Houston Cougars shutout SMU, 34-0; await bowl invitation

Greg Ward Jr. (1) catches a 19-yard touchdown pass from
John O'Korn at the 13:05 mark in the second quarter.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Right Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 29, 2013) When the Houston Cougars took to the field on Saturday, November 30, 2013 at Reliant Stadium to face their long-time rival, the SMU Mustangs, they were looking to come back from a three-game losing streak that stretched back to November 9.

Not only did their get out of the losing streak, they set themselves up for an invitation from three possible bowl game.

The Cougars wasted no time dispatching the Mustangs back to Dallas in a 34-0 shutout, their first of the season and their first ever over SMU.

On their first play from scrimmage, freshman quarterback John O’Korn unleashed a 67-yard touchdown to Daniel Spencer to get on the board at the 13:32 mark in the first quarter.

The Cougars came back for their second score of the game when Adrian McDonald intercepted a Neil Burcham pass at the SMU 29 yard line.

After failing to get the ball into the end zone, Kyle Bullard booted a 27-yard field goal to put the Cougars up 10-0 with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter.

They added a second touchdown in the second quarter when O’Korn connected with quarterback playing receiver Greg Ward Jr. on a 19-yard pass route to take the score to 17-0.

Kent Brooks capped off the first half scoring with a one-yard plunge with 34 second left in the half.

The Cougars got the ball with SMU fumbled on a team rush, which allowed Eric Eliand to scoop it up and run 62 yards down the field to the SMU to set up the score

Bullard connected on all three extra point attempts to close out the scoring in the first half.

They continued their scoring juggernaut with a 37-yard rushing touchdown by Ryan Jackson at the 8:07 mark in the third quarter.

That touchdown was the results of a six-play, 59 yards drive that lasted 2:26.

Bullard added a 27-yard field goal at the 2:45 mark in the quarter to give Houston a 34 point lead.

O’Korn passed for 245 yards, while completing 25-of-41 passes and two touchdowns.

The Houston Cougars should know their bowl
destination by Saturday, December 7, 2013
Photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

Spencer caught seven passes for 100 yards while Jackson carried the ball seven times for 63 yards.

The contest saw SMU flagged 10 times for penalties, costing the 90 yards while coughing up the ball once and being picked off three times.

Burcham generated little offensive punch, completing 27-of53 passes and the three interceptions, and could not find a way to get the ball into the end zone past the Cougar defense.

The linebacker duo of Efrem Oliphant and Derrick Matthews each had four unassisted tackles and had a hand in a total of 15 more.

Adrian McDonald had 13 total tackles, with three of them being solos.

Now the Cougars will have to sit back and wait to see which bowl game comes a-knocking with an invitation.

The top prospects look to be the Pinstripe Bowl in New York City, the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Tennessee.

The Belk Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl will both be played on December 28, 2013 at Bank of America Stadium and Yankee Stadium, respectively.

The Liberty Bowl will be played on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Bowl invitations and opponents should be known around December 7.

Beadle scores 30 as Sam Houston downs Rice in overtime

Angela Beadle scored a career high
30 points against Rice.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis
Copyright 2013 La Vita Loca Photography

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 28, 2013) Paced by Angela Beadle’s 30 points, the Sam Houston Bearkats downed the Rice Owls by the score of 79-74 in non-conference women’s basketball action at Tutor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.

Beadle tallied eight of her points in overtime to give the Bearkats their third win of the season and dropped Rice to 3-3 with the loss.

Sam Houston looked to take a 66-63 win at the end of regulation to the locker room, when Rice’s  Breion Allen connected for three with six seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

The Bearkats lead by a nine points at the 15:41 mark in the second half, as Rice began the comeback and tied it at the end of the second half.

Beadle, whose 30 points was a career high, also pulled down 16 rebounds with 12 on the defensive end of the court, to lead all players.

The All Southland Conference selection in 2013, shot 13-of-25 from the floor and was 4-of-5 from the line while plying 35 minutes.

Jessica Kuster scored 22 points
pulled down 15 rebounds for Rice.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

For the Owls, Jessica Kuster (shown right) was 7-of-21 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the line, for 22 points.

