Lightning & Lions Can't Stop The Bearkats
11/4/2012 5:36:00 AM | Football
Not even a heavy downpour nor a dreary afternoon could dampen the Bearkats' spirits after a long day at the office.
Sam Houston was dominant in nearly all facets of the game and barely needed its starters for more than a half.
The fourth-ranked Kats jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back, thoroughly beating up Southeastern Louisiana for 405 rushing yards and coming away with a 70-0 blowout win on Saturday afternoon at Bowers Stadium.
"Confidence-wise, we feel we can come on the field and play with anybody," said Bearkats quarterback Brian Bell, who finished the day with 8-of-9 passing for 170 yards and two touchdown passes.
"Like coach (Willie) Fritz said, just taking it one week at a time is all we're doing and putting all of our focus into Southeastern. We had a good week of practice and it really showed today."
With a share of the Southland Conference title and a potential FCS playoff berth on the line, the Kats (5-1 in Southland Conference, 6-2 overall) left nothing to chance and went right to work.
After the defense kicked off the game by forcing a three-and-out, the Bearkats offense followed that up with a methodical drive that landed them inside the red zone and knocking on the door in their first possession. Thirteen yards away from the end zone, Kats running back Timothy Flanders burst up the middle untouched for a score six minutes into the game.
That was only the beginning of the onslaught, but was more than enough against the Lions.
Again the Bearkat defense, which allowed just 224 yards of total offense, held the Lions to another three-and-out and Sam Houston took advantage. The Kats chipped their way down the field again and scored another touchdown, this time from utility man Richard Sincere, who burst over from 8 yards out on a keeper with some big blocks by receivers Terrance Robinson and Trey Diller.
With the Kats ahead by a pair of touchdowns and the Lions yet to earn a first down late in the first quarter, the field seemingly was tilted in Sam Houston's favor.
"We just had to come out and play fast," said Kats running back Timothy Flanders, who had 146 rushing yards and two TDs on only nine carries. "Offensive line did a very good job. They had a good game plan.
"Mainly we just had to come out and stay focused and stay true to our keys."
Southeastern (3-2 in SLC play, 3-6 overall) responded with drive deep into Bearkats territory only to see it stall just outside of the 20. The Lions attempted a 43-yard field goal, but the snap was low and the holder struggled to line up the ball correctly.
As a result, kicker Seth Sebastian's attempt came off the ground at a low angle and was blocked by senior Robert Shaw. The ball bounced high before falling into the hands of Bearkats senior Kenneth Jenkins, who took it the rest of the way for a 60-yard touchdown to extend Sam Houston's lead to 21-0.
"That was a big play," Kats coach Willie Fritz said. "They got down to field goal position. It was fourth-and-2 (at the 21-yard line) and they got a delay of game. We were going to play it safe because we thought they might fake it - they do some unconventional things in the kicking game. We went ahead and went after it. They didn't get a very clean hold on it, so we blocked the kick.
"On blocked kicks, usually the kicking team is not in position. We certainly were and did a good job of blocking guys. Transition (defense) turned that into a touchdown. It was a good job by Kenneth."
If there was any doubt about whether Sam Houston had all the momentum, that notion vanished like that.
From that point on, anything that could go the Kats' way did and then some. Running room opened up for the Sam Houston tailbacks and holes developed in the Southeastern secondary for the Kats' passing game.
"They had a confusing scheme, I'd guess you'd say," Bell said. "Our offensive line did an amazing job, obviously, of blocking and sorting it all out. Tim did a great job of pressing and finding all of the holes."
With a comfy four-touchdown cushion, the Bearkats had the ball with less than seven minutes to go in the half and starting from their own 30.
From the pocket, Bell hit receiver Chance Nelson down the seam with a 44-yard strike and the sophomore wideout shook off a would-be tackler and ran the final 26 yards for a 70-yard TD.
Just before the half, the Kats found the end zone again to up their lead to a commanding 42-0 into intermission.
That's when the lightning and the rains came and forced halftime to become a nearly 90-minute affair.
"I've done this a long time, so I've been involved in five or six of these deals," Fritz said. "I just kept (the team) up to date. ... I told them to get off their feet, to take their shoulder pads off and shoes off. They weren't screwing around. They were in there, staying focused. They came outside and shoot, they just started going crazy."
Once the Kats finally took to the field again, they didn't show any signs of slowing down or mailing it in with such a big advantage.
On the second play of the third quarter, Flanders found a hole in the defensive front and burst through the hole, taking the ball 71 yards for a score.
"We just wanted to come out and finish the game. We knew it was raining outside; you could tell it was raining hard," Flanders said. "I just knew that all I had to do was make a couple of big plays and get the offense rolling. When we got out there, we had guys already celebrating. We were ready to play."
That was all of the playing time for the starters with the game well in hand.
The reserves came in, but there was no letting up.
Southeastern managed just 55 yards and two first downs the rest of the way.
The Sam Houston offense, on the other hand, kept plugging away and had its way. In the final 28 minutes, the Kats chewed up 207 yards and three scores solely on running plays.
With just one conference game remaining against the Northwestern State this week in Natchitoches, La., the Kats can win a share of the Southland title with a win over the Demons.
