Gerald Thomas Earns Southland Weekly Honor
10/5/2015 12:48:00 PM | Football
Gerald Thomas has been voted as Southland Conference football special teams "Player of the Week" after making the play that sparked a Bearkat second half comeback in a 34-28 victory in the 90th "Battle of the Piney Woods" at NRG Stadium Saturday.
With the Kats trailing 14-3 at intermission, Thomas returned a Lumberjack punt 78 yards for Sam Houston's first touchdown of the game two minutes into the third quarter. The Bearkats went on to roll up 31 points in the final 28 minutes for the fifth consecutive SHSU win in the stat'es third oldest current football series.
"Gerald's punt return was a game-changer," Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler said. "There's nothing like a big play to get a crowd energized and, with more than 26,000 fans in the stands, almost two-thirds wearing orange, Gerald really got our crowd back into the game."
The return was the sixth longest in school history and was part of a school record 195 yards in the contest. Thomas returned three punts for 95 yards in the game. Yedidiah Louis added 100 yards on two returns including a 53-yard score that gave Sam Houston the lead late in the third period.
Thomas, a wide receiver, also caught four passes for 49 yards including a long of 17 yards. He now ranks fifth in the Southland Conference in all-purpose yards with 123.0 per game. The senior has caught 16 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns and average 12.1 yards per return on eight punt returns.
Sam Houston plays host to Incarnate Word Saturday at 6 p.m. at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
