Defense, Special Teams Making Their Mark
12/15/2015 9:08:00 AM | Football
Dominating defense and strong special teams performances have played a major role in Sam Houston's 11-3 record this season and the program's fourth NCAA Division I Football Championship semifinals appearance this year.
The leader of the defense is sophomore P. J. Hall. The defensive end has earned first team All-Southland Conference and third team All-America honors and was 15th in the STATS FCS “Defensive Player of the Year” voting this fall.
Hall has made his presence known with a string of impressive performances during the second half of the season. He has recorded an interception, fumble recovery, sack, kick block or tackle for loss in each of the last eight games.
The Bearkats' leader in total tackles (63 with 44 solo stops), Hall also has posted 21 tackles for loss for 87 yards), 11 sacks for 61 yards and blocked five kicks. He also has two interceptions, 14 pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and a caused fumble to his credit.
Only in his second season, Hall now holds the SHSU career mark (51) for tackles for losses and is second in career sacks with 23. Andre Finley, who earned All-Southland honors in 1986-89, holds the mark for sacks with 36. Last year Hall totaled 30 tackles for losses, one short of the school record.
With a punt block in the victory over Colgate, Hall became the only Bearkat ever to record five kick blocks in back-to-back seasons. His career mark of 10 blocks puts him two away from tying Trey Woods' school all-time mark of 12 established from 1991 to 1994.
Hall holds Sam Houston FCS playoff single game records with six tackles for loss in last year's opening round victory over Southeastern Louisiana and two kick blocks in this year's opening round win over Southern Utah.
In seven playoff appearances the past two season, Hall holds the Sam Houston career mark for most tackles for losses in post season play (18).
Other big names in the Sam Houston defense this year include cornerback Adrian Contreras (61 tackles, four tackles for losses and a safety), linebacker Myke Chatman (56 tackles including eight for losses and three sacks), linebacker A. J. Davis (55 stops with four sacks) and Mikell Everette (team leader in interceptions with three).
Sam Houston has totaled 114 tackles for 348 yards in losses in 14 games. The Bearkats have created 23 turnovers with 17 interceptions and 6 fumble recoveries. The defensive unit also has picked up a pair of safeties and had a defensive two point conversion after a blocked extra point.
The defense has provided points on three interceptions for touchdown with cornerback Darion Flowers' 90-yard return at McNeese, linebacker Collins Okotcha's 60-yard run-back versus Incarnate Word and Tyrel Stokes' 25-yard return against Houston Baptist.
In 14 games this year, the defense has forced 64 three-and-out series ending with a punt.
Australian punter Lachlan Edwards is a two-time All-Southland Conference selection and earned All-America honors as a junior last year. He stands as Sam Houston's all-time leading punter with a career average of 42.67 yards per punt.
Sam Houston takes on No. 1 ranked Jacksonville State in Alabama Saturday at 3 p.m. Central time in the FCS semifinals. The game will be telecast on ESPNU. A limited amount of tickets to the game are available through the Sam Houston athletic ticket office. Tickets are general admission and are $15 each. The tickets can be purchased online or by calling the ticket office at (936) 294-1729.
