Tigers Visit Bowers Saturday at 2 p.m.
9/11/2013 8:54:00 AM | Football
The Texas Southern Tigers from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) visit invade Elliott T. Bowers Stadium Saturday.
The Tigers and the Bearkats kick off at 2:07 p.m. Saturday in a game being televised regionally by Comcast SportsNet Houston (CSN).
Sam Houston stands 1-1 for the year, defeating Houston Baptist 74-0 in the home opener August 31 and falling to FBS No. 6 Texas A&M 65-28 last week in College Station. Texas Southern stands 0-1 after a 37-13 loss to Prairie View A&M in the annual Labor Day Classic at Reliant Stadium two weeks ago.
The Tigers feature an attack build around of group of talented running backs and a new quarterback.
“Texas Southern has a lot of speed on offense,” SHSU head coach Willie Fritz said. “We're going to have to do a good job keeping them contained and not let them get around the corners.”
Homer Causey won the starting quarterback job in August camp over eight other signal callers. Causey sat out last season after transferring from Shaw University, where he played for Asberry as a freshman.
Causey played in nine games in 2011. He completed 50 of 97 passes for 735 yards and 4 touchdowns. Two other promising quarterbacks are Earnest Carrington a 6-3, 210 sophomore transfer from ULMonroe and freshman Jay Christophe (6-4, 205) from Brusly high school in Addis, Louisiana.
The Tigers and the Bearkats are battling for the 15th time in their football histories. Sam Houston holds a 9-5 advantage in the series with victories in the pair's last two meetings. The first meeting between the two came in 1973 at the Astrodome in Houston with Texas Southern winning 24-14.
Sam Houston owns a 6-1 record against the Tigers at Bowers Stadium. Last year the Kats won 50-6 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.
Sam Houston's victory over HBU two weeks ago extended the Bearkats' home winning streak to a school record tying 15 games. The streak stands as the current longest home mark by an FCS team.
The Kats' 25-5 record in 2011 and 2012, the back-to-back league titles and consecutive NCAA Division I FCS No. 2 final national rankings represent the most successful consecutive seasons in the university's history.
Last year, the Bearkats defeated Texas Southern 50-6 in Houston at BBVA Compass Stadium on Sept. 27, 2012.
The Bearkats rolled up 558 yards total offense while holding the Tigers to 165 yards.
Dax Swanson picked off his 12th career interception and Kenneth Jenkins scored only the second defensive PAT return in SHSU history, picking up a blocked extra point after TSU's only touchdown and running all the way to the other end zone.
Freshman wide receiver Chance Nelson caught three passes for 127 yards including a 61-yard touchdown pass from Brian Bell for SHSU's first tally.
Keshawn Hill led the Bearkats in rushing with six carries for 74 yards including a 36-yard scoring run. Bell completed 10 of 15 passes for 208 yards.
Linebacker Darius Taylor totaled eight tackles including two quarterback sacks. Andrew Weaver and Jesse Beauchamp each totaled six stops.
An interception return by Steven White to the SHSU 14 set up a 16 yard scoring pass from Justice Jones to James Davis to give the Tigers their only points of the game with 12:11 to go in the second quarter.
The Ocean of Soul marching band from Texas Southern has canceled their halftime appearance Saturday.
Tickets for the Texas Southern game as well as the remaining five other home contests at Bowers Stadium this season plus the 88th “Battle of the Piney Woods” versus SFA at Reliant Stadium Nov. 2 are available online now at www.gobearkats.com .
Fans also may purchase tickets at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the south end zone of Bowers Stadium. The ticket office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
Saturday, the Bowers Stadium west side ticket office (located under the press box) will open at 10 a.m. for game day sales. Bearkat Alley Tailgate will begin at 12 noon. Gates will open at 12:30 p.m.
