Kats vs. Lobos Game Notes
9/22/2011 11:05:00 AM | Football
BEARKATS TRAVEL TO ALBUQUERQUE
Sam Houston heads to Albuquerque for its first football meeting with the University of New Mexico Lobos, a member NCAA Division Football Bowl Subdivision Mountain West Conference.
SAM HOUSTON VS. NCAA FBS OPPONENTS
As a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) since 1986, Sam Houston has faced Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foes 26 times.
The Bearkats have won two of those encounters, defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 21-14 in 2009 and Louisiana-Monroe 20-9 in 2001.
All 26 contests with FBS foes have been on the road with the Kats playing in front of several huge crowds. The five largest crowds to see Sam Houston play football have been 88,913 at Texas (2006), 58,659 at Texas A&M (1997), 51,738 at Kansas (2008), 50,180 at Texas Tech (2005) and 42,821 at Baylor (2010).
Five times against FBS opponents, Sam Houston has come to within a touchdown of winning including losses of 14-13 to Rice (1993), 34-31 at Louisiana-Monroe (1996), 38-34 to Houston (1987), 13-9 at Baylor (1990) and 17-10 to UTEP (1990).
BEARKATS IN THE MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE
While Saturday's game is Sam Houston's first football meeting with the Lobos, Sam Houston has ventured into the Mountain Time Zone for games 13 times. The Kats are 2-11 on Mountain Time. Sam Houston is unbeaten in New Mexico. The Bearkats' only other visit to the "Land of Enchantment" was for a 26-13 victory over Eastern New Mexico when SHSU was a member of the NAIA Lone Star Conference.
SHSU BACK IN FBS TOP 25 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2007
The last time the Sam Houston State football team was ranked in the top 25, they suffered a 35-14 loss to Central Arkansas. It is fitting that it was a win for the Bearkats against No. 18 Central Arkansas that has put the Kats back in the top 25 for the first time since 2007. The Bearkats jump in the rankings at No. 20 this week in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 with their 2-0
"It is nice to get recognition this early in the season, but it really is where we are ranked at the end of the year that I am concerned about," head coach Willis Fritz said. "That was a big win for us on Saturday night because it was our Southland Conference opener and gets us off to the good start in league play."
The last time the Kats were ranked, they were No. 19 on Oct. 1 of 2007. They were a preseason No. 18 in 2007, and were ranked for the first six weeks of the season, reaching a high of No. 14. They have since gone 55 weeks out of the poll, the longest drought since the Bearkats went from Oct. 16, 1994 to Sept. 4, 2000.
SAM HOUSTON's 2-0 START
The Bearkats are off to a 2-0 season start for the first since since 2007 when Sam Houston opened with home wins at Bowers Stadium over Angelo State and Arkansas-Monticello. In its 26 seasons of football at the NCAA Division I level, SHSU has started 2-0 seven times (1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2007).
SOUTHLAND PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sam Houston wide receiver Richard Sincere and safety Darnell Taylor were named the Southland Conference offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, on Monday after leading the Bearkats to a 31-10 victory over No. 18 Central Arkansas in the conference opener on Saturday.
Sincere ran the ball seven times for 107 yards and two scores against Central Arkansas in the earliest Southland Conference opener since 1994. The sophomore from Galveston Ball, scored on touchdown runs of 9 and 45 yards, the last of which gave the Bearkats a 21-point cushion with 9:57 to play in the third quarter.
Taylor led Sam Houston with 11 total tackles as Bearkats shut down the Bears' offense in the win over Central Arkansas. The junior from Mesquite, Texas (Mesquite H.S.), also recorded one tackle for loss. Sam Houston State held Central Arkansas to 271 total yards in pulling even in the six-game series at three wins apiece.
BEARKAT RADIO
KSAM 101.7 FM will broadcast all Sam Houston games home and away again in 2011. The broadcast also may be heard anywhere in the world online at www.gobearkats.com.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE OPENER
Last weekend, the Bearkats knocked off No. 18 Central Arkansas 31-10 in the earliest Southland Conference opener since 1994. Central Arkansas was tabbed to finish third in the 2011 league race by the league's head coaches in the preseason poll while SHSU was the coaches' fourth place selection.
The victory 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 Bearkats now hold a record of 10 victories, 14 losses and one tie in their previous 24 Southland opening games.
DOUBLE 100-YARD RUSHERS
Tim Flanders rushed for 119 yards and a 23-yard touchdown and Richard Sincere added 107 yards on the ground and had touchdown runs of nine and 45 yards to lead Sam Houston to a 31-10 Southland Conference victory over Central Arkansas Saturday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
Flanders and Sincere's performances marked the first time since 1997 that Sam Houston has had two backs rush for more than 100 yards in the same game. Bennie Wylie and Erik Polk last achieved the feat for the Bearkats in a victory over Texas Southern in 1997.
