90th Battle of the Piney Woods Game Notes
10/1/2015 3:18:00 AM | Football
BATTLE OF THE PINEY WOODS FAN GUIDE
Quick Fan Information about Saturday's game
SAM HOUSTON QUICK HITS
• In the fourth game of Sam Houston's 100th season of football, the Kats meet arch rival Stephen F. Austin in the 90th renewal of “The Battle of the Piney Woods,” the third oldest current college football rivalry in Texas. Only Baylor-Texas (101 games) and SMU-TCU (92 games) have longer histories.
• The Bearkats hold a 52-35-2 edge over the Lumberjacks in the series. Sam Houston has won each of the past four meetings. The series has been played at NRG Stadium in Houston since 2010.
• Sam Houston leads all Texas Division I football teams in victories during the last four seasons (since 2011). The Kats have won 46 games followed by Baylor 43; Texas A&M & TCU 38; Houston 37; Texas 32; Texas Tech 29, Rice 28; Texas State 24; UTSA & Lamar 23; SFA, North Texas & SMU 22.
• The Bearkats are one of only three teams that have earned FCS playoff berths each of the last four years (the other two are North Dakota State and New Hampshire).
• The Bearkat offense ranks leads the nation in scoring offense (51.3) and stands No. 2 in both passing (379.7) and total offense (653.3) and No. 10 in rushing (255.7). Sam Houston leads the Southland Conference in every category.
• Sam Houston and SFA have combined to score 383 points (76.6 per game) in the five “Piney Woods” Battles at NRG Stadium since 2010. Attendance has risen each year with crowds of 24,685 (2010), 25,145 (2011), 26,185 (2012), 26,213 (2013) and 26,788 last year.
• Since 1986, one team has come into the “Piney Woods” game in the FCS top 25 and the other not ranked 15 times. Six of those games, the un-ranked team won.
• K. C. Keeler is the only head football coach to take three different programs to the semifinals of the NCAA playoffs. Standing 33-11 in post-season games (14-4 in FCS playoffs), he holds the highest number of playoff wins by any current FCS head coach.
• Jared Johnson has moved up again in several career offensive categories. The junior ranks No. 5 in total offense (5,090 yards), No. 9 in all-time passing (3,744 yards) and No. 29 in rushing (1,356).
• Kicker Luc Swimberghe now stands No. 2 in Sam Houston career PATs (160), No. 3 in all-time kicking points (244) and No. 5 overall in Bearkat career scoring (244).
• Three wide receivers are piling up career totals. Sophomore Yedidiah Louis has become the 25th member of the 1,000-yard receivers club with a total of 1,028 yards on 86 catches. Senior LaDarius Brown is 19 yards away from club membership with 58 catches for 981 yards. Senior Gerald Thomas owns a career total of 57 catches for 930 yards. His 164 yards on eight receptions Saturday in the HBU victory included an 86-yard touchdown, the ninth longest passing play in Kat annals.
• P. J. Hall, the Southland's “Freshman of the Year” in 2014, was the highest ranked defensive player in last year's Jerry Rice Award voting (FCS Freshman of the Year). He finished third. Hall totaled 30 tackles for loss, one short of the school season record. With a sack versus HBU last week, Hall now ranks No. 8 in SHSU career tackles for losses (31). He tied a school mark with five kick blocks in 2014.
• Australian punter Lachlan Edwards earned FCS All-America and All-Southland Conference honors after leading the league and ranking No. 22 nationally with a 42.1 average. Edwards stands as Sam Houston's all-time punting leader with an average of 43.59 yards per punt.
• Senior running back Donavan Williams earned Southland Conference “Offensive Player of the Week” honors after rushing for 99 yards and four touchdowns at Texas Tech. Only six other Sam Houston players have scored four or more touchdowns in one game.
• With 12 catches for 103 yards and a TD at Texas Tech, wide receiver Davion Davis from Hutto totaled the most catches ever by a Kat freshman in one game. The total was one short of the school record of 13 catches held by Jason Mathenia and Torrance Williams.
• The 2014 Bearkats rank as only the ninth team in FCS history to surpass 7,000 yards total offense in a season. Sam Houston's rushing total (3,866 yards) was the second highest season total ever and the team's passing yardage (3,287) ranks third highest in the Kats' 99 previous years of football.
