Houston Texans down New Orleans Saints by 24-6 score; go to 6-5 for season

TE Ryan Griffin scores one of the Texans'
touchdowns against New Orleans.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography,
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 29, 2015) The Houston Texans extended their 2015 winning streak to four as they downed the New Orleans Saints by the score of 24-6 at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday, November 29, 2015. With the win, the Texans move into a tie win the Indianapolis Colts for first place in the AFC South with 6-5 records.

Houston got the ball for their first possession of the game and quickly marched 70 yards down the field to conclude with quarterback Brian Hoyer throwing his fourteenth touchdown pass of the season. His scoring throw was to tight end Ryan Griffin who scampered around the right side into the end zone. Nick Novak added his obligatory kicking extra point to give the Texans a 7-0 lead with 6:47 remaining in the first quarter. Hoyer was seven-of-seven in the air on the drive.

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography,
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

They added they second touchdown of the game when Hoyer connected with wide receiver Cecil Shorts on a three-yard pass for the score. Novak again added the extra point to increase the Texans’ lead to 14-0 with 1:29 left in the first quarter. The Saints added a 30-yard field goal by Kai Forbath to make the score 14-3 with 6:31 left in the first half. He added the second field goal of the game for the Saints with 1:17 remaining in the half. The field goal was 57 yards and is concluded a 41-yard, seven play drive to close out the first half.

In the third quarter, the Texans added a touchdown and extra point at the 11:35 mark on a handoff up the middle to Alfred Blue for eight yards, with Novak added the extra point. They added a 34-yard Novak field goal at the 6:09 mark to close out scoring for the game.

Hoyer went 21-of-27 for two touchdowns, while Saints quarterback Drew Brees was 25-of-44 for 228 yards. Blue rushed 16 times for 77 yards while Griffin caught four passes for 72 yards.

C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl announces NCAA Division II teams

Logo from C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl,
Used with Permission.

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

COPPERAS COVE, TEXAS (November 17, 2015) The C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl has announced, via a press release on Monday, November 16, 2015, two of the four teams to play in their fifteenth annual classic. The two NCAA Division II teams that will take to the field at Bulldawg Stadium in Copperas Cove, Texas on Saturday, December 5, 2015. will be Eastern New Mexico University and Arkansas Tech University.

The Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, from the Lone Star Conference, finished the regular season with a 6-5 record and a 3-3 conference record. The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, who will represent the Great American Conference, bring an 8-3 season and conference record into the bowl game. The post-season trip will be the first for the Greyhounds since they began play in the NCAA. Their last post-season appearance was in 1983, when they played Mesa State in the NAIA playoffs. The Wonder Boys will be making their first bowl appearance since 1968, when they faced the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC) All-Stars in the AIC Bowl. In 1960, they played Texas A&I, now known as Texas A&M-Kingsville, in the Great Southwest Bowl in Grand Prairie, Texas.

No. 16 Houston Cougars remain unbeaten with 35-34 win over No. 25 Memphis Tigers

Kenneth Farrow (35) added two touchdowns to
his season total with runs of seven and
ten yards in Houston's win over Memphis.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 14, 2015) With a one-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Kyle Postma and an extra point by Ty Cummings with 1:27 remaining in the game, the No. 16 Houston Cougars remained unbeaten and downed the No. 25 Memphis Tigers by the score of 35-24 at TDECU Stadium in Houston on Saturday, November 14, 2015. The victory was the tenth of the season for the Cougars and first year head coach Tom Herman. With the win, the Cougars remain at the top of the American Athletic Conference West Division tied with Navy with 6-0 records.

The Tigers drew blood first at the 10:32 mark in the first quarter when the Houston defense stalled a 49-yard Memphis drive as they had to settle for a field goal. Jake Elliott’s kick gave the Tigers an early 3-0 lead. They added seven additional points 1:06 into the second quarter on a 38-yard pass from Paxton Lynch to Alan Cross to cap an eleven-play drive. Elliott added the kicking conversion to increase the Tigers’ lead to 10-0. Elliott added three additional point to the Tigers’ total with a 29-yard field goal at the 8:46 mark in the second quarter. Memphis added another touchdown and extra point with 1:52 remaining in the first half with a 61-yard pass from Lynch to Doroland Dorceus and another extra point by Elliott. Houston responded 75 seconds later with a touchdown and extra point of their own on a pass from Postma to Linell Bonner and a Cummings kicking conversion. The Cougar score closed out the first half with Memphis leading 20-7.

