Kats to host Lions for homecoming
10/25/2018 10:21:00 AM | Football
Game 8
Saturday, Oct. 27 • Huntsville • 1:05 p.m. • Bowers Stadium (12,975)
No. 23 Sam Houston State (4-3, 3-2 Southland) vs Southeastern La. (3-5, 3-3 Southland)
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HUNTSVILLE – The No. 23 Sam Houston State Bearkats will return to the friendly confines of Bowers Stadium on Saturday to host Southeastern Louisiana in its annual homecoming game, sponsored by KamKad Hyundai of Huntsville.
The game will be aired on Eleven Sports and the Southland Digital Network with Gerald Sanchez and John Harris on the call, along with former Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson handling things from the sidelines. Fans can also listen on KSAM 101.7 FM with Kooter Roberson, E.P. Garth and Brian Adams bringing the action over the airwaves.
THE SERIES
Saturday will mark the 20th time the Bearkats and Lions have met on the gridiron, with Sam Houston owning a 12-7 mark in the all-time series. It will also be the first time SLU has made the trek to Huntsville since 2014 when the Kats pulled out a 21-17 win over the then-No. 9 Lions in the opening round of the FCS playoffs. The teams did not meet in either the 2015 or 2016 seasons, but the Kats pulled out a 33-23 win in Hammond a year ago.
LEFTOVERS FROM A 41-23 LOSS AT LAMAR ...
- The loss to the Cardinals was the first by the Bearkats to a team with a losing record since falling to a 4-6 Southeastern Louisiana team on Nov. 15, 2008.
- Lamar rolled up 435 yards on the ground against the Bearkat defense, marking just the third time since 2007 that a team has had more than 400 rushing yards against Sam Houston.
- Derick Roberson added 2.0 sacks to his ledger in the first half, and holds the lead for the most sacks in the FCS with a career-high 10.0. The Kats rank in the top 5 in the FCS in sacks with 26, and have posted 19.0 sacks and 43.5 TFLs in their last 4 games.
- Hunter Brown finished with 17 tackles against the Cardinals' run-first attack. It was a career high for Brown and a mark tied for the 11th-most in a single game in Bearkats' history. It was also the most for a Kat since Justin Johnson had 17 stops in a win at UIW in 2016.
- In all, Davion Davis finished with 225 all-purpose yards against Lamar. That total was just 11 shy of his career high and marked the third time in his career that he has surpassed 200 all-purpose yards in a game.
- Davis also finished with 13 receptions, tying his career high that he set in 2017 vs Northwestern State. The 13 receptions also ties a single-game school record held by him, Jason Mathenia (vs EWU, 2004) and Torrance Williams (vs UCA, 2013). Davis has at least 1 reception in all 48 games he has played in his career as a Bearkat.
WITH A BEARKAT WIN …
- K.C. Keeler would win his 225th career game. He is currently 15th all-time among FCS head coaches, 5 wins ahead of former Wofford coach Mike Ayers and former SHSU coach Ron Randleman. He is 4 wins behind former Ohio State and Youngstown State head coach Jim Tressell for 14th all-time among coaches who spent at least 10 years at FCS schools. His 225 victories are the third most among active coaches in the FCS.
- Keeler would also win his 51st game as head coach of the Bearkats and would move into a tie for 10th in the all-time top 10 among Southland Conference coaches with former Arkansas State head men Bill Davidson and Larry Lacewell. His 51st win would also move him into fourth among SHSU head coaches, 3 wins back of J.W. Jones for third place.
- Sam Houston would avoid dropping its second game at Bowers Stadium this season. The Bearkats have not lost multiple games at Bowers Stadium in a season since it went just 2-3 on its home turf in the 2008 campaign.