SOUTHLAND FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Tim Flanders, the Southland Conference's "Freshman of the Year" in 2010, set three school records in his debut season as a Bearkat. Flanders posted seven rushing performances of 100 yards or more including six in a row. His season total of 948 net yards rushing and 13 rushing touchdowns were the most ever by an SHSU freshman running back.
The sophomore who came to Sam Houston as a transfer from Kansas State after earning all-state honors at Midwest City, Oklahoma, continues to roll. He leads the Southland Conference in rushing for the second year in a row with 109.5 yards per game. His performances rank him No. 16 nationally in NCAA Division I FCS rushing.
Flanders has posted triple digit rushing totals in each of his two games this year, running his career total of 100-yard performances to nine. The school record for most 100-yard games is 11 by Charles Harris in 1991-94.
MULTI-TASKING WIDE RECEIVER
Richard Sincere, sophomore from Galveston Ball, became the first Sam Houston wide receiver to rush for more than 100 yards with his 10 carries for 107 yards Saturday in the Central Arkansas victory.
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 Saturday.
SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK BRIAN BELL
Brian Bell took over as starting quarterback as a true freshman in the third game of 2010 and led the Bearkats to six victories in their final nine games.
The China Spring product who earned All-District and MVP honors for his coach and father Mark Bell in high school, completed 110 passes for 1,381 yards and 7 touchdowns as the Bearkats' signal-caller last year. He posted a season high passing total was 301 yards on 21 of 35 passes for 301 yards and against McNeese State.
Bell has directed a Bearkat offense that has rolled up 51 points in two games and has dominated possession time with a two-game average of 37:29 to 22:30.
NATIONALLY-RANKED DEFENSE
With 11 of the top 12 team leaders in tackles back from a squad that led the Southland Conference in rush defense last year, Sam Houston is putting up numbers that rank high in the NCAA Division I FCS national statistics.
The Bearkat defense stands No. 2 nationally in rushing defense (42.0 yards per game), No. 3 in scoring defense (8.0), No. 7 in total defense (243.5) and No. 10 in quarterback sacks (3.5).
Sam Houston's two victories have come over Western Illinois, an NCAA FCS national playoff participant last year, and Central Arkansas, a squad that came into Huntsville ranked No. 18 nationally.
Junior safety Darnell Taylor of Mesquite leads the Bearkats with 18 total tackles in two games. Other top tacklers include defensive back Mike Littleton (14) and linebackers Eric Fieilo (10) and Darius Taylor (11).
Sam Houston has allowed only 84 net yards rushing in two games, an average of 42.0 per contest and only 1.6 yards per attempt.
Bearkat opponents have fought their way inside the Sam Houston 20-yard line only four times, producing only a touchdown and a field goal in those visits inside the red zone.
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.
SACK ATTACK
Sam Houston's blitzing defense total 31 sacks in 2010, the most by a Bearkat defense since the 2001 Southland championship season when SHSU totaled 44. In the Kats' 26-7 victory at Nicholls, the defense tied a Southland record and set a school mark by rolling up 12 sacks. The previous SHSU record was 10 sacks against Mississippi Valley State in 2002. Northwestern State originally set the Southland record with 12 sacks against SFA in 1997. In two victories this year, the Bearkats have totaled seven quarterback sacks.
PRESEASON HONORS CANDIDATE BRANDON CLOSNER
Brandon Closner, senior return specialist from Arlington, ranked No. 2 in the Southland in punt returns (11.5 average) and No. 3 in both kickoff returns (25.8) and all-purpose yards (126.5). He set school records for most punt return yards (380) and kickoff return yards (981) in one season. He begins his senior season ranked No. 3 in SHSU career punt return yards (486) and No. 4 in career kickoff return yards (1,244).
PUNTER FROM DOWN UNDER
Matt Foster, Sam Houston's "Punter from Down Under," played in his first American football game before 42,521 fans in the 2010 season opener at Baylor. He boomed a 43-yarder on his first attempt. The 25-year-old, who is the oldest player on the Bearkat team, grew up in Melbourne playing Australian rules football.
Foster owns a 46.2 average on eight punts this season and the Bearkats rank No. 1 in NCAA Division I FCS net punting with a 44.13 average. The junior specialist has three punts of more than 53 yards including a long of 57 and two punts that have been downed inside the opponents' five-yard line.
BLOCK PARTY RETURNS TO HUNTSVILLE
Bearkat special teams blocked punts and returned the blocks for touchdowns twice during the 2010 season. The two 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.
