Sam Houston vs. McNeese State Game Notes
11/4/2015 8:44:00 AM | Football
BATTLE OF RANKED TEAMS IN LAKE CHARLES
McNeese State enters Saturday's game ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Coaches poll and No. 9 in the STATS FCS media rankings. Sam Houston is ranked No. 7 by STATS and No. 9 by the coaches.
The meeting marks the 36th time that Sam Houston has entered a contest with both teams nationally ranked. The Kats are 19-17 in those encounters. Sam Houston has 14 wins over FCS teams that were ranked in the top 10. That includes playoff wins last year over No. 3 Jacksonville State and No. 5 Villanova.
TELEVISION AND RADIO
Randy McIlvoy (play-by-play) and Shea Walker (analyst) will call Saturday's game on ESPN3. Since the 2011 season, Sam Houston football games have been televised 47 times regionally and/or nationally. The Bearkats are 31-16 in those telecasts. Kooter Roberson and Leroy
Wilkinson and will call the game locally on KSAM 101.7 FM.
IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS FOR BEARKAT QUARTERBACK
Junior Jared Johnson currently ranks No. 17 in FCS passing efficiency (155.9) and No. 17 nationally in completion percentage (.648). Johnson earned league offensive “player of the week” honors for the second time in his career after tying a Sam Houston school record with five TD passes in a 49-21 victory at Abilene Christian. He ranks second in the Southland in passing yards (177.8).
Johnson started all 16 games during last year's championship campaign, setting a school record for the most yards passing by a sophomore (3,054) and the second highest single season total offense production in program history (4,053 yards). He now ranks No. 3 behind Brian Bell (2010-13) and Rhett Bomar (2007-08) in career total offense with 5,712 yards and stands No. 5 in Bearkat career passing with 6,053 yards.
CONSECUTIVE 100-YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCES
Sam Houston has turned to the running game in route to its last two victories with 586 yards and eight TDs on the ground versus Nicholls and A&M-Commerce.
Running back Jalen Overstreet became the 35th member of Sam Houston's 1,000-yard careerrushing club with a career best 28 carries for 202 yards in the 37-7 win over Nicholls. He missed a second century mark with 23 carries for 99 yards and a scored versus A&M-Commerce,
In his 24 games as a Bearkat since transferring to the Huntsville campus from the University of Texas in Austin, the Tatum High School product has rushed for 1,296 yards.
Sophomore Cory Avery led the attack with 24 carries for 125 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Lions. Avery is a transfer from Kansas where he rushed for 631 yards and five TDs as a freshman last year. Sam Houston rankes No. 10 in the nation and No. 2 in the Southland Conference with 259.6 yards on the ground each game.
P. J. HALL RACKING UP BIG HITS
Sophomore P. J. Hall, last year's Southland Conference “Defensive Player of the Year” and a third place finisher in the 2014 voting for the Jerry Rice award as FCS “Freshman of the Year,” is making his presence known. In the 38-24 victory over A&M-Commerce he blocked a field goal and had three tackles for losses including two sacks. Hall now stands third in SHSU career TFLs (39) only 10 back from the school record of 49 held by Andre Finley (1986-89). Last year Hall totaled 30 tackles for losses, one short of the school record. He also tied the school mark for blocked kicks in a single season (5).
WIDE RECEIVERS CLIMBING IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Three wide receivers are piling up impressive career totals in the Sam Houston record book.
LaDarius Brown is No. 2 in the Southland in receiving yards per game (68.1 average). The senior has 34 catches for 545 yards and five scores this fall. Brown has climbed to No. 14 in Sam Houston career receiving annals with 1,352 yards. His standout performances this season include four catches for 115 yards and a pair of 35-yard touchdowns in the victory over UIW and six grabs for 108 yards including a 64-yard score at ACU.
Sophomore Yedidiah Louis stands No. 18 in the all-time standings with 1,352 career yards. Louis is No. 4 in the league in receiving yards per game (62.3 average). A New Orleans native who moved to the Dallas area after Hurricane Katrina, he walked on at Sam Houston after playing at Richardson Berkner High School.
Gerald Thomas moved up to the No. 24 spot in the 1,000-yard receiving club with a total of 1,113 yards. His 164 yards on eight receptions in the HBU victory included an 86-yard touchdown, the ninth longest passing play in Kat annals. The senior ranks No. 6 in Southland Conference receiving yards per game (57.4). Thomas is a transfer from the University of Colorado. Thomas made 18 receptions for 171 yards as a true freshman at Colorado in 2012.
SAM HOUSTON RANKED IN TOP 10 IN BOTH POLLS
Sam Houston stands No. 7 in the STATS FCS media poll and No. 9 in the NCAA Coaches rankings. Since Sept. 9, 2011, the Bearkats have been ranked among the top 25 FCS teams 58 times in 65 weekly polls (including 40 times in the top 10). Sam Houston was No. 1 in the nation in the final regular season poll of the 2011 season and stood No. 1 in the STATS rankings the Monday following the Kats' 59-45 loss to Texas Tech.
SAM HOUSTON DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Sophomore linebacker A. J. Davis (35 total tackles), senior defensive endd Luis Carreno (34 stops) and sophomore defensive end P. J. Hall and junior linebacker Myke Chatman (both 29 total tackles) lead the Bearkat defense this year.
