Must-Win Game Vs. Demons Saturday
11/12/2015 8:43:00 AM | Football
With last week's 27-10 loss at McNeese State, both of the two remaining regular season football contests for Sam Houston have become playoff games.
“To get into the playoffs again, we have to win both these last two,” Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler said. “We've talked about it with the team Sunday. We have to take things one game at a time and that one game this week is Northwestern State.”
Sam Houston faced a similar situation last year after a mid-season lost to Northwestern State squad in Natchitoches. The 2014 team responded with eight consecutive victories to reach the FCS semifinals for the third time in four years.
This year's Demon squad brings a 3-6 record into Elliott T. Bowers Stadium for the 2:30 p.m. contest Saturday. Those three wins, however, have come in their last four games.
“This is a Northwestern State team that has played really well lately,” Keeler said. “They had McNeese tied in the second half and have posted big wins over Abilene Christian, Lamar and Nicholls. They're a different team than they were earlier in the year.”
Two keys to the Demons' success have been a more productive offense and an alteration in their defensive scheme. Head coach Jay Thomas has gone with a 3-3-5 alignment designed to create more negative plays and turnovers.
In the Demons' victory at Nicholls two weeks ago, Northwestern State pounded away for 348 yards. Then they threw for 272 yards last week in a win against Abilene Christian.
Sam Houston and Northwestern State are meeting for the 38th time in both institution's football histories. The Demons hold a 20-17 edge in the series but the Bearkats are 12-5 against Northwestern State in Huntsville.
The Bearkats are coming off a loss in Lake Charles, La., in a game they led 10-0 going into the final two minutes of the first half.
“Defensively, we played well enough to win the ball game,” Keeler said. “But not picking up first downs on critical third down and fourth down short yardage situations hurt us. It was a tough loss, but that's the way football goes. We have to get our heads back on now. We lost to a good football team. Now we need to get back on track.”
With two weeks remaining in the Southland regular season schedule, McNeese State already has clinched at least a tie for the title. The Cowboys are off this week and will face Lamar in their final game. Central Arkansas, Sam Houston's foe in Conway on the final Saturday of the regular season, stands in second place with a 6-1 league mark. The Bearkats are in third at 5-2.
Tickets for Saturday's game are available now online at www.gobearkats.com or at the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located on the west side of Bowers Stadium. The ticket office telephone is (936) 294-1729.