Sam Houston shot 39% for the game, including 57% in overtime and was 67% from the line.

In addition to Beadle’s offensive performance, the Bearkats’ Jasmine Johnson accounted for 21 points and Taylor Dorsey tallied 12.

Rice also had two players, in addition to Kuster in double figures; Megan Palmer with 10 points and Allen with 10.

The Bearkats will next travel to Kansas City Missouri to face the University of Missouri at Kansas City in the first round of the UMKC Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday, November 29.

The Owls will also be on the road for their next contest as they head to Boulder, Colorado to play in the Omni Hotels Classic on November 29, facing Samford with a 6 p.m. CT start.

Houston's Richie Leone honored by The American with 2nd Special Teams Player of the Week honor

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (Houston, Texas) Houston Cougar senior punter Richie Leone was been named Special Teams Player of the Week by The American Athletic Conference as announced by press release on Monday, November 25, 2013. 

Leone, a senior majoring in organizational leadership and supervision, averaged 44.7 yards per punt on 10 attempts against Cincinnati on Saturday, November 23 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

He had one punt for 64 yards, two of 55 and 50 yards, and four between 40 and 49 yards.

The award was the second of the season for Leone. He was also honored with the award on September 2, as the conference’s first award honoree for 2013.

Leone is also a three-time semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, which is presented annually by the Augusta Sports Council, to college football’s top punter.

The award is named after Ray Guy, who was a punter for Southern Mississippi and the Oakland Raiders.

For the 2013 season, Leone has punted 59 times for 2,540 yards, averaging 43.1 yards per punt.

He has 13 punts of 50 yards or more and has booted the ball inside the 20-yard line a total of 29 times.

In addition to his punting duties against Cincinnati, Leone kicked off four times, resulting in three touchbacks and a single return of only 13 yards.

Leone was honorable mention All-Conference USA in 2011 and first team All-Conference USA in 2012

Mario Andretti appears in Kyle, Texas to the delight of fans

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KYLE, TEXAS (November 25, 2013)  Central Texas race fans were granted a treat Friday morning as Mario Andretti helped open the new Firestone Complete Auto Care with store manager Don Mack in Kyle, Texas. The event was coordinated with a ribbon cutting with the Kyle Chamber of Commerce.

Not many have driven a race car better than Mario Andretti. He could make a bad car competitive and a competitive car victorious. He won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Formula One World Championship and the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. He won the Indy Car National Championship four times and was a three-time winner at Sebring. He won races in sports cars, sprint cars and stock cars - on ovals, road courses, drag strips, on dirt and on pavement. He won at virtually every level of motorsports since he arrived in America from his native Italy at age 15. He is a racing icon, considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport.

Assessing his legacy is easy...he drove the careers of three men. He drove with a passion and joy that few have equaled - and he won. Mario Andretti took the checkered flag 111 times during his career - a career that stretched five decades.

And he was competitive all of those years: He was named Driver of the Year in three different decades (the 60s, 70s, 80s), Driver of the Quarter Century (in the 90s) and the Associated Press named him Driver of the Century in January, 2000.

The admiration for Andretti has been for his achievements on the race track. He is in the very elite, top-superstar category of his game. Yet, if you look at his whole life, he has seen the world that most people will never see. And the journey he has made is what made him a very rich man.

Career highlights for Andretti include:

• Four-time Indy Car National Champion (1965, 1966, 1969, 1984)
• Formula One World Champion (1978)
• Daytona 500 winner (1967)
• Indianapolis 500 winner (1969)
• Three-time Indianapolis 500 pole winner (1966, 1967, 1987)
• Pikes Peak Hill Climb winner (1969)
• Three-time 12 Hours of Sebring winner (1967, 1970, 1972)
• USAC National Dirt Track Champion (1974)
• International Race of Champions (IROC) Champion (1979)
• Only driver to be named Driver of the Year in three different decades (1967, 1978, 1984)
• Named Driver of the Quarter Century (1992) by vote of past Drivers of the Year and a panel of 12  journalists
• Named Driver of the Century by The Associated Press (December 10, 1999)
• Named American Driver of the Century by RACER magazine (January, 2000)
• All-time leader in Indy Car pole positions won (67)
• All-time Indy Car lap leader (7,595)
• All-time leader in Indy Car race starts (407)
• All-time leader in wire-to-wire Indy Car victories (14)
• Second all-time in Indy Car victories (52)
• Only driver ever to win Indy Car races in four decades
• Oldest race winner in Indy Car history, with 1993 victory at Phoenix at age 53
• Only driver to win the Indy 500, Daytona 500 and the Formula One World Championship
• From 1961 to 2000, competed in 879 races, had 111 wins and 109 poles (includes all forms of motorsports)

Andretti told the crowd, “It’s great to be in Kyle, Texas and meet so many race fans.” 

