Kats swat away Middle Tennessee in finale

Saturday, November 25

Huntsville

11:00 AM

3-9 , 2-6

Middle Tennessee

4-8 , 3-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Middle Tennessee

Sam Houston

Photo by: Matt Piasecki

Kats swat away Middle Tennessee in finale

11/25/2023 3:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE — The first season of FBS is in the books, and the final chapter featured excitement, heroics and more importantly, a Bearkat victory.

Sam Houston overcame a fourth quarter deficit and made a defensive stand with the game on the line in a 23-20 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Bowers Stadium.

The Blue Raiders (4-8) retook the lead with under three minutes to go in the game as it looked like another close one would go against the Bearkats (3-9), who lost five contests by seven points are fewer. This time, the odds were in Sam Houston's favor.

Quarterback Keegan Shoemaker hit a variety of wide receivers to get the game-winning drive rolling, including a pair of 16-yard receptions by Simeon Evans, who had a breakout game with 11 catches for 110 yards.

The final pass to Evans got the Kats down to the MSTU 3-yard line, and running back John Gentry punched it in on the next play to make it 23-20 following an extra point by Colby Sessums.

Middle Tennessee had one final chance with 57 seconds left on the clock, but a key stop on third and long forced a 47-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide right as time expired to lift the Kats to victory.

Senior linebacker Trevor Williams provided a huge spark for Sam Houston in the third quarter after the offense kept coming up short of finding the end zone.

The Bearkats' all-time leading tackler snagged a pass from MTSU quarterback Nicholas Vattiato out of the air near the Blue Raider 31-yard line. Williams, playing in his final game at Sam Houston, then weaved his way through the offense turned defense for a 31-yard touchdown and a 16-13 lead at the 8:35 mark.

The Bearkats did not have trouble moving the ball in the first half. They just had to settle for field goals.

The Blue Raiders jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on their first possession. Middle Tennessee took the opening kickoff and went 62 yards for the score.

Sam Houston came right back and answered with a 26-yard field goal by Colby Sessums five minutes later. Malik Phillips had a pair of catches for 27 yards and a 19-yard run by John Gentry were the highlights of the scoring drive.

The Blue Raiders pushed the lead back to seven with a field goal right before the end of the first quarter, but the Bearkats closed the half strong behind the leg of Sessums.

He blasted a 51-yard field goal with just over 12 minutes left in the half. Sessums cut the lead to one with a 26-yard kick to close out the second quarter.