What a Kick
12/11/2011 6:21:00 AM | Football
No need for dramatics this time. The Bearkats made sure of that.
After going toe-to-toe with Montana State for a little more than two quarters, Sam Houston turned its quarterfinal playoff game against the Bobcats into a track meet Saturday.
Using stingy defense and their explosive option attack, the top-ranked Kats ran away with a dominant 49-13 victory on Saturday and now roll into the Football Championship Subdivision national semifinals.
Up next is Montana, which Sam Houston will play either Friday night or Saturday afternoon, for the right to play for the national championship.
"We just wanted to come out and start fast and find some kind of way to get a win so we can get to next week and get a chance to go 1-0 again," said Bearkats sophomore Richard Sincere, who rushed for 160 yards on 11 carries.
Without much momentum, thanks to a blocked field goal by Bearkats sophomore defensive lineman Preston Sanders just before halftime - his third of the year - the Bobcats looked to get some offense going in the second half to whittle away at the Bearkats' 21-6 lead.
Less than five minutes into the third quarter, Montana State got back to within one score after quarterback DeNarius McGhee rolled out of the pocket and hit wide receiver Everett Gilbert, who stretched the ball into the end zone, for a 7-yard score.
The Bobcats, who finished the season 10-3, felt that after drawing back to within a score, they regained some momentum and had a shot at knocking off the No. 1 team in the country.
"Our halftime was really good. The blocked field goal didn't factor in too much. We felt like we could've been and should've been closer," Montana State head coach Rob Ash said. "We felt good at halftime and the drive made us feel better."
In one play, the Bearkats (13-0) turned the game on its head and left the Bobcats scrambling.
With the ball being kicked into the wind, Sam Houston senior Brandon Closner reeled in the kickoff and made his way up the middle of the field. Closner, who became Sam Houston's all-time kick returner (1,669 yards), found a hole in the kickoff coverage and zipped through would-be Montana State tacklers, taking it all the way to the house for an 82-yard touchdown.
In an instant, the Bearkats jumped back ahead by two touchdowns.
"We came out in the second half and really didn't start on fire. That kickoff return by Brandon Closner really got us going," Sam Houston head coach Willie Fritz said.
"He did a sensational job of taking it vertical. So many guys want to try to run east and west or away from stuff. We just try to get him to see that seam and not go east or west until you get through that first wave."
The Sam Houston defense took its cue and from that point forward, the Bobcats struggled to move the ball past midfield. Montana State only managed 78 yards from there through the end of the fourth quarter, crossing midfield only twice in the game's final 25 minutes.
"We were determined. We all got together and basically we wanted it more than they did. We were determined to get it and we stopped them," Bearkats junior defensive end Andrew Weaver said.
The offense seized the moment and quickly turned Saturday's win-or-go-home playoff game into a laugher.
Following an interception and a 35-yard return by junior cornerback Daxton Swanson, the Bearkats took over inside the Montana State 10-yard line. Two plays later, running back Ryan Wilson plowed through the Bobcats defensive line for a 1-yard score to extend Sam Houston's lead to 35-13.
Utilizing the option, the Bearkats, who rushed for 428 yards, found a chink in Montana State's armor and proceeded to pick the Bobcats apart on the perimeter.
With Sincere taking the snap out of the Wild Bearkat formation, receiver Torrance Williams, who finished the day with 99 rushing yards and two touchdowns, was able to take advantage of the Bobcats' aggressiveness.
Late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, Williams received pitches from Sincere on option plays. Twice, he took it all the way for touchdowns. In the third, Williams scored from 56 yards out, then he weaved between defenders for a 21-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the icing on the cake.
"Like I always say, our option is what we do. You can classify us as a speed team or whatever. Coaches tell us that we're going to keep hitting it, keep hitting it." Williams said. "Rich kept telling me, 'Just stay with me, stay with me. I'm going to bait him' and that's what we did.
"After I broke my first one, they were taking the dive off the jump and Rich was keeping it. Then after that, it was 2-on-1. They just choose - pick your poison - and we make them wrong every time."
For the second straight game, the Bearkats struggled to get into a rhythm offensively from the get-go.
In Sam Houston's first two possessions, the Kats had trouble moving the ball forward against Montana State's stout defensive line.
After a false start penalty to open the game, Sam Houston could only gain eight total yards and had to punt. The Bearkats then turned the ball over on an ill-advised throw by quarterback Brian Bell and the Bobcats took over in excellent field position at Sam Houston's 34-yard line. Montana State could only manage a field goal and took a 3-0 lead.
That's when the Kats started to get into a groove offensively.
Thanks to a 52-yard run by Sincere, the Bearkats were knocking on the door of the end zone. After being stopped at the line of scrimmage on a pair of runs, Bell found wide receiver Grant Merritt in the back corner of the end zone with a little less than five minutes to go in the first quarter.
That was just the beginning.
On Sam Houston's next drive, Bell got the Bobcats defense to bite on a handoff to running back Tim Flanders and the sophomore quarterback took off for a 54-yard touchdown.
Late in the second quarter, the Bearkats hit another game-changer.
On third-and-5 from the Montana State 40-yard line, Bell looked for Sincere down the sideline. The pass was almost intercepted by linebacker Na'a Moeakiola, but instead was just deflected off of his fingertips. Sincere adjusted his route, reeled in the catch, then made three defenders miss on his way to a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-6.
"We just got together as an offense. We all talked about it amongst ourselves and we were going to find a way to get it done," Sincere said.
Now the Bearkats will take on a Montana team, which is the No. 4 seed, that defeated Northern Iowa 48-10 in its quarterfinal game on Friday night. Montana has certainly been the Bearkats' bugaboo in the playoffs over the years.
The last two times Sam Houston reached the postseason, the Grizzlies ended the Bearkats' playoff run in the quarterfinals in 2001 and the semifinals in '04. On both occasions, Montana easily beat the Kats (49-24 in 2001 and 34-13 in '04) at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Mont.
The last time the Grizzlies played in Huntsville, Montana was the No. 1 team in the country and the Bearkats cruised 41-29 in Sam Houston's third game of the 2004 campaign.
"It's going to be a great challenge," Fritz said of the semifinal clash with the Grizzlies. "I watched a little bit of that (Montana-Northern Iowa) ballgame last night. They're a tough, hard-nosed, physical football team, so we're going to have to have a great week of preparation in order to be successful playing them next week."
The national semifinal game between Sam Houston and Montana will be held at Bowers Stadium on either Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
In the other semifinal game, No. 2 seed North Dakota State will host No. 3 seed Georgia Southern.
Tickets for the Sam Houston vs. Montana semifinal game are available now on line at www.gobearkats.com or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium beginning Monday morning at 8 a.m.