Andretti spent plenty of time with fans and did not rush them, as the line ran outside the store on a blustery day with temperatures in the 30’s with a light sleet falling.”

Local race fan Hayden Oswalt of Buda, Texas said, “My Dad had told me about him, but after watching his videos on You Tube, he is easily the greatest driver of all time.”

Houston Cougars drop 3rd game in a row; fall to Cincinnati, 24-17

John O'Korn (5) was well below his season passing average 
of 247 yards against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 23, 2013) The Houston Cougars could not seem to get their offensive punch going on the grass on Saturday, November 23, 2013 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, as they fall to the Cincinnati Bearcats by the score of 24-17.

With the loss, the Cougars fall to 7-4 in 2013 and to 4-3 in The American, while Cincinnati’s record to 9-2 with a 6-1 mark in conference play.

The game started off slow for Houston as the Bearcats scored ten unanswered points before the Cougars were able to get on the scoreboard.

Cincinnati scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Brendon Kay to Chris Moore to cap a seven play, 47-yard drive at the 14:32 mark in the second quarter.

They followed up with a Tony Miliano 25-yard field goal with 8:13 to go in the half.

Houston cut the Bearcat lead to three when John O’Korn connected with Deontay Greenbury with a 12-yard pass for the touchdown.

Kyle Bullard’s kick split the goalposts to round out the Cougars’ scoring in the first half.

Greg Ward, Jr. saw his first game action vs.
Cincinnati since Halloween.Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

The Bearcats added another touchdown with under to minutes to go until halftime when Kay again connected with Moore on a three-yard pass.

The Cougars began to rally in the third quarter following another Cincinnati touchdown when Trevon Stewart ran 15-yard for the score after recovering a Bearcat fumble.;

Bullard’s kick was good to cut Cincinnati’s lead to 10 and added a 27-yard field goal five minutes later to take the score to 24-17 to close out the third quarter.

Houston attempted to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, but was unable to find the goal line.

The statistics showed that Houston could not muster enough offense to put points on the score board.

The Cougars managed only 278 yard of total offense as opposed to the 573 yards output of the Bearcats.

Quarterback John O’Korn was well below his season passing average of 247.8 yards per game with Greg Ward, Jr., seeing his first action since Oct. 31, completed five passes for 74 yards.

He completed 13-of-30 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown with two sacks.

Kenneth Farrow (35) carried the ball nine times for
38 yards against Cincinnati.Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

Kenneth Farrow carried the ball nine times for a mire 38 yards, which was also below his season average of 52.9 yards per game.

Deontay Greenberry had six catches for 64 yards, while Daniel Spencer had five carries for 66 yards.

Defensively, Efren Oliphant tallied 13 tackles, three of them unassisted with Adrian McDonald accounting for nine solo tackles.

Stewart was asked after the game what he did in recovering his sixth fumble of the season.

“I saw the ball and picked it up and scored.”

The Cougars have now lost four games by a total of 20 points as they begin to prepare to face long time, in-state rival, SMU on Friday, November 29, 2013 at Reliant Stadium with am 11 a.m. kickoff.

SMU is currently 4-5 overall in 2013 with a 3-2 conference record.

The Mustangs face off on Saturday evening (Nov. 23) against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The Cougars faced USF on Halloween and defeated the Bulls 35-23.

HBU falls to Texas A&M-Commerce, 55-21 to finish 2013 season

Larry Day (33) scored HBU's first touchdown vs. TAMU-Commerce.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 10, 2013) The Houston Baptist Huskies finished their inaugural season of college football on Saturday night, November 9, 2013, with a 55-21 loss to the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions at Crusader Stadium at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston, Texas.

