Sam Houston vs Texas Aggies Game Notes
9/4/2013 3:09:00 PM | Football
REMATCH WITH TEXAS A&M
Sam Houston returns to Kyle Field for the second time in two years Saturday when the Kats take on No. 6 Texas A&M in a 6 p.m. contest. A capacity crowd of 87,101 (second largest audience ever for an SHSU football game) saw the Kats' 47-28 loss to the FBS Aggies on Nov. 11, 2012. A&M stood No. 8 in the rankings that day and was bound for a victory in the Cotton Bowl. Sam Houston owned No. 3 FCS ranking and went on to their second playoff finals berth.
SERIES WITH THE AGGIES
Texas A&M holds an 11-0 advantage in the Aggies' meetings with Sam Houston. The first game between the two came in 1919, the university's seventh season of football.
SHSU VERSUS FBS OPPONENTS
An NCAA FCS team since 1986, Sam Houston has faced FBS foes 29 times, winning three of those match-ups. The Kats' FBS wins came in 1999 at Louisiana-Lafayette (21-14), 2001 at Louisiana-Monroe (20-9) and 2011 at New Mexico (48-45).
Five times the Bearkats have come within a touchdown of winning over an FBS opponent. Those games include losses of 14-13 to Rice (1993), 34-31 at Louisiana-Monroe (1996), 38-34 at Houston (1987), 13-9 at Baylor (1990) and 17-10 at UTEP (1990). All 29 contests with FBS foes have been on the road with the Kats playing in front of several huge crowds. The largest was 88,913 when Sam Houston faced defending Rose Bowl champ Texas in 2006.
FIFTH GAME VERSUS NATIONALLY RANKED FBS FOE
Saturday's contest at No. 7 Texas A&M is the fifth time the Kats have faced a ranked FBS opponent. Texas stood No. 7 in 2006, Texas A&M No. 8 in 2012 and No. 24 in 1997 and Texas Tech No. 25 in 2005.
BEARKAT RADIO
KSAM 101.7 FM will broadcast all Sam Houston games home and away in 2013. The broadcast also may be heard on the web at www.gobearkats.com.
KATS OPEN 98th FOOTBALL SEASON WITH VICTORY
Sam Houston opened its 98th season Saturday with a 74-0 shutout of first year program Houston Baptist. The win upped the Bearkats' record in season openers to 54-40-4. SHSU has won 13 of its last 16 openers and owns a 19-9 record in opening games since moving up to the FCS level in 1986. The Kats are 12-4 at Bowers Stadium in contests that opened the season. The 74 points marked the fifth highest single game scoring total for the Kats. The victory extended SHSU's home win streak to 15 games, a school record and the longest current win streak in FCS football.
With the starters playing just a little more than a quarter in a 74-0 victory over Houston Baptist in the Huskies' first game ever, Bearkat head coach Willie Fritz had the opportunity to have a good look at his younger players in game action Saturday. Twenty-two of the 65 student-athletes who dressed for last weekend's contest are either true freshman or redshirt freshmen.
Running back Steven Hicks rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries. Quarterbacks Don King III and Jared Johnson each had opportunities to run the offense. The pair combined for 58 rushing yards. Several second-year performers also did well. Sophomore linebacker Tristan Eche led the team with six tackles including one for a loss. Eche and cornerback Shelby Davis each picked off interceptions. Davis returned his 48 yards for a score. On special teams, freshman Luc Swimberghe kicked a 41-yard field goal and nine successful PAT attempts
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Sam Houston earned its second consecutive Southland Conference football championship with a 6-1 league mark in 2012. The title is SHSU's fifth as a member of the Southland and ninth overall in 97 years of football. The Bearkats also won Southland titles in 1991, 2001, 2004 and 2011. Tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2013 Southland head coaches' preseason poll, Sam Houston will be seeking to become only the fifth team to win the league's football title three consecutive years.
CONSECUTIVE NCAA FINALS APPEARANCES
Sam Houston State is one of only eight football programs to appear in consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship Games. The list of seven other universities reaching the finals in back-to-back seasons during the tournament's 34-year history includes Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Youngstown State, Marshall, Montana, Appalachian State and North Dakota State.
BEARKATS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Sam Houston finished its 97th football season No. 2 in both the Sports Network and NCAA FCS Coaches polls. The Bearkats' No. 2 rankings each of the past two years represent the program's highest NCAA final national rankings The Bearkats stand No. 4 in both the current 2013 Sports Network poll and NCAA Coaches rankings.
Sam Houston has been ranked among the FCS top 25 26 consecutive weeks since debuting in the national poll Sept. 9, 2011. During an 11-0 regular season in 2011, the Kats rose to No. 1. Sam Houston has been ranked among the FCS top 10 for 22 consecutive polls. Prior to the past two seasons, the Bearkats' highest national ranking was No. 3 following a 2004 NCAA Championship semifinal appearance.
SAM HOUSTON ROLLS UP 74 POINTS IN OPENER
The Bearkat offense scored six rushing touchdowns and quarterback Brian Bell threw for two more in SHSU's 74-0 shutout of inaugural program Houston Baptist Saturday. Defensively, the Kats returned two interceptions for touchdowns, scored a safety and blocked two punts.
RUNNING BACK TIMOTHY FLANDERS
All-America running back, Walter Payton Award candidate and two-time Southland Conference football “Player of the Year” Timothy Flanders holds 34 Sam Houston school records. The Midwest City, Okla., product stands as Sam Houston's all-time rushing leader with 767 carries for 4,285 yards and 53 touchdowns. He broke the former school record of 2,688 career yards held by Charles Harris (1991-94) in the season opening victory over Incarnate Word last fall.
