 1992. The "block party" saw Sam Houston block 80 punts, field goals and extra points in the 14 seasons from 1991 to 2004.
BEARKATS AT BOWERS STADIUM
Sam Houston State stands 92-42-1 on the artificial turf at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium since the facility opened in 1986. The Bearkats are 4-0 at home this season. SHSU has posted perfect home records five times - 1986 (6-0), 1987 (4-0), 1990 (4-0), 2001 (6-0) and 2004 (8-0). Combined with a victory over Texas State in the final home game of the 2010 season, Sam Houston currently owns a five-game home winning streak. The longest home winning streak for the Bearkats has been 15 games from 1985 to 1988 (the first 15 contests Sam Houston played at Bowers Stadium).
CHAMPIONS REUNION
Members of five Sam Houston State football championship teams will be honored during the Bearkats' Southland Conference showdown with the Lamar Cardinals at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium on Saturday Oct. 29. This year marks the 55th and 50th anniversaries of the Bearkats' Lone Star Conference championships in 1956 and 1961, the 25th anniversary of SHSU's Gulf Star Conference title in 1986 and the 20th and 10th anniversaries of Sam Houston State's Southland Conference championship squads. Activities will include a pre-game party in the Bearkat Champions Lounge in the Ron Mafrige Field House and a halftime presentation on the field. The lounge will open at 12 noon for team members and their guests. Kickoff for the football game is 2 p.m.
The 1956 Bearkats were Sam Houston's only undefeated, untied team. Rolling up a 10-0 record, the 1956 grid squad won the Lone Star Conference and defeated Middle Tennessee State 27-13 in the Refrigerator Bowl in Evansville, Ind.
The 1961 Lone Star Conference champion Bearkats lost their season opener then roared back to win eight straight including a 7-0 record in league action. The team out-scored its Lone Star Conference foes 138 points to 46.
In 1986, the Bearkats' first year of NCAA Division I FCS competition, Sam Houston roared to a 9-3 record, a No. 11 national ranking and the Gulf Star Conference championship. The 1986 Kats ended the year with Sam Houston's first-ever NCAA playoff appearance.
Sam Houston's 1991 "Cardiac Kats" won six games by a TD or less on the way to an 8-3-1 record, the university's first Southland Conference football championship and a No. 12 final national ranking. The Bearkats earned Sam Houston's second NCAA playoff berth, falling in overtime at Middle Tennessee.
Sam Houston rolled to a 10-3 record, the Kats' second Southland Conference title, a No. 7 final national ranking and the quarterfinals of the NCAA playoffs in 2001. On the way to the title, the Bearkats defeated six nationally-ranked opponents and an NCAA Division I FBS foe.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the Sam Houston vs. Lamar game are available now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the Sam Houston ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m Monday through Friday. The ticket office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
INFORMATION FOR VISITING FANS
The Lamar Cardinals visit Elliott T. Bowers Stadium Saturday Octobert 29 for an important Southland Conference football matchup Visiting fans have the opportunity to purchase their tickets online now at www.gobearkats.com. Go to "buy tickets now", select the game and then look for the Group Code or click on this link for more information. Unreserved parking suggested for Lamar guests in in Parking Lot 2 at the corner of Bobby K. Marks and 17th Street.
Fans interested in staying overnight can do so for a special $79 room rate at the Fairfield Inn in Conroe. Football fans can take advantage of a $79 per night rate just by mentioning "Sam Houston Athletics" or the "Bearkat Rate" when rooms are available. Fairfield Inn & Suites of Conroe is located at 3010 North IH-45. The hotel website is www.fairfieldconroe.com and the telephone number is (936) 756-3040.
