Big Plays Highlighted Last Year's Win Over JSU
12/18/2015 6:08:00 AM | Football
No. 1 ranked Jacksonville State and No. 6 Sam Houston meet Saturday at 3 p.m. on Burgess-Snow Field in Alabama in a rematch of last year's NCAA Division I Football Championship second round game.
The Bearkats won that contest over the then No. 3 ranked Gamecocks 37-26. The winner of this year's rematch advances to the FCS National Championship game in Frisco, Texas, Saturday January 9.
“I've been asked a lot this year if it helps us going back to Jacksonville to play again,” Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler said. “Sure, a little familiarity helps. We've seen the stadium. What a great facility. We're in the same hotel. We have to have some confidence knowing we beat them there last year. But every year is different. JSU is a better team than they were last year. So are we. It's going to be a great game.”
Sam Houston is appearing in the FCS semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years. Last year North Dakota State defeated the Bearkats in the Fargo Dome after the Sam squad upset No. 3 Jacksonville State and No. 5 Villanova on the road.
“Last year we have to take on the No. 3, No. 6 and No. 1 teams on the road, traveling something like 4,000 miles in three weeks,” Keeler said. “We got through No. 3 and 6 but couldn't get through the No. 1. We were a little tired out with the travel. It's been a big benefit to us to play at home twice and have a three-hour bus ride to Lake Charles in between. The kids are fresh and ready to play.”
Another big question the Bearkats head coach has faced from the media this week is Sam Houston's quarterback situation. Jared Johnson and Jeremiah Briscoe have been the team's two starting quarterbacks this year. Johnson, the Southland Conference “Offensive Player of the Year” did not play in the last week's victory over Colgate.
“J. J. has been back getting first team reps this week in practice,” Keeler said. “Both our starting quarterbacks are ready to go. We look to play both. But, just like it's been all year, if one gets a hot hand, we will stick with him.”
While last year's FCS playoff travel to Alabama, Pennsylvania and North Dakota was grueling, the head coach believes that the lingering effects of the experience have been extremely positive.
“Last year all that traveling in the playoffs brought this team really close together,” Keeler said. “This is a tight-knit group. Every day after practice they are singing in the locker room. They're having a ball. There's a lot of time you spend together on the road going from the planes to the busses to the hotels. It's brought this group together.”
Sam Houston and Jacksonville State are meeting for the 10th time. The Bearkats lead the series with five wins to four for JSU. The pair met annually from 1994 to 2002 when the Gamecocks were football members of the Southland.
The Kats played in a thriller last year in Jacksonville. Down 26-24 at intermission, the Bearkats shutout the Gamecocks in the second half while chalking up third quarter TDs. Quarterback Jared Johnson rushed for 85 yards including a 10-yard score and passed for 161 more yards and three scores.
The Bearkat defense came up with two key interceptions. Tristan Eche, who finished with six tackles and a sack, picked off a pass to set up a short drive for Sam's opening score. Mikell Everette ended a fourth quarter JSU threat with an interception in the end zone. P. J. Hall also posted six tackles with a tackle for loss and blocked a Gamecock extra point.
Jacksonville State outgained Sam Houston by 111 yards in last year's matchup. But the defense's relentless attack on Gamecocks quarterback Eli Jenkins, who was sacked four times by the Bearkats and threw two interceptions, paid off.
After watching Jenkins, who was tabbed as a first-team All-American by STATS on Tuesday, and running back Troymaine Pope combine to rush for 445 yards and five touchdowns against Charleston Southern last Saturday, it looks like the Kats will have a tougher time bottling up Jenkins and company for a second time.
“They are playing better at the quarterback position for sure and that has been one of the big differences with them,” Keeler said. “Jacksonville State is going to present us with a lot of challenges, especially with their talent and there will be a great crowd, but I know our kids are excited for it.”
Sione Latu accounted for two of the quarterback sacks in last year's contest. Latu recalled the defense's performance in the second half of last year's meeting and credited defensive coordinator Mike Collins with putting together a great game plan.
“Coach Collins called some good plays and put me in a good position to make those plays,” Latu said. “We had P.J Hall on the other side, so you know they are going to double team him and I just got real lucky and I was able to get those sacks.”
Bearkats receiver LaDarius Brown had a huge game, catching four passes for 88 yards and two scores, including a 49-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter that gave the Bearkats the lead for good.
Sam Houston backup running back Jalen Overstreet scored on a 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give Sam Houston a 13-point lead, a margin that wouldn't change, and rushed for 83 yards on just 10 carries.
Both the Bearkats and Gamecocks did a lot of running up and down the field, as the two offenses combined for 915 yards.
Senior left tackle Donald Jackson III hopes Saturday's game plays out in a similar fashion, as the Bearkats have already proven they can win shootouts this postseason.
“We definitely love getting in the end zone with the running backs, quarterbacks and whatnot,” Jackson III said. “One-play drives are the best. Hopefully, we can get a few of those. It's really nice getting to run up and down the field, putting points up on the board.”
Saturday's game will be telecast on ESPNU. KSAM 101.7 FM will broadcast the contest live in the Walker County area.