Flanders ranks as the third all-time leading rusher in Southland Conference history. Only Claude Mathis of Southwest Texas (4,694 yards in 1994-97) and Henry Field of McNeese State (4,358 yards in 1992-95) have gained more yards.
With 53 career rushing touchdowns, Flanders holds the record for most career rushing TDs by a Southland back. Flanders is No. 2 in Southland total touchdowns with 56 (behind Brent Grimes of Central Arkansas, 59). Flanders has eight touchdown runs of more than 50 yards to his credit. His 71-yard touchdown against Southeastern Louisiana last year is his longest gain.
QUARTERBACK BRIAN BELL
Brian Bell stands as Sam Houston's all-time “winningest” quarterback, leading SHSU to 31 victories as a starter the past three seasons. The senior from China Spring is Sam Houston's all-time leader in both passing and total offense yards with 6,231 yards in the air and 7,156 yards rushing and passing combined. Bell's 54 career touchdown passes also is an SHSU school mark..
CORNERBACK BOOKIE SNEED
Cornerback Bookie Sneed snapped a Sam Houston record that had stood since 1968 with his 92-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter of the 2012 SFA victory. Paul Wenzel returned an interception 90 yards against Sul Ross for the Kat mark that stood for 44 years. Sneed picked off four interceptions last year and eight in his career. He is tied for eighth in career interceptions at SHSU.
SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER CHANCE NELSON
Wide receiver Chance Nelson, a transfer from Texas A&M, caught 35 passes for 671 yards and nine TDs as a freshman in 2012. He scored on a 61-yard pass at Texas Southern and a 70-yard strike against Southeastern La. In the Montana State win in Bozeman, Nelson scored on passes of 16 and 45 yards.
BLOCK PARTY RETURNS
A Bearkat tradition established by head coach Willie Fritz when he was an assistant at Sam Houston in the early 1990s has returned. Sam Houston blocked two punts in the victory over HBU last Saturday. The “Block Party” has produced six blocks in each of the past two seasons. After Fritz started the “Block Party” in 1991, Sam Houston blocked 80 punts, field goals and extra points in the next 14 seasons.
BEARKATS HAVE THE HIGHEST EXPECTATIONS IN 2013
In 2013, Bearkat head coach Willie Fritz and his staff return 40 lettermen including 11 starters back from the 11-4 championship team. Six other players with 29 total career starts also return.
Heading the list of six returning starters on offense are running back Timothy Flanders, quarterback Brian Bell and wide receiver/wildkat back Richard Sincere. Flanders is Sam Houston's all-time rushing (4,285 yards) and scoring leader (336 points). Bell is the Bearkats' all-time “winningest” quarterback (31 victories and only eight losses in 39 starts) and ranks No. 1 in SHSU career passing (6,255 yards), touchdown passes (54) and total offense yards (7,180).
Sincere has rushed for 1,932 career yards and caught 51 passes for 907 yards. He has rushed for 19 scores and caught five TD passes. The senior stands No. 9 in Sam Houston career all-purpose yards with a three-year total of 2,617.
The trio have combined for 24 plays of more than 50 yards as Sam Houston has gone 32-10 during their three seasons as Bearkats.
Three other running backs who combined for 951 yards and 10 touchdowns also return. Junior Keshawn Hill was an honorable mention all-league selection after rushing for 530 yards and seven scores. Junior Ryan Wilson also returns.
Sophomore Chance Nelson and senior Torrance Williams are deep threats. Nelson caught 35 passes for 671 yards as a freshman. Williams has totaled 1,294 career all-purpose yards and has scored eight touchdowns in three years. Sophomores Brandon Wilkerson and Stephen Williams and junior Rickey Smith also return.
The big question mark on offense is the front line. Tackle Donald Jackson III, an honorable mention all-league and NCAA FCS freshman All-America selection last year, is the lone returning starter. Junior Matt Boyles started five games at guard last year and has 20 starts in his career. Junior guard John Trotter, sophomore center Zachary Stevens and redshirt freshman tackle Brandon DeWitt have earned starting berths in spring drills and fall camp.
The Bearkat defense that has been so dominate the last two years, allowing just 12.0 points and 262.0 yards per game in Southland Conference action, must replace six players who earned All-Southland honors a total of 15 times in the past three seasons. That includes two-time league “Defensive Player-of-the-Year” Darnell Taylor.
Defensive ends Jarrett Brown (22 career starts) and Andrew Weaver (18 career starts) and tackle Gary Lorance (35 career starts) bring experience to the front line as seniors. Lorance was second team All-Southland, Brown an honorable mention all-league honoree while Weaver was named to the AP FCS All-America squad.
Other returning senior starters are linebacker Jesse Beauchamp and cornerback Bookie Sneed. Beauchamp is the team's top returning tackler (94 stops). Sneed has 99 career tackles and 38 starts to his credit. Both received All-Southland honors on the 2012 team.
Linebacker Eric Fieilo, who missed the 2012 season with an injury, has 105 tackles to his credit as a three-year letterman. Nose tackle Forbes Baggett, cornerbacks De'Antrey Loche and Desmond Fite and safety Michael Wade step in as starters with plenty of experience as reserves on the 2012 title team. On special teams, the Kats must replace an All-Southland punter and kicker. Freshman Luc Swimberghe looks to handle place kicking duties while transfers Brad Dunavant and Lachan Edwards will be the Bearkats' punters. Dunavant is a transfer from Toledo while Edward comes from Ballarat University in Australia..
