Kats Assaulted Record Book In 11-Win 2015 Season
12/27/2015 9:18:00 AM | Football
During a 2015 football season which saw Sam Houston earn an NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff berth for fifth year in a row, the Bearkats assaulted the university's all-time record book.
As a team, the Kats set season records for most first downs (414), total offense yards (7,975), total offense per game (531.7), points (616) and touchdowns (81).
Sam Houston led the nation in both first downs and total offense, a first for the Bearkats in their 28 years of competition at the FCS level.
The 11-4 record marked the program's fifth season with 11 or more wins. The program played its 100th season of football during the 2015 fall schedule.
Individual accomplishments were widespread as well.
Running back Corey Avery led the team with 1,483 yards rushing, the second highest season total by a Bearkat sophomore and the third highest overall total in SHSU football annals. Avery's 7.6 yards per carry is a school record.
Defensive end P. J. Hall tied the program's total mark for blocked kicks in one season (5), a record he also tied as a freshman. Hall now stands second in all-time career kick blocks with 10.
The All-America honoree became Sam Houston's all-time leader in tackles for losses with 52 stops for 205 total yards. He stands second in career quarterback sacks with 23.
Wide receiver Yedidiah Louis set an SHSU record for most yards receiving by a Bearkat sophomore in one season with 838 in 2015. In two years, Louis already has climbed to the No. 6 position in Sam Houston's career receiving standings with 1,797 overall yards.
Two senior wide receivers, LaDarius Brown and Gerald Thomas, also rank among the Kats' all-time top 15 in receiving yards. Brown's total is 1,645 yards while Thomas owns a 1,557 mark.
All-Southland Conference quarterback and league “Offensive Player of the Year” is another offensive standout etching his name in the record books. Johnson will enter his senior season in 2016 as Sam Houston's second all-time leader in total offense (6,953 yards) and third in passing (5,352 yards).
Johnson also stands second in career passing attempts (762), touchdown passes (39) and completions (433). He has moved up to the No. 24 spot in Sam Houston's 1,000-yard career rushers club with a three-year mark of 1,601.
Sam Houston players also left their mark on the NCAA Division I FCS national statistics rankings this fall.
Avery ranks No. 7 nationally in rushing touchdowns (15) and No. 17 in rushing yards per game (98.9), Johnson finished No. 13 in passing yards per game (190.9).
Louis ranks No. 17 in pass receiving yards per contest (71.0). Brown finished No. 14 in receiving touchdowns nationally (9). Hall stands No. 2 nationally in kick blocks (5).
