Sam Houston vs. Northwestern St. Game Notes
10/16/2014 11:02:00 AM | Football
OPEN WEEKENDS HELP KATS SHAPE 2-0 SOUTHLAND START
With an open date before Sam Houston's Southland Conference opener at Lamar September 27, Bearkat head coach K. C. Keeler proclaimed that weeks practices be called "Get Better Week." The Kats responded with a 42-10 victory in Beaumont. The win was followed by a second open date. Based on Saturday's performance a 38-22 upset of FCS No. 4 McNeese State at homecoming, the workouts have to be called "Get Even Better Week."
During a 1-3 non-conference slate versus a tough schedule that included FCS No. 2 Eastern Washington and a FBS top 20 LSU on the road and NCAA Division II No. 2 Colorado St.-Pueblo and Alabama State at home, the Kats were out-scored 44.8 points per game to 26.8 and out-gained 514.2 total yards to 416.3.
In Bearkats' Southland victories at Lamar and at SHSU homecoming versus McNeese, Sam Houston has outscored its opponents 80-32 (40.0 points per game to 16.0) and out-gained foes 463.5 yards to 321.5.
THIRD SOUTHLAND CONTEST SATURDAY AT NORTHWESTERN STATE
Sam Houston heads on the road for its third Southland Conference game this weekend, taking on Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La., in a 3 p.m. game. The contest will be aired live on the Southland TV Network. The local outlet for the game in the Greater Houston area will be the KUBE Channel 57.
The telecast marks the 31st time in the past four seasons Bearkat football has been televised. Sam Houston has appeared in national cable telecasts on the ESPN family of networks 12 times. The Bearkats stand 19-12 in their TV appearances the past four years. That includes seven FCS playoff wins on national television.
MCNEESE VICTORY NINTH FOR KATS OVER FCS TOP FIVE OPPONENT
The Bearkats victory over No. 4 McNeese marked Sam Houston's ninth win over an FCS Top 5 ranked opponent. It is the fifth FCS Top 5 win for the SHSU in the past four seasons.
BEARKATS VERSUS DEMONS SERIES RECORD
Northwestern State leads the all-time series with Sam Houston 19 victories to 17. The Bearkats have won four of the past five meetings.
The Demons have been a tough team to beat in Natchitoches where Northwestern State holds a 14-5 advantage over Sam Houston. The Bearkats' victories in Natchitoches came in 1930, 1992, 2000, 2006 and 2012.
SAM HOUSTON FOOTBALL IN LOUISIANA
Sam Houston holds a record of 28 victories, 56 losses and three ties in its 87 trips to play football in the Pelican State. Last season the Bearkats were 0-3 in Louisiana, falling to McNeese and twice at Southeastern Louisiana.
TWO-TIME NATIONAL FINALISTS OWN THREE-YEAR PLAYOFF RUN
Sam Houston is one of only three teams to earn FCS post-season playoff berths each of the past three seasons (joining North Dakota State and New Hampshire). The Bearkats reached the Championship Game in Frisco with playoff runs in both 2011 and 2012. Last year, the Kats lost by one point to Southeastern Louisiana in the second round of the playoffs.
SAM HOUSTON SWEEPS SOUTHLAND "PLAYER OF WEEK" HONORS
After the 38-22 upset of No. 4 ranked McNeese State, Sam Houston State swept Southland Conference football "Player of the Week" honors.
Sophomore quarterback Jared Johnson was named Offensive Player of the Week, freshman defensive end P.J. Hall earned his second defensive player of the week award of the season and sophomore kicker Luc Swimberghe was earned the special teams honor.
Johnson accounted for 382 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in the victory over the Cowboys that extended SHSU's conference home winning streak to 11 games. The sophomore from Grand Prairie / South Grand Prairie set an SHSU single game school record for most yards rushing by a QB (190). Included in the total were touchdown runs of 73 and 67 yards. Johnson also threw for 193 yards with touchdown passes of 22 and nine yards.
Johnson helped orchestrate scoring drives of 75, 69, 76, 55 and 75 yards as Sam Houston built a 35-7 lead through three quarters.
Hall led the Sam Houston defense with 11 tackles, including five solos. He had two pass break-ups. The freshman from Seguin had three tackles for losses.
He was an integral part of the Bearkat defense that limited the league's top-ranked offense in scoring and rushing offense to just 209 rushing yards in the game and only seven points in the first three quarters.
Hall, who also earned the weekly defensive honor after the Lamar victory, is one of 21 players named last week to the Jerry Rice Award "watch list" by The Sports Network. The award honors the FCS "Freshman of the Year."
Swimberghe kicked a season-best 44-yard field goal (the second longest of his career). The Tyler/Lindale product kicked 5-of-5 PATs against McNeese.
JARED JOHNSON NAMED FCS NATIONAL CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK
BEARKAT DEFENSE COMES ON STRONG IN McNEESE VICTORY
Sam Houston's defense put on a clinic on toughness and tenacity for the Cowboys. McNeese entered the game leading the Southland in scoring offense (44.5 points per game) and rushing offense (277.5 yards per contest) and stood second in total offense (475.0 yards per game).
The Kats limited the Cowboys to 298 total yards. McNeese passed for only 89 yards and gained just 209 on the ground. Sam Houston allowed McNeese only one score through the first three quarters as the Bearkats built a 35-7 lead going into the final period. The Cowboys accounted for only 140 yards rushing and 48 yards in the air during the first three periods.
McNeese was forced to punt on nine of their first 11 possessions. The Kats also stopped the Cowboys on a fourth down attempt in the third period.