Sam Houston has totaled 63 tackles for 193 yards in losses in eight games. The Bearkats have created 14 turnovers with 11 interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
Carreno and Hall each lead the team with eight tackles for losses. Hall ranks No. 2 nationally in quarterback sacks per game with five in eight games)
Freshman safety Alfonzo McMillian leads the team with a pair of interceptions. Another freshman, linebacker Collins Okotcha, returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in the victory over Incarnate Word.
In eight games this year, the defense has forced 40 three-and-out series ending with a punt. The turnovers caused by the Bearkat defense have resulted in 77 points.
DEFENSE HAS FUELED FAST STARTS
The Sam Houston defense got off to a first start in the wins over Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian and Nicholls combined, the Kats gave up only 13 yards rushing and 42 passing in the opening period. During those 45 minutes of first quarter action the Bearkats intercepted three passes, blocked a punt and scored on a safety.
Big plays by the Bearkat defense have set up scoring sprees in three of the team's five wins. Interceptions by Tyrel Stokes, Sammy Webb IV and Trenier Orr powered the team to a 28-0 third quarter on the way to a 63-14 victory over Houston Baptist. Midway through the second quarter the score was tied 14-14. Stokes returned his interception 25-yards for a score.
Sam Houston got a quick start in the 59-7 victory over Incarnate Word with three TDs in less than a two-minute span in the first quarter thanks to its defense. After a 66-yard Jared Johnson to Cory Avery scoring pass, interceptions by P. J. Hall and Mikell Everette set up short, quick scoring drives. In the second quarter, Collins Okotcha returned the Kats' third interception of the night for a 60-yard score. Sam Houston led at half 52-0.
In the 37-7 win over Nicholls, a first quarter interception by Torian Williams set up a two-play, 20-yard scoring drive in a 23-0 opening period for the Kats. In the third quarter, a forced fumble and recovery by P. J. Hall sparked a two-play 15-yard drive that gave the Kats a 37-0 lead.
SAM HOUSTON SOUTHLAND STATISTICS LEADERS
LaDarius Brown is second in the league in receiving yards per game (68.1). Yedidiah Louis (62.3) and Gerald Thomas (57.4) stand fourth and sixth, respectively. Louis is ranked fourth in pass receptions per game (4.6) while Brown is sixth (4.2).
Kicker Luc Swimberghe leads the Southland in kick scoring (9.0 points per game) and ranks second in overall scoring. Swimberghe has kicked 39 PATs and five field goals.
Quarterback Jared Johnson ranks second in passing yards per game (177.8), third in passing efficiency (155.9) and third in total offense per game (223.2). His 13 touchdown passes lead the Southland. Lachlan Edwards stands third in Southland punting (42.3).
As a team, Sam Houston leads the Southland in scoring (46.4), total offense (549.2), passing offense (289.6) and pass efficiency.
OTHER BEARKAT NOTES
• Saturday's match-up pits the Southland's top-ranked offense against the league's No. 1 defense. The Kats lead the league in scoring offense (46.4), passing yards (289.6) and total yards (549.2). McNeese leads the Southland in scoring defense (10.9), rushing defense (67.9) and total defense (281.5).
• Sam Houston leads all Texas Division I football teams in victories during the last four seasons (since 2011). The Kats have won 51 games followed by Baylor 47; Houston & TCU 42; Texas A&M 39; Texas 34; Texas Tech and Rice 30; Texas State and SFA 25; UTSA and Lamar 24.
• The Bearkat offense ranks No. 2 nationally in total yards (549.3), scoring (46.7) and first downs (229). Sam Houston stands No. 10 in FCS rushing (259.6) and No. 18 in the nation in passing (289.6).
• After starting the year with losses to Texas Tech (59-45) and Lamar (49-46), Sam Houston owns a six-game winning streak. The Bearkats have outscored their last six foes 280 to 101.
• The Bearkats trailed at half in three of their first four games (31-42 at Texas Tech, 14-31 vs. Lamar and 3-14 against SFA). Sam Houston got off to quick starts in their last four games, leading 24-0, 28-0, 23-0 and 23-3 at the end of the first quarter against UIW, ACU, Nicholls and A&M-Commerce.
• 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).
• Australian punter Lachlan Edwards earned FCS All-America and All-Southland Conference honors last year after leading the league and ranking No. 15 nationally with a 43.1 average. Edwards stands as Sam Houston's all-time punting leader with an average of 43.44 yards per punt.
• Two Kats have earned Southland “Player of the Week” honors in the past four weeks. Gerald Thomas won the special teams award after a 78-yard punt return touchdown that sparked a comeback victory over Stephen F. Austin in Houston. Quarterback Jared Johnson was the offensive winner after the Abilene Christian win in which he tied a school record with five touchdown passes.
• 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.
• Four of Sam Houston's all-time top single game total offense performances have come in the past two seasons: i 823 yards vs. HBU in 2014, 709 this year against the Huskies, 685 in the 2014 home opener against Alabama State and 637 yards in the 2015 in Lubbock against Texas Tech.
