Success Sweet for Kat Seniors
11/17/2011 6:09:00 PM | Football
"It was just awesome, being a senior and being able to go out with a championship," Bearkat senior linebacker Kash David said following the victory. "That is what every senior in the Southland Conference and across the nation dreams about. They want to go undefeated and win a conference championship. My dream came true Saturday."
Bearkat head coach Willie Fritz gives much of the credit for the success of the Sam Houston State football team in 2012 to his 12 seniors.
"I'm really proud of our seniors," Fritz said. "I came in here a couple of years ago and they could have said 'who is this crazy guy running around here with all this energy and different kind of philosophy.' They embraced me and the coaching staff and they made it a heck of a lot quicker transition than a lot of people thought we would have."
The list of accomplishments this season is long. The Bearkats' No. 2 national ranking is the highest in program history. Only once before in Sam Houston football history (in 1956) has the team been 10-0 for the season. The team has tied the school record for longest winning streak (12 games), posted its first perfect home record since 2004 and has exclusive status as the only Texas member of the Southland Conference to capture a league title unbeaten and untied.
More importantly, the Bearkats have claimed their first outright SLC crown after sharing previous championships in 1991, 2001 and 2004.
"Last Saturday night would not have meant as much if we had lost to Northwestern State and then were trying to hoist the trophy up," senior defensive end Eddie Decambre said. "But going 10-0 and hoisting that trophy in front of our home fans, in front of all of Huntsville and in front of our families on Senior Day meant a lot more. It was history made for us and our school."
For the 12 seniors to be honored before their final home regular-season game, winning an outright SLC championship was a watershed event.
Many of them were recruited by SHSU former coach Todd Whitten and his staff. Those seniors represented a small fraction of seasoned veterans during Fritz's first campaign in 2010, which ended with a 6-5 mark.
This season has exceeded the wildest dreams of some of the seniors.
"When Coach Fritz came in, I felt that this program was really on the right track," Bearkat center Travis Watson, who is one of five fifth-year seniors, said. "From the first practice, there was excitement and enthusiasm. We bought into what the coaches were doing and it shows."
Sam Houston State has lit up the Football Championship Subdivision national charts this season. The Bearkats are first in scoring offense, scoring defense and second in total defense and turnover margin.
Whether starters or reserves, each of the seniors on the 2011 squad knows they've played an important role in the team's success. Along with David, Watson and Decambre, the other seniors are kicker Craig Alaniz, special teams member Michael Buse, return specialist and wide receiver Brandon Closner, offensive lineman Chris Crockett, linebacker Will Henry, wide receiver Grant Merritt, defensive lineman E. J. Nduka, backup quarterback Greg Sprowls and safety Randy Stewart.
Already assured of an NCAA Division I FCS playoff berth, the Bearkats still have a mission. The team will be out to close the regular season and march into the playoffs with a perfect record.
Sam Houston faces Texas State in the oldest FCS rivalry in the state.
"Our goal each week has been to go 1-0 that weekend," Decambre said. "We just have to go over there and prove to ourselves that we are the champions because we know what we can do."
