BEAUMONT – A season ago, the Lamar Cardinals ran all over Sam Houston State in an offensive outburst. Following the bye week this go around, the Bearkats got their revenge.
Sam Houston forced six Lamar punts and added a safety in the opening 30 minutes as the Bearkats jumped out to a 27-point halftime lead in an eventual 44-31 win against the Cardinals on Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium.
Offensively, running back Corey Avery put on a show, carrying the ball 17 times for 136 yards and a touchdown while taking another one to the house on a 35-yard pass play underneath. In total, the junior averaged eight yards per rush and 16.3 per reception.
“We think we have the best five backs in all the country,” quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe said. “When we get our offensive line rolling and that allows Corey to get rolling, we're really something special. It's kind of the center point of our offense.”
The Bearkats (2-0, 1-0 Southland) scored on their opening drive, driving the ball 75 yards in five plays but were plagued by turnovers including an interception on their second drive. Lamar (0-3, 0-1 SLC) capitalized, kicking a 44-yard field goal but Sam Houston's defense flexed its muscle and the offense responded.
After Sam Houston upped its lead to 14-3 on an Avery reception and serious stiff-arm, the defense got in on the scoring. Bearkats' punter Joseph Figenshaw, who pinned Lamar inside the 20 on five occasions, did so with just over six minutes left in the half and Sam Houston's defense did the rest.
“I think Brad (Sherrod) had a fantastic game plan,” head coach K.C. Keeler said. “If they were going to beat us, it was going to be running the ball. We did some really good things but I am disappointed we didn't finish it like we needed to.”
Defensive end P.J. Hall forced pressure on Lamar quarterback Andrew Allen who was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety. The Bearkats proceeded to score on their final two drives of the half to reverse course from last year's sluggish start against the Cardinals.
“We knew what they were going to do before hand,” Hall said. “We watched a lot of film and prepared really well. We knew they wanted to get the ball to No. 8, so we just wanted to contain him. That safety was really important. Any time we get them to turn it over or we get points as a defense it helps a lot.”
Briscoe went 24 for 35, passing for 328 yards and three touchdowns along with two interceptions. The junior found Derrick Dick for a 35-yard touchdown and Tyler Scott, who took a Briscoe pass 14 yards to the house, extending the lead to 37-10 with 3:50 in the third quarter.
The Bearkats held Lamar running back Kade Harrington to just 76 net rushing yards on 25 carries and no touchdowns one season after the All-American rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns. For the Kats, Javin Webb rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown while Remus Bulmer finished with 50 yards and a touchdown.
Sam Houston returns to action next Saturday with a visit to Houston Baptist. The squads will kick off at 7 p.m. in the second of four straight away from Bowers Stadium.
“We want to enjoy every win and we're going to enjoy this win but we probably left 28 points on the field,” Keeler said. “We probably had 21 points defensively we shouldn't have given up. There were times where it looked like we had the game in control. Hopefully it's a great lesson for the kids.”