With the loss, the Huskies season record fell to 3-4 as they begin early Monday morning to prepare for their entry into competition on the gridiron in the Southland Conference.

HBU scored 14 of their points in the first quarter on a six-yard run by Larry Day at the 9:38 mark and on a 25-yard pass from Ka’DariusStewart to Wesley Lewis with 4:19 remaining in the quarter.

Their final score came in the third quarter on a one-yard run by B.J. Kelly at the 4:20 mark.

Travis Shinn (37) was perfect in extra points for HBU.Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved

Travis Shinn (shown right) connected with the extra point on all three scores.

HBU tallied 389 yards of total offense with the yardage split pretty even between rushing and passing (197 and 192 respectively).

Baker completed 18-of-31 passes for 192 yards and no interceptions while Kelly carried the ball 16 times for 116 yards.

The 2,752 fans in attendance saw homecoming activities occur at halftime with the 2014 homecoming coming at the new on-campus stadium, scheduled to be ready by August, 2014.

Statistically, HBU was 8-of 19 in third-down conversions and 2-of-4 in fourth down conversions.

They also scored twice on three tries inside the red zone and advanced the ball 121 yards on nine kickoff returns.

Head coach Vic Shealy and his staff will now begin to prepare for the 2014 season, which will include visits to upcoming high school football playoff games that will begin this coming week.

Danuel House scores 24 as Houston downs Texas State; 76-70

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 10, 2013) Storming off to a five point lead at halftime, the Houston Cougars men’s basketball team furthered that lead to down the Texas State Bobcats 76-70 at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas on Friday evening, November 8, 2013. 

Danuel House (shown left) and TaShawn Thomas accounted for 46 of the Cougars’ 76 points, connecting for 24 and 22 points respectively.

Thomas, the 2013 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, was 6-for-15 in two-point range and hit three from three point range.

He connected on nine of 15 tries from the free throw line.
 
Thomas connected on 10-for-15 from the field.

Houston was 52% from the floor on field goals and shot 67% from the free throw line.

L.J. Rose added 11 points, including two-three pointers on two tries.

Houston biggest lead was 12 points at the 11:27 mark in the second quarter.

In the paint, Houston scored 32 points and 13 points on offensive take-a-ways.

They added 10 second-chance points and two following fast breaks, with the bench accounting for 12 points.

Texas State was led by Emani Gant with 19 points, followed by Joel Wright with 18 and Phil Hawkins with 10.

With 22 seconds remaining in the game and the Cougars leading by three points, head coach James Dickey called time-out.

When asked, during the post-game meeting with the press, what is said to his team during the time out, Dickey responded:

“I wanted them to take their time and execute. We wanted to get it in. We wanted tp run motion, use clock and jam the ball inside. When we play through TaShawn (Thomas) or J.J. (Richardson) inside; good things happen. Either they’re going to get double, which is going to open it up for an easy inside out or they’re going to get a layup. All I wanted to tell them was to get the ball inside because we had taken a couple of threes and missed a layup down low. We hadn’t had good possessions so I wanted to make sure we had a good possession.”

With their first win in the American Conference under their belt, House was asked if the team felt new pressure associated with being in the new conference.

“We don’t feel any pressure. They voted us to finish sixth or seventh in the conference. Us moving, we’re not worried about that because the game of basketball stays the same. All we have to do is go out there willing to work.”

The Cougars will next face Texas-Pan American on the road at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11 in Edinburg, Texas.

Texas Southern falls to Southern Jaguars, 31-24 at BBVA Compass Stadium

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 3, 2013) The Texas Southern Tigers dropped their seventh game of the 2013 season by the score of 31-24 to the Southern Jaguars at Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday evening, Nov. 1, 2013.

The 6,406 fans who were in attendance at the game saw relief from the rain that had pummeled the Gulf Coast area in recent days as the Tigers mounted a fourth quarter comeback that fell short.

TSU scored two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes but were unable to completely erase the 11 point lead the Jaguars tad going into the final quarter.

The Tigers got on the board first with a 22-yard field goal by Eric Medina to close out the first quarter scoring at 3-0.

