BOTPW Next On Slate For No. 17 Kats
10/4/2018 10:36:00 AM | Football
Game 5
Saturday, Oct. 6 • Houston • 1:05 p.m. • NRG Stadium (72,220)
No. 17 Sam Houston State (2-2, 1-1 Southland) vs Stephen F. Austin (1-3, 1-2 Southland)
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HUNTSVILLE – Coming off a big win last week, the No. 17 Sam Houston State Bearkats will try to back that up with another victory on Saturday when they travel to Houston to take on Stephen F. Austin in the 93rd Battle of the Piney Woods at NRG Stadium, presented by H-E-B.
The game will be aired on ESPN3 and the ESPN app with Ted Emrich and Shea Walker on the call. Fans with DirecTV can also find the game on channel 793 via ESPN College Extra.
The game can also be heard on KSAM 101.7 FM with Kooter Roberson, E.P. Garth and Brian Adams bringing the action over the airwaves. It can also be heard in the Houston area by tuning into SportsRadio 610 AM.
THE SERIES
The Kats own a 55-35-2 all-time record in the series with the Lumberjacks, and have dominated things since the series permanently moved to Houston. Currently Sam Houston is on a seven-game win streak against SFA with the 'Jacks not having won since 2010, the first time the game was played at NRG Stadium.
WITH A BEARKAT WIN ...
- K.C. Keeler would win his 223rd career game. He is currently 16th all-time among FCS head coaches, four wins ahead of former Wofford coach Mike Ayers and former SHSU coach Ron Randleman. With his next win he would tie Wagner head coach Walt Hameline who is 15th with 223 wins from 1981-2014.
- Sam Houston would win its eighth consecutive Battle of the Piney Woods, extending its win streak, which is currently the longest by either team in the history of the series.
- Sam Houston would move to 14-6 as a Division I program in games played in the city of Houston. The Kats joined Division I for the 1986 season and since have posted wins in Houston over SFA, Texas Southern and Houston Baptist.
LEFTOVERS FROM A 34-31 OT WIN OVER CENTRAL ARKANSAS ...
- The win was the first OT game played by the Kats since a 48-45 win at New Mexico in 2011. Additionally, it was the first OT game at Bowers Stadium since taking on Texas State on Nov. 22, 2008 and the first OT win at Bowers since a 34-31 win over Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 1, 2008.
- Ty Brock provided an immediate spark to the Bearkat offense in making his first collegiate start and first start at any level in over two full years. The redshirt freshman completed 27 of his 43 passes to seven different receivers, while also rushing for 73 yards on 18 carries. The Kats finished with 470 yards of total offense after averaging just 321.0 ypg over the first three games of the year.
- With his 300 yards passing, Brock became the first Bearkat freshman to ever throw for 300 or more yards in his first career start.
- The Kats were 10-for-10 in red zone scoring chances through their first 2 games, but after going 1-for-3 in red zone tries at Nicholls, Sam Houston responded to score on six of seven tries vs UCA.
- Kyran Jackson also made his first career start in the backfield and proved why the Bearkat coaching staff is high on him. The sophomore from Fort Worth rushed 22 times for 90 yards, but also led all SHSU receivers with eight catches for another 65 yards.
- Matt McRobert connected on a 74-yard punt midway through the second quarter, pinning the Bears on their own 2-yard line. The 74-yard punt by the Australian set a new SHSU record for the longest punt in the history of the program by four yards and was the longest in the history of Bowers Stadium.
- With leading tackler Hunter Brown disqualified from the game in the first half due to a targeting call, the Bearkat defense found others to step up and fill the void. Royce See put up a career-high 11 tackles from his linebacker spot, Adrian Contreras had a season high of 10 and 2.0 TFLs and Danzell Sims also stepped in, filling Brown's spot with eight stops and 1.5 TFLs. In all, the Kats finished with 12.0 TFLs and 5.0 sacks. Those were the highest totals since the season opener when Sam Houston had 13.0 TFLs and 5.0 sacks against Prairie View.
- Once again Sam Houston did a solid job on third down, holding UCA to five conversions on 18 tries. On the season the Kats have allowed just 17 conversions on 61 third-down tries (27.9 percent), which leads the Southland and ranks 10th in all of FCS.
- Davion Davis added another two TDs to his career totals on Saturday, rushing and receiving a TD in the same game for the third time in his career. He now has 38 total TDs for his career after rushing and receiving a score vs UCA, a mark that is fourth all-time at SHSU. His 33 receiving TDs are the most ever at SHSU and are just six shy of SFA's Cordell Roberson for the Southland record of 39.
- Opposite of Davis, Nathan Stewart also hit a milestone of his own, surpassing 3,000 receiving yards for his career. He is just the third player in SHSU history to hit 3,000 yards and the fourth in SLC history. Currently his 3,020 yards are the third most of any active player in the FCS and the most of any non-senior in the FCS. Additionally, he should soon be joined in the 3K club by teammate Davion Davis who goes into Saturday with 2,875 career yards of his own.
