HOUSTON — It took 31 years for Sam Houston and Rice to renew a series on the football field. It might be another 31 years before the two lock horns again.
The Bearkats landed the first two big blows of the game, and the Owls never recovered as Sam Houston rolled to a 34-14 victory at Rice Stadium in the season opener on Saturday. The Bearkats snapped a four-game losing streak to Rice dating back to 1941.
Sam Houston made a statement Saturday following a season of heartache and near misses. The Bearkats went 3-9 with five of those losses coming by a touchdown or less in 2023.
With a new start heading into its first season of full bowl eligibility, Sam Houston got the explosive plays the team lacked at times a year ago and the defense did its part.
The
Hunter Watson era began with a bang for the Bearkats. In fact, the second pass of his Sam Houston career produced a gain longer than any play last season for the new signal caller.
He rolled out of the pocket on the first play of the second drive of the game and hit
Qua'Vez Humphreys for a 67-yard touchdown pass. The longest offensive play last season went for 56 yards.
Watson threw for 229 yards and two scores. He made plays with his feet as well, finishing with 57 yards rushing despite being sacked six times.
It did not take long for Sam Houston to strike again.
Two plays after the kickoff,
David Fisher intercepted quarterback E.J. Warner after beating an Owl wideout for the ball. Fisher turned on the jets and cruised to a 30-yard touchdown return and a 14-0 lead.
Christian Pavon added a 52-yard field goal, making a difficult distance on his first collegiate attempt, to give the Kats a 17-0 lead before Rice ever sniffed the scoreboard.
Star wide receiver
Ife Adeyi made his return after missing most of last season with an injury and picked up right where he left off, catching a 32-yard scoring rope from Watson right before the end of the half to give the Kats a 24-7 advantage at the midway point. Adeyi has now caught a pass in 25 straight games after bringing in five Saturday for 63 yards.
The third quarter was pretty much the same.
John Gentry, who had 56 yards rushing, capped a methodical 10-play, 76-yard back-breaking drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to push the lead to 31-7 with just over 10 minutes to go in the quarter.
Rice added another touchdown, but Pavon drilled a field goal from 26 yards out to give the Kats a 34-14 cushion heading into the fourth.
Sam Houston stays on the road to head to Orlando for a tilt with Central Florida at 5:30 p.m. CST.
