Lamar Visits Saturday for Orange Out
9/19/2015 8:38:00 AM | Football
Sam Houston opens its 30th season of competition at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium and faces the first Southland Conference game of the program's 100th year of football Saturday when the Bearkats play host to Lamar at 6 p.m.
Head coach K.C. Keeler expects to see plenty of fireworks on the field Saturday, especially after Lamar put up 31 points on Baylor, ranked fifth in the Football Bowl Subdivision, last week.
“Anytime you come off a loss, you want to get back and play right away,” Keeler said. “The good thing about going against Lamar is that you're going to see those scores flashing across the screen on Saturday. In watching the tape, they did such a good job against Baylor that we know we're going to play a really good football team.”
Keeler admitted that he was impressed by how successful Lamar's offense was against Baylor's defense early in the matchup after watching film of the Cardinals.
“Lamar stood up to Baylor pretty well. They really put some pressure on those guys,” Keeler said. “I think it got our guy's attention. I know it got the coaching staff's attention. We really anticipate a battle coming in here. Coming off an 8-4 season, their next step is the playoffs and it's going to go through Sam Houston and it's going to be at our place.”
Last season, the Bearkats turned their season around against the Cardinals after a disastrous 1-3 start, blowing out Lamar 42-10 in Beaumont to begin a 10-2 run that would end in the FCS semifinals.
Saturday's matchup represents a chance at a signature victory for the Cardinals' 2015 campaign by knocking off the preseason Southland favorite. The Bearkats know they are in for a fight Saturday.
“Lamar is going to come in and bring a lot of energy,” Sam Houston defensive back Alfonzo McMillian said. “It will be very exciting.”
Sam Houston's offensive line did an outstanding job of opening holes for the running backs as the Kats rolled upu 317 yards on the ground at Texas Tech. The Bearkats will look to establish the ground attack with running backs Donavan Williams, Jalen Overstreet and Corey Avery. William rushed for 99 yards and four touchdowns against the Red Raiders.
“That was a huge confidence boost, not only for me but for the offensive line,” Williams said. “Without them I wouldn't have had those yards or any of those touchdowns. A good offensive line is what a running always hopes for.”
The biggest concern for the Bearkats following the Texas Tech loss was turnovers. Sam Houston lost two fumbles and had two passes intercepted while the Red Raiders had only one turnover. Three of the Kats' turnovers occurred inside Tech territory and the other resulted in a touchdown.
Keeler, who always emphasizes playing clean, definitely looks to improve the offense's ability to hold on to the football.
"One things that the coaches have been harping on us about is the mistakes and turnovers we had," Williams said. "That's the number one thing we've been working on. We can be really dangerous if we can elimniate the turnovers."
The ticket office at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium will open at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Complete game day information
