HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Top-ranked Sam Houston outlasted McNeese, 56-43, as freshman wide receiver Nathan Stewart broke a Southland Conference record with 268 receiving yards while notching three touchdown receptions on Saturday night at Bowers Stadium.

The Bearkats (9-0, 7-0 Southland), who totaled 630 yards of total offense, needed every bit as McNeese (5-5, 4-4 SLC) scored touchdowns on five straight second-half drives. Sam Houston answered with four of its own and a key interception from Darion Flowers with just over four minutes remaining helped the Kats clinch the victory.

Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe reached a handful of season and career milestones, passing for a career-high 504 yards on 29-of-44 attempts. His six touchdown passes moved the junior into the Sam Houston career lead with 40 touchdown completions.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sam Houston's Davion Davis hauled in a 28-yard touchdown reception on third-and-eight to cap a seven-play, 80-yard drive on the Bearkats second drive for a 7-0 advantage with 8:13 in the first quarter.

The Bearkats struck again through the air on their third possession as Stewart beat the one-on-one coverage, making the cornerback miss before racing 52 yards for the score. The five-play, 89-yard drive also saw a spectacular 29-yard turnaround grab from Collin Rison.

With 9:36 in the second quarter, Sam Houston once again capitalized on a big reception. Briscoe found wide receiver Yedidiah Louis wide open down the middle of the field, resulting in a 45-yard touchdown and 21-3 advantage.

The Bearkats kept their foot on the gas pedal, finding the end zone for the fourth time in five drives. Briscoe used a 34-yard completion to Stewart and 12-yard route to Louis, helping set up a Ragan Henderson one-yard touchdown run and 28-3 advantage with 6:33 in the second quarter.

McNeese marched the field down to the Sam Houston 1-yard line late in the first half, needing a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line as quarterback James Tabary found Kent Shelby on a fade route in the corner of the end zone with 1:32 remaining. The extra point was fumbled and Sam Houston took a 28-9 advantage into the break.

The Cowboys tightened the game further on their opening drive of the second half as running back Justin Pratt broke a pair of tackles for a 39-yard touchdown run as McNeese trimmed the Sam Houston lead to 28-16 with 12:39 in the third quarter.

The Bearkats responded, marching 42 yards in six plays, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Briscoe to Stewart. The scoring play, which came on a slant route, resulted in the third multi-touchdown game of the season for Stewart.

Sam Houston continued to surge offensively, moving the ball 59 yards in nine plays helped by a 19-yard rush from Avery and a pass interference penalty. On first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Briscoe evaded a defender and found an open Collin Rison for a touchdown and 42-23 lead.

The back-and-forth played out as Sam Houston took the ball 80 yards in eight plays as Stewart caught a 35-yard touchdown reception despite the McNeese defender being flagged for pass interference. The drive was the third of 80-plus yards for the Bearkats and marked a career-high third touchdown reception for Stewart as Sam Houston took a 49-30 advantage.

However, the Cowboys scored on two straight drives, stopping Sam Houston on a fourth-and-four from the McNeese 34-yard line in between. A 55-yard yard reception by the Cowboys' Tavarious Baptiste with 6:57 left in the game made it a six-point game at 49-43.

Sam Houston answered in a big way, using four plays to march 81 yards in 1:09. Stewart hauled in 58-yard reception down to the 2-yard line to set up a touchdown run from Henderson, his second of the day to make it 56-43 in favor of the Bearkats.

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Sam Houston quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe threw six touchdown passes, upping his total to 40 on the season, surpassing Dustin Long's record of 39 established in 2004. Of his six touchdown passes, three came to freshman wide receiver Nathan Stewart, who set a new Sam Houston school record and Southland Conference record with 268 receiving yards in a game.

The wideout broke Jacksonville State's Ronald Bonner's Southland-record 247 yards in 1997 Jonathon Cooper's Sam Houston record of 242 yards in 2001. It marked only the eighth 200-yard receiving game in school history. His 12 receptions are tied for third in a single game with Davion Davis, who accomplished the feat at Texas Tech a season ago.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME
In a game that featured little to no defense, particularly in the second half, a Darion Flowers interception helped seal the game late for Sam Houston. The linebacker intercepted a James Tabary pass at the Sam Houston 28-yard line with 4:02 left in the game and the Kats clinging to a 56-43 lead.

Defensive end P.J. Hall Hall tied the school record for single-game sacks, recording a career-best four. Hall ended the game with five tackles for loss for 26 yards and forced a fumble in the third quarter off a sack. He also tallied seven solo tackles.

RECORD WATCH
Sam Houston quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe became the fifth quarterback in program lore to pass for 3,000 yards in a season, completing a 15-yard first-down reception to Nathan Stewart midway through the second quarter. Briscoe surpassed 5,000 career yards in the third quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass, becoming just the fourth Sam Houston quarterback to reach the milestone.

With three receptions, Yedidiah Louis moved into sole possession of second in Sam Houston history with 187 career receptions and into seventh in Southland Conference history in the same category.

UP NEXT
The Bearkats return to action next weekend, visiting Northwestern State for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and will be available through the WatchESPN app. The game will be the final regular-season road matchup as the Kats close the regular season the following Saturday with a highly-anticipated game against Central Arkansas at Bowers Stadium.