Sam Houston was dominant in nearly all facets of the game and barely needed its starters for more than a half.
The fourth-ranked Kats jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back, thoroughly beating up Southeastern Louisiana for 405 rushing yards and coming away with a 70-0 blowout win on Saturday afternoon at Bowers Stadium.
"Confidence-wise, we feel we can come on the field and play with anybody," said Bearkats quarterback Brian Bell, who finished the day with 8-of-9 passing for 170 yards and two touchdown passes.
"Like coach (Willie) Fritz said, just taking it one week at a time is all we're doing and putting all of our focus into Southeastern. We had a good week of practice and it really showed today."
With a share of the Southland Conference title and a potential FCS playoff berth on the line, the Kats (5-1 in Southland Conference, 6-2 overall) left nothing to chance and went right to work.
After the defense kicked off the game by forcing a three-and-out, the Bearkats offense followed that up with a methodical drive that landed them inside the red zone and knocking on the door in their first possession. Thirteen yards away from the end zone, Kats running back Timothy Flanders burst up the middle untouched for a score six minutes into the game.
That was only the beginning of the onslaught, but was more than enough against the Lions.
Again the Bearkat defense, which allowed just 224 yards of total offense, held the Lions to another three-and-out and Sam Houston took advantage. The Kats chipped their way down the field again and scored another touchdown, this time from utility man Richard Sincere, who burst over from 8 yards out on a keeper with some big blocks by receivers Terrance Robinson and Trey Diller.
With the Kats ahead by a pair of touchdowns and the Lions yet to earn a first down late in the first quarter, the field seemingly was tilted in Sam Houston's favor.
"We just had to come out and play fast," said Kats running back Timothy Flanders, who had 146 rushing yards and two TDs on only nine carries. "Offensive line did a very good job. They had a good game plan.
"Mainly we just had to come out and stay focused and stay true to our keys."
Southeastern (3-2 in SLC play, 3-6 overall) responded with drive deep into Bearkats territory only to see it stall just outside of the 20. The Lions attempted a 43-yard field goal, but the snap was low and the holder struggled to line up the ball correctly.
As a result, kicker Seth Sebastian's attempt came off the ground at a low angle and was blocked by senior Robert Shaw. The ball bounced high before falling into the hands of Bearkats senior Kenneth Jenkins, who took it the rest of the way for a 60-yard touchdown to extend Sam Houston's lead to 21-0.
"That was a big play," Kats coach Willie Fritz said. "They got down to field goal position. It was fourth-and-2 (at the 21-yard line) and they got a delay of game. We were going to play it safe because we thought they might fake it - they do some unconventional things in the kicking game. We went ahead and went after it. They didn't get a very clean hold on it, so we blocked the kick.
"On blocked kicks, usually the kicking team is not in position. We certainly were and did a good job of blocking guys. Transition (defense) turned that into a touchdown. It was a good job by Kenneth."
If there was any doubt about whether Sam Houston had all the momentum, that notion vanished like that.
From that point on, anything that could go the Kats' way did and then some. Running room opened up for the Sam Houston tailbacks and holes developed in the Southeastern secondary for the Kats' passing game.
"They had a confusing scheme, I'd guess you'd say," Bell said. "Our offensive line did an amazing job, obviously, of blocking and sorting it all out. Tim did a great job of pressing and finding all of the holes."
With a comfy four-touchdown cushion, the Bearkats had the ball with less than seven minutes to go in the half and starting from their own 30.
From the pocket, Bell hit receiver Chance Nelson down the seam with a 44-yard strike and the sophomore wideout shook off a would-be tackler and ran the final 26 yards for a 70-yard TD.
Just before the half, the Kats found the end zone again to up their lead to a commanding 42-0 into intermission.
That's when the lightning and the rains came and forced halftime to become a nearly 90-minute affair.
"I've done this a long time, so I've been involved in five or six of these deals," Fritz said. "I just kept (the team) up to date. ... I told them to get off their feet, to take their shoulder pads off and shoes off. They weren't screwing around. They were in there, staying focused. They came outside and shoot, they just started going crazy."
Once the Kats finally took to the field again, they didn't show any signs of slowing down or mailing it in with such a big advantage.
On the second play of the third quarter, Flanders found a hole in the defensive front and burst through the hole, taking the ball 71 yards for a score.
"We just wanted to come out and finish the game. We knew it was raining outside; you could tell it was raining hard," Flanders said. "I just knew that all I had to do was make a couple of big plays and get the offense rolling. When we got out there, we had guys already celebrating. We were ready to play."
That was all of the playing time for the starters with the game well in hand.
The reserves came in, but there was no letting up.
Southeastern managed just 55 yards and two first downs the rest of the way.
The Sam Houston offense, on the other hand, kept plugging away and had its way. In the final 28 minutes, the Kats chewed up 207 yards and three scores solely on running plays.
With just one conference game remaining against the Northwestern State this week in Natchitoches, La., the Kats can win a share of the Southland title with a win over the Demons.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballWednesday, February 11
Wednesday, February 04
Saturday, November 29
Tuesday, November 25