PLENTY OF NEW FACES ON THE 2014 BEARKAT FOOTBALL SQUAD
When Sam Houston opened the 2014 season August 23 at Eastern Washington, there were 18 players in the starting lineup who did not start in the spring game. Only seven players who started during the 9-5 campaign in 2013 returned this year.
In the Bearkats' Southland Conference opener two weeks ago against the Lamar Cardinals, running back Keshawn Hill on offense and safety Michael Wade on defense were the only seniors in the starting lineup.
Sixty-one of the members of the 95-player roster in preseason camp were returning players from the 2013 playoff squad. That number included 44 returning lettermen, 12 red-shirt freshmen and five squadmen. Thirteen true freshman who signed in February also were present.
Several transfers from FBS programs have joined the team including LaDarius Brown (WR-TCU), Derrick Edwards (WR-Texas Tech), Kiante' Griffin (LB-Baylor), Josh Hunt (LB-Wake
Forest), Jacobi Hunter (DT-California), Jarrell Oliver (RB-Utah), Trenier Orr (CB-Cincinnati), Jalen Overstreet (RB-Texas), Ernest Payton (CB-Missouri) and Xavier Smith (CB-Missouri).
KEY FIGURES IN BEARKAT OFFENSE
Sophomore Jared Johnson is the starting quarterback for the Kats this fall after serving as a back-up to All-Southland Conference quarterback Brian Bell last year. Bell finished his career as Sam Houston's all-time passing and total offense leader in 2013. Johnson is averaging 212.2 yards passing and 247.7 total offense per game in his five starts this season.
Johnson has completed 117 of 213 passes for 1,273 yards and 8 touchdowns. He has rushed 68 times for 375 yards three TD runs of more than 50 yards. Fellow sophomore Don King III has gone 9 for 13 for 107 yards and a score coming off the bench.
Senior Keshawn Hill is a preseason All-Southland selection at running back. The back-up to All-America Timothy Flanders the past two seasons, Hill has carried 59 times for 279 yards and 5 scores. His 79-yard TD run at Eastern Washington is his longest career rush. Hill ranks No. 11 in SHSU career all-purpose yards (2,866) and No. 20 in career rushing (1,675 yards).
Texas transfer Jalen Overstreet rushed 9 times for 132 yards in the Lamar victory. That included a 50-yards touchdown run up the middle. Overstreet has 37 carries for the season for 286 yards. He is averaging 7.7 yards per carry. Transfer Donavan Williams from ASA College has 48 carries for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Kats feature a talented receiving corps. Redshirt freshman Yedidiah Louis has 31 catches for 337 yards including a 48-yard catch-and-run at LSU. His 56.2 yards receiving per game ranks third among FCS freshman receivers. LaDarius Brown, a transfer from TCU, has 18 catches for 246 yards.
Donald Jackson III, Zachary Stevens and Brandon DeWitt all were starters in the offensive line last year. Jackson both is a preseason All-Southland selection. DeWitt was a freshman All-America selection in 2013.
THE BEARKAT DEFENSE
Only three 2013 starters - safety Michael Wade and Desmond Fite and tackle Sione Latu - are back this fall on the SHSU defense. However 19 players who played in reserve roles plus several top newcomers have stepped in for the Bearkats.
Wade is a preseason All-Southland selection after an outstanding junior season. He is the team's top returning tackler with 105 stops and two interceptions last year. He leads the squad again this fall with 26 solo stops and 18 assists. His interception in the Alabama State victory in the home opener was his fourth career pick.
Redshirt freshman defensive end P. J. Hall is a two-time Southland defensive "player-of-the-week." Hall led the team with seven stops and blocked a field goal to win his first award at Lamar. He is on the Southland's list of candidates for the Jerry Rice Award as the FCS's top freshman. Hall leads the squad in tackles for losses (10-38) and has 37 total stops this fall.
Sophomore linebacker Myke Chatman is the Bearkats' second-leading tackler with 38 stops including six for losses and a sack. Junior linebacker Tristan Eche has totaled 33 tackles.
Cornerback Trenier Orr, a transfer from Cincinnati, has made an immediate impression in the secondary with 26 tackles. He returned an intercpetion 55 yards for a touchdown in the Eastern Washington game. Fellow cornerback Mikell Everette, a transfer from Pima C.C. in Tucson, set up Sam Houston's first TD at Lamar with a 22-yard interception return. He has 23 tackles to his credit.
SPECIAL TEAMS HAVE BEEN A BEARKAT STRENGTH THIS FALL
Australian punter Lachlan Edwards leads the Southland Conference with a 44.4 average on 44 kicks. He has 14 punts of 50 or more yards, 11 punts inside the 20 and 13 that have been fair caught. All-Southland Conference kicker Luc Swimberghe is 7-for-7 on field goals this year including a long of 44. The sophomore was the team's leading scorer with 97 points last year. Trent Williams returns as Sam Houston's deep snaps specialist.
"GET BETTER" WEEK LED TO WIN AT LAMAR
With Sam Houston moving its Eastern Washington game from Sept. 20 to Aug. 23 for ESPN, the Bearkats had an open date before their Southland opener at Lamar.
SHSU coach K. C. Keeler used the bye as a "Get Better" week. The result was a 42-10 victory over Lamar in the Kats' Southland Conference opener.
Sam Houston limited a Lamar offense that came into the game the Southland's scoring and total offense leaders to a TD and a field goal in a 42-10 victory.
University of Texas transfer Jalen Overstreet rushed for 130 yards on seven carries including a 50-yard fourth quarter touchdown. Jared Johnson passed for 164 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 78 more. The Kats forced seven Lamar fumbles, recovering three. P. J. Hall led the defense with seven stops including a quarterback sack and blocked a Cardinal punt.
