A balanced offensive attack of a running game coupled with a passing game for sixth-ranked Sam Houston State kept the McNeese defense off balance for much of the second and third quarters as the Bearkats were able to pull away for a 45-10 win in Southland Conference football action on Saturday night.
Richard Sincere rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Timothy Flanders added 105 yards rushing and another score to lead Sam Houston State to a 45-10 Southland Conference victory over McNeese State Saturday at Bowers Stadium
The loss was the second straight suffered by the Cowboys (4-3, 1-3 SLC) while the Bearkats won for the fourth consecutive time and improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.
After the two teams traded possessions to start the game, McNeese jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Cody Stroud hit Kelvin Bennett on a 32-yard strike with 9:39 to play in the quarter. Of McNeese's 192 total offensive yards, 119 came in the first quarter.
SHSU tied things with 56 seconds remaining in the quarter when Brian Bell connected with Chance Nelson on a 14-yard pass. Josh Lewis' 44-yard field goal with 9:47 to play in the second quarter gave McNeese a 10-7 lead before Sam Houston rolled off 24 straight points to put things out of reach in the third quarter.
The second and third quarters doomed the Cowboys. The two quarters combined saw the McNeese offense manage just five first downs, 33 rushing yards, 32 passing yards and 51 total yards.
Sincere scored on a 44-yard run at the 7:28 mark of the second quarter to give the Bearkats a 14-10 lead and Flanders ran it in from 12 yards out with 2:12 to play to make it 21-10 at the half.
SHSU took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove down for a touchdown and a 28-10 lead, then on the ensuing kickoff, McNeese's Deonte Spencer fumbled the return and Sam turned it into three points after a 22-yard field goal by Miguel Antonio to make it 31-10 late in the third quarter.
Sincere then closed the door in the game with a 65-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to make it 38-10.
Chris Grett topped off Sam's 38-point run with a 7-yard scamper with 3:22 to play in the game.
