HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Top-ranked Sam Houston used a key stop within the final minute to hang on for a 41-36 victory against Chattanooga in the FCS Playoffs Second Round on Saturday afternoon at a rain-soaked Bowers Stadium.

In the victory, quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe became the FCS's all-time leader for touchdown passes in a season with 57. The junior transfer connected on 20 of 40 passing for 363 yards and five touchdowns alongside one interception.

Chattanooga started its final drive with 2:38 left on the clock and completed five passes to get to the Sam Houston 25-yard-line. The Bearkats applied their most pressure of the game and forced four-straight incompletions on the new set of downs to get the ball back and advance to the quarterfinals.

The Kats will travel to James Madison next week to contest the Dukes, who bested New Hampshire 55-22. No date and time for the game has been announced yet. The winner will take on the victor of North Dakota State and South Dakota State for a berth in the FCS Championship game.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Sam Houston wasted no time, scoring on its first two drives, each of which were capped by touchdowns from Briscoe to Yedidiah Louis, who finished with 156 yards and three touchdowns for the game.

The Bearkats found the scoreboard less than one minute into the game, using a 5-play, 72-yard drive and a 31-yard one-handed catch from Louis to take a 7-0 lead. On the reception, Louis eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the season.

After the Kats defense forced a three-and-out, Sam Houston again marched down the field, this time to the tune of 68 yards in seven plays. On the drive, Briscoe found Jaylen Harris across the middle for the 35 yards to the UTC 13-yard line.

On third-and-three at the Mocs 6-yard line, Briscoe again turned to Louis, who hauled in the touchdown for a 14-0 advantage. On the reception, Louis became Sam Houston's all-time receptions leader with 212. The junior passed Matt Dominguez's (1997-00) mark of 211.

Chattanooga was effective on offensive for the first time on its third drive, moving the ball after beginning the drive at its own 9-yard line. After a 5-yard rush on third-and-six, the Mocs elected to go for it on fourth-and-one at the Sam Houston 42-yard line.

Then, UTC turned to the ground game but Sam Houston was up to the challenge. Mouf Adebo and Myke Chatman stopped running back Derrick Craine in the backfield for the turnover. The Kats held the Mocs to 79 yards total in the opening frame.

Special teams made its mark late in the opening quarter as punter Joseph Figenshaw's punt to the UTC 15-yard line was muffed as Tucker Addington fell on the ball. Four plays later, on the second play of the second quarter, Corey Avery took the ball seven yards, slipping through defenders for a 21-0 lead.

The remainder of the quarter, however, would belong to the Mocs. Chattanooga scored 14 unanswered points including a 14-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mocs' linebacker Nakevion Leslie to trim the lead to 21-14 with 5:21 in the second half.

That trend continued early in the third, as UTC marched 75 yards in six plays including back-to-back 19 yard rushes – the longest of the game to that point for either team. Quarterback Alejandro Bennifield found Xavier Borishade for 18 yards to tie the game with 11:58 in the third quarter.

The 21-21 deadlock marked the first time this season in the second half, the Kats have been tied after halftime. Two drives later, the Kats took the lead back, using a 35-yard over-the-shoulder reception on third-and-15 from Briscoe to Davion Davis for the 28-21 advantage.

The Bearkats closed out the third quarter, in style, as Sam Houston responded to UTC's field goal, which cut the Sam Houston lead to 28-24. Briscoe completed three plays of 15 or more yards on the drive including finding Louis wide open across the middle for a 23-yard touchdown with eight seconds to go in the frame.

On the reception, Briscoe matched the NCAA FCS record with 56 touchdown passes in a season. The catch was the third touchdown of the game for Louis, marking his eighth TD in the last three games.

The momentum would be short-lived as UTC scored in three plays, using a 57-yard reception from Bennifield to C.J. Board, setting up a Craine 15-yard touchdown rush. Trailing 35-30 with 14:29 remaining, the Mocs opted to go for the 2-point conversion but the pass fell incomplete.

Sam Houston bounced back after another Mocs field goal which trimmed the Kats' lead to 35-33. Louis took a first down snap under center, racing 53 yards down the sideline to the Mocs' 26-yard line. One play later, Briscoe found Nathan Stewart in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown, making the quarterback the FCS all-time single-season touchdown pass leader with 57. The extra point was no good, keeping it a one-possession game at 41-33.

The Mocs continued to move the ball well in its ensuing possession, running its way down to the Sam Houston 7-yard line. On third-and-two, Sam Houston came up with a big stop as Luis Carreno wrapped up Craine on a pass.

UTC elected to go for it on fourth-and-two but a false start penalty brought the kicking unit on the field. A 29-yard field goal with 4:36 left trimmed the Sam Houston lead to 41-36.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Junior wide receiver Yedidiah Louis had eight receptions for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Louis opened the scoring 55 seconds into the game with a 31-yard receiving touchdown. He added a 6-yard receiving touchdown three minutes later. With eight seconds left in the third quarter, Louis had a 23-yard reception to put Sam Houston up 35-24. His most crucial play of the game was a 53-yard rush after taking the snap in the Bearkats final scoring drive to set up a 25-yard touchdown reception for freshman Nathan Stewart.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Darion Flowers led the Kats with 11 tackles for the game, tying his season high. The Kats also registered a pair of sacks and four tackles for loss, getting a sack apiece from Kahlil Welsh and Sione Latu.