• Offensive tackle Donald Jackson III has earned first team All-Southland honors two years in a row and was selected to three FCS All-America squads (including the AP team) in 2014
ESPN3 TELECAST INFORMATION
Satellite Sports Package:
ESPN College Extra (DirecTV, Verizon, Uverse, various cable)
Online:
WatchESPN.com
WatchESPN app for Apple and Android devices
Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and XBOX
BEARKAT-LUMBERJACK RIVALRY FACTS
• This year's Sam Houston vs. Stephen F. Austin meeting marks the 90th renewal of the “Battle of the Piney Woods,” making the game the third oldest continuous college football rivalry in Texas.
• 102 athletes who went on to play in the National Football League (including seven who have appeared in Super Bowls) have participated in past “Battle of the Piney Woods” games.
• Sixty NCAA Division I All-Americans have played in the SHSU-SFA rivalry contests.
• The Kats-Jacks rivalry dates back to 1923. Sam Houston holds a 51-36-2 edge in the series.
• Since 1923, Sam Houston and SFA have competed together in three conferences – the Lone Star, Gulf Star and (since 1987) the Southland.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower was president of the United States the last time there was a shutout in the “Battle of the Piney Woods.” The Kats blanked the Jacks 6-0 in 1959.
• During the 1930s, “The Battle of the Piney Woods” was an annual Thanksgiving Day event.
• Nine of the last 14 “Battles” have been decided by eight points or less.
• The average weight of the players who participated in the first “Battle of the Piney Woods” football game in 1923 was 151 pounds.
• The longest winning streak by either Sam Houston or SFA in the “Battle of the Piney Woods” was the Bearkats' six consecutive wins from 1938 to 1946.
• This year's matchup marks the seventh time the “Battle of the Piney Woods” has been held in Houston. The Kats and the Jacks battled to a 14-14 tie in the Astrodome in 1976.
LAST WEEK'S VICTORY OVER HBU
Sam Houston gained the second-most yards in program history (709) in a 63-14 rout of Houston Baptist in front of 9,014 fans at Bowers Stadium Saturday.
The Bearkat defense intercepted three passes in a 28-0 third quarter surge that powered the team to the victory in it's Southland Conference opener.
Quarterbacks Jared Johnson and Jeremiah Briscoe combined to pass for 472 yards, the fifth highest single game total in program history. Johnson finished 17-for-22 with 230 yards and two touchdowns, including an 86-yard pass to Gerald Thomas, setting the tone for the game's opening score. Johnson also rushed for a pair of touchdowns behind 32 yards.
Briscoe finished 13-for-16 for 225 yards with three touchdowns. After HBU tied the game at 14-14, Briscoe led Sam Houston to a pair of scores including a 12-yard touchdown to LaDarius Brown with 4:12 remaining and a 38-yard touchdown strike to Thomas with 15 seconds left.
Thomas and Brown each notched two touchdowns on top of 164 yards and 84 yards receiving while Yedidiah Louis added six receptions for 63 yards and Stephen Williams caught one reception, but made it count, for a 25-yard touchdown competition.
Tyrel Stokes' 25-yard pick-six gave the Kats a 42-14 lead with 10:18 in the frame. The defense recorded its first four sacks of the season, while holding HBU to 296 yards, including just 88 through the air. The Huskies were also flagged 10 times for 65 yards, while Sam Houston was called for five penalties for 56 yards.
SAM HOUSTON PRESEASON CONFERENCE FAVORITE
Sam Houston was the pick of the Southland Conference head football coaches to repeat as league champions. The Bearkats received eight first-place votes and 98 points total in the coaches' poll. Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese State and Central Arkansas each received one of the remaining three first place votes.
Southeastern Louisiana was second in the poll, receiving 86 points. McNeese State was voted third followed by Stephen F. Austin, Northwestern State, Central Arkansas, Abilene Christian, Lamar, Incarnate Word, Nicholls and Houston Baptist.
Sam Houston led the Southland Conference with 13 players on the 2015 preseason football All-Conference squad. Sevens Bearkats were named as all-league first team and six were on the second team. The preseason all-conference squad is selected by vote of the Southland's head coaches.