Southern responded with three straight touchdowns in the second quarter; which included a 10-yard interception by Anthony Balancier that was returned for a touchdown.

TSU rounded out the scoring in the second half when Homer Causey scampered 43 yards on a quarterback keeper for the score.

Both teams headed for the locker room at half time with the scoreboard reading 21-10 in favor of the Jaguars.

The Jaguars added 10 points in the fourth quarter to insure their fifth victory of the season.

Causey completed 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown.

He also carried the ball 14 times for 128 yards, to lead the Tigers.

Texas Southern will play Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 19 in Itta Bena, MS before returning home on Nov. 16 for their final game of the season against Howard University.

HBU downs Texas College 49-7; raises season record to 3-3

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 3, 2013) Under a clear blue sky on a mild, fall Texas afternoon, the Houston Baptist University Huskies rattled off 49 unanswered points to win their third game of the 2013 season by the score of 49-7 over the Texas College Steers on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at Crusader Stadium on the campus of Strake Jesuit Preparatory School in Houston, Texas. 

The Huskies had 356 yards of total offense with 289 of that coming on the ground.

With the win, HBU raised their record to 3-3 heading into their final game of the season against Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Running back B.J. Kelly rushed for 111 yards on 16 carries and score one touchdown; a nine-yard run with 2:45 left in the first half.

Larry Day also showed the crowd that he wanted in on the scoring action; carrying the ball 10 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

Jackie Robinson and Craig Bell added to the Huskies ground assault; rushing for 60 and 46 yards, respectively while scoring one touchdown each.

Wesley Lewis caught the ball a single time; a 38-yard reception for second touchdown of the season.

On defense, linebacker Garrett Dolan accounted for 10 solo tackles and three assists.

Terrell Brown and Ore Bankole each had five solo takedowns.

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography

Quarterback Ka’Darius Baker competed five-of-ten passes for 87 yards and one TD.

His longest was the 38-yard bomb he threw to Lewis for his score.

Texas College got on the scoreboard with 4:26 remaining in the game when Curtez Griffen carried the ball one-yard for the score.

With the loss, Texas College falls to 1-7 for the season.

When the Huskies take to the field for their homecoming game on Nov. 9; they will be facing a Texas A&M-Commerce team that in 6-3 in 2013 and is 2-3 in the Lone Star Conference.

Pasadena Eagles raise 2013 season record to 2-0; defeat Waltrip Rams, 32-31

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2013 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 8, 2013) Trailing with less than two minutes to go in the game, the Pasadena Eagles (2-0) scored on a 26-yard run by Uriel Hill to down the Waltrip Rams by the score of 32-31 at Delmar Stadium in Houston, Texas on Thursday evening, September 5, 2013.

The Eagles trailed the Rams at the end of the first quarter by the score of 14-8 but battled back to a 25-21 lead at halftime on two touchdown runs by Alfredo Reyes in the second quarter.
Reyes scampered 35-yards for his first score of the game at the 9:30 mark and followed that up with a four-yard run with 3:01 remaining in the half.
Pasadena first got on the board with a 24-yard pass from Daniel Delgado to Metrelle Taylor to tie the score at 7-all with 7:35 left in the first quarter.
A Waltrip miscue lead to a Pasadena safety less than two minutes later to raise the score to 9-7.
Waltrip bounced right back with a four-yard run at the end of the quarter to jump out to a 14-7 lead.
The Eagles scored 17 points in the second quarter to take a 25-21 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Rams scored an additional 10 points in the second half to finally take the lead with 2:27 remaining in the game.
Pasadena head coach Jeff Ganske then put the Eagle offense into high gear, scoring on Hill’s run with 1:45 remaining in the game.
Offensively, Pasadena tallied 341 yard of total offense on 19 first downs.
Delgado led the air attack, completing 8-of 16 passes for 72 yards and one touchdown.
On the ground, Melvin Reyes carried the ball 16 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
Delgado added an addition 52 yards on carries for the Eagles.
With the win, Pasadena raises its 2013 record to 2-0, after defeating Spring Woods 33-3 on August 29 at Pasadena Veterans Stadium.
The Eagles next face Texas City on Friday, September 13 at Stingaree Stadium in Texas City.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CDT.