Three long punt returns - two for touchdowns - sparked a Bearkat comeback as Sam Houston defeated Stephen F. Austin 34-28 in the 90th “Battle of the Piney Woods” presented by H-E-B Saturday before a record crowd of 26,990 at NRG Stadium.
Gerald Thomas returned SFA's first punt of the second half 78 yards for the Kats' initial touchdown of the game. Yedidiah Louis raced 53 yards for another score as Sam Houston took a 24-21 lead with 3:01 left in the third. Louis later dashed 47 yards on a return that set up a field goal opportunity.
The 195 yards in punt returns set a Sam Houston school single game record. The old mark was 138 yards versus Lamar in 2013. Thomas's 78-yard run is the sixth-longest punt return for in Sam Houston history. The return marked the longest since 2006 when Derrick Harris set the school mark with 90-yard returns for scores against both Central Arkansas and Texas State.
Louis had two returns for a total of 100 yards while Thomas had three returns for 95 yards. Louis ended with 187 yards of combined offense with 87 yards receiving on seven catches.
The victory marked the fifth in a row for Sam Houston in the rivalry game that stands behind Texas-Baylor and TCU-SMU as the third longest current college football series in the state. The Bearkats now have a 53-35-2 edge in the series with SFA that began in 1923.
Sam Houston stands 2-2 for the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference play. SFA dropped to 0-5 for the year and 0-3 in the league.
“Stephen F. Austin is a good team that is going to win some football games this year,” Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler said. “They've played a brutal schedule. Coach (Clint) Conque made some smart adjustments and gave us a defensive look we haven't seen. We decided in the second half we just needed to run the ball at them."
Back-up quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe completed 12 of 20 passes for 198 yards. Jalen Overstreet and Cory Avery led the Kats in rushing with 64 and 62 yards, respectively.
“We've interchanged our quarterbacks every game this year and we're averaging 51 points a game coming into today,” Keeler said. “In the second half, Jeremiah hot the hot hand and we went with him. We've been a bit inconsitent early, but today went it counted, our players stepped up and got it done. It was a pretty good show all day with our guys competing."
SFA led 14-3 at half and Sam Houston saw its first 30 minutes of a game with the Lumberjacks without a touchdown since 2009.
Sam Houston took its first lead with 9:16 left in the third quarter after a 10-play 70-yard drive that ended with Donavan Williams scoring up the middle from the SFA four. Three consecutive completions from Briscoe for 16 and 28 yards to Louis and 13 to LaDarius Brown set up the score.
Running back Cory Avery added a one-yard score with 13 minutes left in the game after a 14-play 87-yard drive. Luc Swimberghe added a 32-yard field goal with 6:34 remaining. His 35-yard field goal 5:40 before halftime accounted for Sam Houston's first points of the game with 5:40 in the second quarter after a 10-play 58-yard drive.
Defense held sway in the first half as the “Battle of the Piney Woods” saw its first scoreless first quarter in the six years the game has been held in Houston.
Sam Houston had early opportunities as the Kats missed a field goal attempt and had a pass that would have given the offense a first down inside the SFA 20 was dropped.
Quarterback Zach Conque accounted for the Lumberjacks 14 first-half points with touchdown passes of 21 yards to De'Quan Ruffin and 31-yards to Judah Jones as SFA led at intermission 14-3.
The opening 30 minutes marked the first time Sam Houston had gone without a first half touchdown in the “Battle of the Piney Woods” since a loss to the Jacks in 2009 in Nacogdoches.
The two teams combined for 909 yards and 154 plays. SFA rushed for 336 yards and passed for 125 for a total of 461 on 68 attempts. Sam Houston had 448 yards total offense, 195 on the ground and 253 in the air.
Sam Houston plays host to Incarnate Word Saturday at 6 p.m. at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
