HUNTSVILLE – Running back Steven Hicks rushed 17 times for 99 yards and one touchdown to lead NCAA FCS No. 3 ranked Sam Houston to a 74-0 victory over Houston Baptist Saturday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.

The contest was the first football game for HBU. The Huskies are playing seven games in this their inaugural season.

Sam Houston rolled up 455 yards total offense while limiting HBU to 90 total yards.

Wide receiver Torrance Williams caught two passes for 72 yards including a 66-yard touchdown and returned five punts for 115 yards.

The victory extended Sam Houston's home winning streak to 15, tying a school record. The 15-game streak also is the longest current string of victories in FCS football.

The 74 points stand fifth highest single game total in school history. The total stands as the most scored by SHSU since a 77-7 victory over Bacone in 2005. Sam Houston's school record for points in a game is 83 vs. Brooke Medical in 1949.

Walter Payton award candidate Timothy Flanders, playing only the first quarter, carried nine times for 51 yards including the Kats' first touchdown from the four-yard line.

Richard Sincere carried three times for 64 yards and returned a kickoff 22 yards.

Brian Bell completed 5-of-9 passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns, throwing a 66-yard scoring strike to Torrance Williams and an eight-yard tally to Josh Lyons. Bell also ran for a two-yard score.

Tristan Eche scored on a 32-yard interception return

Box Score (Final)

Score by Quarters            1              2              3              4              Score
Houston Baptist                0              0              0              0              0              Record: (0-1)
Sam Houston State         21           28           17           8              74           Record: (1-0)

Scoring Summary:
1st          11:27     SHSU     Timothy Flanders 4 yd run (Luc Swimberghe kick), 6-46 1:43, HBU 0- SHSU 7
                08:58     SHSU     Keshawn Hill 4 yd run (Luc Swimberghe kick), 6-48 2:04, HBU 0 - SHSU 14
                06:19     SHSU     Torrance Williams 66 yd pass from Brian Bell (Luc Swimberghe kick), 1-66 0:10, HBU 0 - SHSU 21
2nd        13:16     SHSU     Josh Lyons 8 yd pass from Brian Bell (Luc Swimberghe kick), 7-58 2:37, HBU 0 - SHSU 28
               11:38     SHSU     Shelby Davis 48 yd interception return (Luc Swimberghe kick), , HBU 0 - SHSU 35
                06:28     SHSU     Brian Bell 2 yd run (Luc Swimberghe kick), 2-11 0:37, HBU 0 - SHSU 42
                02:46     SHSU     Steven Hicks 4 yd run (Luc Swimberghe kick), 4-19 1:18, HBU 0 - SHSU 49
3rd         10:44     SHSU     Luc Swimberghe 41 yd field goal, 4-3 0:39, HBU 0 - SHSU 52
                09:24     SHSU     Tristan Eche 32 yd interception return (Luc Swimberghe kick), , HBU 0 - SHSU 59
                04:03     SHSU     Don King III 3 yd run (Brad Dunavant kick), 9-58 4:24, HBU 0 - SHSU 66
4th         08:11     SHSU     TEAM safety, , HBU 0 - SHSU 68
                03:58     SHSU     Cory Idlebird 3 yd run (Brad Dunavant kick failed), 8-50 4:13, HBU 0 - SHSU 74

                HBU       SHSU

FIRST DOWNS    7              23

RUSHES-YARDS (NET)     40-45     56-365

PASSING YDS (NET)         45           90

Passes Att-Comp-Int      26-9-3   13-5-0

TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS   66-90     69-455

Fumble Returns-Yards   0-0          0-0

Punt Returns-Yards         1--7        7-131

Kickoff Returns-Yards    7-119     1-22

Interception Returns-Yards         0-0          3-82

Punts (Number-Avg)      11-28.7 2-44.0

Fumbles-Lost     4-0          1-1

Penalties-Yards 6-42       3-20

Possession Time               31:06     28:54

Third-Down Conversions              3 of 19   6 of 10

Fourth-Down Conversions           0 of 3     0 of 1

Red-Zone Scores-Chances           0-0          7-8

Sacks By: Number-Yards               0-0          1-5

RUSHING: Houston Baptist-B. J. Kelly 13-45; Jackie Robinson 6-8; Larry Day 4-6; Craig Bell 8-6; Tanner Peavy 2-minus 1; Darian Lazard 1-minus 3; TEAM 1-minus 4; Ka'Darius Baker 2-minus 4; Jonathan Fleming 3-minus 8. Sam Houston State-Steven Hicks 17-99; Richard Sincere 3-64; Cory Idlebird 6-51; Timothy Flanders 9-51; Jared Johnson 7-38; Ryan Wilson 5-32; Don King III 4-20; Brian Bell 2-10; Keshawn Hill 1-4; TEAM 2-minus 4.

PASSING: Houston Baptist-Ka'Darius Baker 6-15-1-33; Jonathan Fleming 3-11-2-12. Sam Houston State-Brian Bell 5-9-0-90; Don King III 0-3-0-0; Jared Johnson 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Houston Baptist-Wesley Lewis 2-15; Darian Lazard 2-6; Trey Sudds 1-20; Max Brown 1-9; Jackie Robinson 1-2; Cortez Iwaguwu 1-minus 1; Terrance Hawkins 1-minus 6. Sam Houston State-Torrance Williams 2-72; Chance Nelson 1-10; Josh Lyons 1-8; Rickey Smith 1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS: Houston Baptist-None. Sam Houston State-Shelby Davis 1-48;

Tristan Eche 1-32; Andre Moseley 1-2.

Stadium: Bowers               Attendance: 9246

Kickoff time: 6 p.m.    End of Game: 8:57 p.m  Total elapsed time: 2:57