Kats excited about Bowers home field advantage
12/12/2015 4:50:00 AM | Football
PARKING, TICKET INFORMATION FOR SATURDAY
A victory Saturday over Colgate in the NCAA Division I Football Championship quarterfinals would move Sam Houston into the top 10 in the nation in FCS playoff victories with 16.
Nine of the Bearkats' previous post-season wins have come on their home turf at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. No opponent ever has knocked off the Sam football team in playoff action at Bowers.
The last five years, only four-time defending national champion North Dakota State has posted a better record in the FCS post-season than Sam Houston. The Bison stand 17-0 since 2011 while the Kats own a 12-4 mark. New Hampshire (5-5), Eastern Washington (5-3) and Illinois State (5-2) are the only programs that have come close to the top-ranked pair.
Last Saturday, Sam Houston went down to the wire to earn a hard-fought road victory in Lake Charles, Louisiana, against the previously undefeated McNeese State Cowboys, who were the No. 4 seed. The Bearkats are excited to have the home crowd behind them once again with a chance to get back to the national semifinals.
“It feels really good to be right back in our backyard,” Sam Houston cornerback Darion Flowers said. “The road games can be very tough for the traveling and time it takes.”
Sam Houston quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe has guided the Bearkats to victory in both of the team's playoff games this season after coming off the bench and replacing starting quarterback Jared Johnson. The sophomore has thrown for 524 yards and four touchdowns in a little more than six quarters of play this post-season.
Last Saturday, Johnson struggled during the Bearkats' first two drives, throwing an interception and completing two of his six passes, and did not return to the game after suffering an injury. Bearkats head coach K.C. Keeler has not announced a starter for Saturday's playoff showdown.
“I think it is going to be a game-time decision in terms of who we go with,” Keeler said. “Jared has had a couple struggles and we've gotten Jeremiah in there and he's played great, so I feel really confident with either one of them. We have two starting quarterbacks who can take us wherever we want to go.”
Whoever has been calling the signals, the Bearkats have had no problems moving the ball and putting up points in their two playoff games. Sam has accumulating 1,073 yards of offense and scored 76 points in the victories over Southern Utah and McNeese.
Running back Corey Avery has proven to be another effective weapon on the ground for the Bearkats. Sam Houston has rushed for 519 yards in the two playoff games with Avery accounting for 247 of those yards.
“As an offensive line, we love to run the ball,” Sam Houston right tackle Sam Hardy said. “Rain is in the forecast but that doesn't really affect us. The defense is going to know what's coming and it's our job to execute.”
Hardy and the rest of the offensive line has won the battle of the trenches in rainy weather before this year as the Kats ran for 298 yards against Nicholls in a downpour and 344 yards in wet weather in the opening round victory over Southern Utah.
Colgrate features the No. 32 ranked rush defense in FCS play, giving up only 140.9 rushing yards per game. The Raiders also feature a talented offense that emphasizes time of possession. Colgate is converting third downs at a 45.1 percent radio (No. 23 in the FCS) and a nation-leading fourth down conversion success rate of 66.7 percent.
“We have to stop the big plays,” Keeler said. “Colgate thrives on taking advantage of the other team's mistakes. We have got to keep on playing sound defense. Nine-five percent of the time, the defense we're playing is outstanding. It's that five percent that we have to clean up. We have the ability. We just have to get better at it.”
Saturday's game will be televised on the internet on ESPN3. KSAM 101.7 FM will broadcast the game live in the Walker County area. The winner of the Sam Houston versus Colgate match-up will travel to play the winner of Jacksonville State versus Coastal Carolina next week in the semifinals.
The box office will open at 7 a.m. on Saturday for both sales and will call. However, only those with West Lot parking passes in hand will be able to access the lot. Patrons who arrive on Saturday without tickets or parking permits will not have “in and out” privileges to pick up these items.
The will call window will be exceptionally busy on game day, so fans are encouraged to pick up tickets in advance or be in line early in order to ensure that you will be in a seat in time for kickoff.
Since this is an NCAA championship event, there will be no refunds issued for tickets that have already been purchased.
Bearkat Alley tailgate activities will begin at 9 a.m. Fans looking to access the designated general public parking lots should plan to enter the area through Bearkat Boulevard, because Bobby K. Marks could possibly be one-way travel only, depending on what time the graduation traffic is cleared.
For more information about tickets to the Sam Houston vs. Colgate NCAA quarterfinal came call the athletic ticket office at (936) 294-1729. The ticket office is located on the west side of Bowers Stadium (facing campus).
