Wide Receiver & Running Back Spark Offense
11/15/2015 3:49:00 PM | Football
Wide receiver Yedidiah Louis and running back Cory Avery combined for 361 yards of offense Saturday night as Sam Houston rolled past Northwestern State 59-21 to keep the Bearkats' FCS playoff hopes alive.
Avery, sophomore from Dallas Carter who transferred to Sam Houston from the University of Kansas, had a career afternoon with 15 carries for 197 yards including touchdown runs of 27 and 78 yards. He also caught a pass for 13 yards. The 78-yard scoring play stands as the 17th longest run in school history.
Louis, a sophomore from New Orleans, who has been a top receiver for the Kats the past two years after walking on as a true freshman, caught five passes for 69 yards, rushing for 16 yards and returned two kickoffs for 66 yards. He scored three touchdowns, two on 24-yard passes from quarterback Jared Johnson and one on a nine-yard end-around play.
The 668 yards of total offense by the Bearkats in the game ranks as the third-highest single game total in school history.
“The offense really cranked it up,” Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler said. “I'm really happy with how we ran the ball.”
The offense was clicking from the start as Johnson led Sam Houston on a seven-play, 75-yard drive after the Bearkats took the opening kickoff. The drive resulted in Louis's first 24-yard score.
“We have probably two of the best slot guys – Yedi Louis and Davion Davis -- in the country,” Keeler said. “It really opened up the inside because you have to cover those guys. It really gave Cory some opportunities running the football. We had a lot of opportunities with the slot receivers, who I think are both mismatches for a lot of people.”.
Louis, who's had eight receptions for 98 yards in the last three games combined, was used early and often against the Demons.
“He's been banged up a little bit,” Keeler said. “We weren't sure he was going to play until game day. When you get both those guys out there, you have probably the best two slots in the country. We thought our slots on their safeties was a good matchup.”
Louis added a rushing touchdown to his total in the second quarter on a reverse. Louis was the second-leading all-purpose yards gainer for the Bearkats with 151 total yards.
“We just worked on the plays all week and they said they were going to give me the ball more this week,” Louis said. “They were running one-on-one a lot. They were running cover-zero. Our receivers can't get locked down in cover-zero. It gave us a lot of opportunities.”
With a slot receiver like Louis, the Kats have been able to take full advantage of the mismatches in the defense.
“We all complement each other. If they were going to try to take the run game away, we have a lot of opportunities with the slot receivers who I think are mismatches for a lot of teams.” Keeler added.
