STEPHENVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats had six takeaways and won their fifth game in a row on Saturday night, downing Tarleton, 40-21, at Memorial Stadium.
The Kats (5-2) picked off three passes and recovered a pair of fumbles and
Zach Hrbacek rushed for 203 yards and a pair of scores on the ground, clinching the program's 13th consecutive winning season.
Hrbacek set the tone early with an 80-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage of the game and became the first Bearkat since 2016 to go over 200 yards on the ground in a game.
He was one of three Bearkat running backs to find the end zone as both
Charles Crawford III and Dezmon Jackson added red zone touchdowns later in the game.
Quarterback
Keegan Shoemaker passed for 182 yards, with
Cody Chrest being his favorite target once again, finishing with five grabs for 97 yards.
But in the end the night was about the defense who was once again led by linebacker
Kavian Gaither, the sophomore who finished with 11 total stops, a forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries in the second half.
Defensive backs
Donovan Adkins,
David Fisher and Da'Veawn Armstead all intercepted Tarleton quarterback Beau Allen in the first half. Two of those set up successful field goals from
Seth Morgan, who finished with four makes on five tries, including a career-long 52-yarder in the second quarter.
The Texans answered Hrbacek's early score with a score of their own, but were held scoreless until a pair of scores in the fourth quarter by the Bearkat defense.
Crawford's 2-yard score on the ensuing drive put the Kats back up for good and Morgan added two field goals in the second quarter and another in the third to up the lead to 23-7 before an 18-yard touchdown run by Jackson on the first play of the fourth quarter proved to be the final score needed.
GAME NOTES
- The 80-yard touchdown run by Zach Hrbacek on the Kats' second play of the game was the longest run by a Bearkat since an 80-yard touchdown run by Donovan Williams vs HBU in 2014
- Cody Chrest's 31-yard catch in the first quarter put him over 1,500 receiving yards for his Bearkat career
- Each of the interceptions by Donovan Adkins, David Fisher and Da'Veawn Armstead were the first of their careers
- It marked the first time since the Kats had 3 interceptions in a game since they picked off 3 passes against Stephen F. Austin in 2019
- It was also the first time the Kats have had 6 takeaways in a game since that same contest vs SFA in 2019
- Seth Morgan's 52-yard field goal in the second quarter was a career long, surpassing his previous career long of 50 yards set in 2021 vs Southeast Missouri; he has now made 11 of his last 13 tries over the past 3 games
