Kats move up to No. 2 in national polls
9/19/2016 3:57:00 PM | Football
HUNTSVILLE – Following Saturday's impressive victory against Lamar, the Sam Houston State football program moved up to second nationally in the polls, released Monday.
The Bearkats received praise from STATS FCS, moving up one spot each of the last two weeks to their current position. The Kats trail only unanimous No. 1 North Dakota State, which received 167 first-place votes and 4,175 points.
"I think at times we're playing at a really high level," head coach K.C. Keeler said. "We've been a little disappointed leaving some points on the field offensively and giving up some big plays defensively. The potential for the offense is through the roof. We have some work to do for us to be as good as we want to be, but it seems to all be coming together in a positive way."
The squad also moved up one spot to second in the coaches poll, again behind the Bison. North Dakota State (3-0), Sam Houston (2-0) and Chattanooga (3-0) are the only undefeated teams in the top five of the poll as Jacksonville State (2-1) and Eastern Washington (2-1) round out the top five.
In the HERO Sports Poll, the Kats also took second. The ranking comes as Sam Houston recorded its 500th win in program history on Saturday, taking down Lamar 44-31. The Bearkats led 30-3 at halftime, defensive end P.J. Hall anchored an effort that kept Lamar All-America running back Kade Harrington to just 76 rushing yards and no touchdowns.
For his efforts, Hall was named STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Week and Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The defensive end recorded nine tackles and 4 ½ tackles for loss while breaking up two passes and providing the pressure on an intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Sam Houston returns to action on Saturday, visiting Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox College Sports as the Kats look for another strong performance in the second league game of the year.
