Football looks to be explosive
4/2/2011 1:13:00 PM | Football
Saturday, in the squad's first full, 80-play scrimmage, the coach saw signs that this is happening.
Early in the practice, with the ball on the offense's one-yard line, tailback Ridgeway Frank took a handoff in the end zone and broke around right end for a 99-yard touchdown.
"Last year we were a ball control team, trying to use up as much clock as we could offensively," Fritz said. "But I've told the players this year that one-play touchdown drives are fine."
Sam Houston had three pass plays go for 30 or more yards. The first came during a practice overtime session when Blackshire hooked up with Matthews over the middle from 34 yards out.
Freshman quarterback Brian Bell also threw a deep ball to redshirt freshman wide receiver SaQwan Edwards for 38 yards. Matthews was on the receiving end of a pass from midfield by Blackshire toward the end of the scrimmage to cap the morning with some fireworks.
"Coming in, coach (Bob) Debesse and coach (Willie) Fritz wanted us to work on making more plays down the field, catching the ball and getting more yards after the catch," Matthews said. "That has been the emphasis for us this spring. We have had some good days, one today and one last week, but we are still not where we need to be."
It did not take long for the defense to make its mark once the Kats got going Saturday morning. On the opening series of the scrimmage once situational drills were over, Obi jumped a route and returned a Blackshire pass 35 yards for a touchdown.
The defense also got a big play from Shaw. Bell dropped a pass over the middle for Torrance Williams later in the morning. Williams could not corral the ball and Shaw snatched it before it hit the turf and scampered 49 yards for another score.
Outside of situational work at the start of the day, the offense did not find the end zone until the end of the scrimmage. Blackshire scored on a 4-yard run the play before hitting Matthews for a 50-yard touchdown.
Defensive ends Edward Decambre and Preston Sanders and tackles Dwight Kennedy and Forbes Baggett also made some good plays on defense.
"Our focus this spring is effort and takeaways," Obi said. "That is what we are working on. We tried to show a little display of it today. If we can make some more big plays, that is going to make us so much better. We have a little hump we need to get over, but once we do, the sky is the limit for this defense."
Sam Houston opened the scrimmage by working around the goal line. The Kats worked on going in and coming out and got the morning started with a bang on Frank's sprint down the right sideline from the offense's 1-yard line.
Frank and Tim Flanders, the SLC newcomer of the year, also scored on a couple of 2-yard runs.
The Sam Houston coaching staff knows what Flanders can do, so this spring, Frank, Ryan Wilson and Vincent Dotson have been getting the bulk of the carries and all three had some nice runs Saturday.
Frank also had a 68-yard touchdown run during the first day of full pad workouts last Saturday.
"We tinkered with Ridgeway at wide receiver in the fall, but we are moving him back to running back full time," Fritz said. "That is where he belongs at and you see how explosive he is. He is a good complement to Tim Flanders.
"We want to give Ridgeway a lot of reps that he missed in the fall, and we also think Ryan Wilson can be a top-flight back. With our offense, we are going to need at least three backs."
Saturday's scrimmage will be the first of two. Spring camp will climax with the annual Orange-White Spring Football Game on Thursday night, April 14, at 7 p.m.
The Thursday night event marks the first time ever the game has been scheduled on a week night. Sam Houston Student Activities and the athletic department are teaming to make the event a fun event for both students, alumni and fans alike.
The 23rd annual Sam Houston State football dinner and auction will be held Friday, April 8, at the Lowman Student Center Ball Room.
The Bearkats will play six home games at Bowers Stadium in 2011 plus the "Battle of the Piney Woods" with SFA at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Now on sale, packages for new season ticket holders and Bearkat Champions are $275 per seat. The cost includes a chairback seat, tax deduction, parking pass and a Bearkat football "Special Event" invitation.
Bleacher reserved season ticket holders will pay $100 for their seven-game season ticket.
Fans can order their season tickets online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the Sam Houston athletic 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 telephone number is (936) 294-1729