Jadeveon Clowney, Cecil Shorts, Alfred Blue and J.J. Watt
were on the sidelines at TDECU Stadium to view the
action between Houston and Memphis.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

Houston came out after halftime, taking possession of the ball in the second half and quickly scored on a seven-yard carry into the end zone by Kenneth Farrow and another kicking extra point by Cummings. Memphis came back four minutes later to add seven points to their total for the evening on a six-yard run by Dorceus and another Elliott extra point. With the final fifteen minutes to play in the game, Memphis held a 27-14 lead. Nine seconds into the fourth quarter, the Tigers capped a 12-play, 68-yard drive with a 25-yard run by Tevin Jones to take a 34-14 lead.

At that point, the game was all Houston as the Cougars ripped of 21 consecutive points to secure the win. Farrow carried the ball the final 10 yards of a 75-yard drive with 12:56 remaining in the game to cut the Tiger lead to 13. They scored again seven minutes later on a one-yard run by Javin Webb. Postma closed out the 21-point scoring run with the seven-yard quarterback keeper touchdown Cummings added the kicking extra points on the final three touchdowns.

Before leaving the game with an injury, starting quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. was 5-of-11 for 60 yards. Postma, who came into the game with 1:21 left in the second quarter completed 21-of-33 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown. He also carried the ball six times for 49 yard and one touchdown, including a 22-yard romp on a second and ten play in the fourth quarter. The 34 points by Memphis was the most allowed by the Houston defense this season.

With two regular season games remaining, the Cougars will next hit the road for a November 21 matchup against UConn. They will return to TDECU Stadium on November 27 for their final regular season game against No. 25 Navy. The Midshipmen are currently 6-0 in conference play with a 55-14 win over the SMU Mustangs on Saturday, November 14. They will next play the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday, November 21.

No. 2 Crosby takes 43-13 bi-district win over Lumberton

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

NEW CANEY, TEXAS (November 13, 2015) After having an 80-yard kickoff return called back for a penalty, the No. 2 Crosby Cougars promptly scored on their first play from scrimmage and used a 35-0 halftime lead to down the Lumberton Raiders by the score of 42-13 at Texan Drive Stadium in the Houston suburb of New Caney on Friday, November 13, 2015. With the win, Crosby moved to 11-0 in 2015 and will face Fort Bend Ridge Point at NRG Stadium on Saturday, November 21, 2015.

The Cougars’ first score scored 26 seconds into the game when Craig Williams took the ball from quarterback Tristan Cotton and quickly ran 91 yards down the left side for the touchdown. Kicker Juan Ochoa kicked the first of his six extra points to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead. A little more than two minutes later, Trevian Edwards caught a Cotton 32-yard pass for Crosby’s second touchdown of the game. Williams added another touchdown at the 6:32 mark in the first quarter secure a 21-0 lead after 12 minutes of play. Crosby added two more touchdowns in the second quarter on another run by Williams at the 8:19 mark and a Cotton to Jordan Hill 31-yard pass with 4:55 remaining in the half.

Crosby scored an insurance touchdown late in the third quarter on a three-yard run by Sherman McGee. Lumberton was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter on a 11-yard run by Timothy Rhodes and a one-yard run by Caleb Thomas.

Crosby will next face Fort Bend Ridge Point with a 5:30 p.m. match-up on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at NRG Stadium. Ridge Point downed Port Lavaca Calhoun by the score 42-35 in bi-district action.

American Athletic Conference names Steven Taylor Defensive Player of the Week

Photo courtesy of American Athletic Conference,
Used with permission

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND  (November 2, 2015) Junior Steven Taylor has been named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, as announced early Monday morning, November 2, 2015 via a press release from The American Athletic Conference Department of Communication. The 6-1, 225-pound outside linebacker for the Houston Cougars received the honor after his outstanding performance in Houston’s 34-0 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, October 31, 2015.

Taylor, who played his high school football for Cedar Hill (Texas) High School, returned an interception 25 yards to begin a drive that resulted in a Houston touchdown. In addition, he tallied 12 tackles against Vanderbilt, seven of them solo tackles and forced one fumble. He had seen action in eight games for the Cougars in 2015 and has registered 42 solo tackles and 47 assisted tackles. He has three sacked to his credit for a total loss of 28 yards.

He currently leads the American Athletic Conference in sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (3.0). He has a career best of 16 tackles against Tulsa in 2015 and has twice tallied four tackles for a loss. His three-year career total to date includes 226 tackles, with 119 of them solo affairs, in 33 games. He has registered 15 sacks for a total loss of 121 yards and 32.5 tackles for a loss for 156 yards.

Houston had four regular season games remaining, with their next game on Saturday, November 7, 2015 against the Cincinnati Bearcats, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at TDECU Stadium in Houston. They follow the Cincinnati game with a Saturday, November 14, 2015 match up against No. 15 Memphis. The Cougars are currently ranked No. 18 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.