Sam Houston vs. Lamar Game Preview
10/26/2012 4:24:00 PM | Football
"In their third season since the program was restored, Lamar is playing much better now," Fritz said. "Just look at their scores. Last week, they played an outstanding game up at Central Arkansas, falling just 24-14. They had the ball an incredible 25 minutes in the second half. They just couldn't put the ball in the end zone."
The Cardinals outscored the No. 17 ranked Bears 14-7 in the second half and outgained the Bears 186-61 on the ground in the contest.
"Lamar is much improved on both sides of the ball," Fritz said. "They're really firing out on defense and they're running more on offense, trying to control the clock. We're going to have to be ready to play."
Saturday's game will be televised on the four-state Southland Conference Television network. The local outlet in Houston for Southland TV is the KUBE (Channel 15 on Huntsville's Suddenlink Cable). The contest also will be broadcast by KSAM 101.7 FM on the radio and the internet.
Following the loss to UCA, Lamar is now 3-5 on the season and 0-3 in league games. The Bearkats, who went 14-1 in 2011 and advanced to the FCS National Championship game, are 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Southland following a 45-10 home win over McNeese State last Saturday.
This will be the 25th meeting between the Cardinals and Bearkats since Lamar became a four-year institution in 1951 with Sam Houston holding a 15-8-1 series advantage. Lamar is 6-8 against SHSU in Beaumont, including a 38-10 loss during the 2010 season.
The two schools met last year with the then sixth-ranked Bearkats winning 66-0 in Huntsville. Sam Houston rolled up 559 yards of total offense in the victory, limiting Lamar to just 97 yards.
This year's contest will pit the top rushing offense in the Southland Conference against the top overall defense in the league. Sam Houston is averaging 272.4 yards per game on the ground, while Lamar is allowing just 313.9 yards of total offense per game.
Lamar also leads the league in pass defense, allowing 188.8 yards per game through the air. The Cards are now scoring 21.8 points per game and giving up 25.0 SHSU is ranked fourth in the country in scoring at 40.6 points per game.
Junior linebacker Jermaine Longino continues to pace the Lamar defense. Longino, who had a game-high 11 tackles at UCA on Saturday, leads LU with 65 total tackles and ranks fourth in the Southland with 8.1 tackles per game. He also leads the league with 47 solo tackles.
Running back DePauldrick Garrett has put together a pair of strong outings heading into Saturday, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown against McMurry and following that up with 91 yards and a score at UCA. The redshirt junior now has 323 rushing yards on the year and is averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry.
Redshirt sophomore Caleb Berry is scheduled to get his fourth straight start at quarterback after finishing 11-of-19 for 96 yards against the Bears, adding a 7-yard rushing touchdown. On the year, Berry is 43-of-83 for 456 yards and five touchdowns.
The Bearkats feature the Southland's leading rusher in junior Timothy Flanders who is averaging 96.0 yards per game on the ground. The 2011 Southland Conference Player of the Year has eight rushing touchdowns and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
Junior quarterback Brian Bell is 101-of-161 on the season for 1,390 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Senior wide receiver Trey Diller leads the team with 30 catches for 453 yards.
Defensively, senior Darnell Taylor ranks fifth in the league in tackles per game at 8.0.
"We're going to have to be ready for a battle," Fritz said. "Every game matters now and we need to play with playoff intensity."
Following the Lamar game in Beaumont Saturday, the Bearkats return to Bowers Stadium to face Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m.
Tickets for both the Southeastern Louisiana game and SHSU's season finale at Texas A&M are available online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets . The SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
