Osweiler's three interceptions dooms the Houston Texans to a 21-13 loss to San Diego

Brock Osweiler (17) scored the Houston Texans' only touchdown
on a one-yard run in the second quarter.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography,
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 27, 2016) Quarterback Brock Osweiler threw three interceptions and the San Diego defense limited Houston to one touchdown and two field goals as Texans fell to the Chargers 21-13 in front of 71,897 fans at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday, November 27, 2016. The loss drops the Texans to 6-5 while the Chargers raised their record to 5-6.

After a uneventful first quarter, it took the Texans a little under 20 minutes to finally get on the scoreboard with the first touchdown of the game. Osweiler scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper to cap the 72-yard, 10 play drive that lasted 5:16. Nick Novak added the obligatory extra point to give Houston a 7-0 lead at the 11:11 mark in the second quarter. San Diego responded four and one-half minutes later with their own touchdown; a 52-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Dontrelle Inman. Their scoring drive covered 74 yards in 4:27 and took six plays. Josh Lambo evened the score at seven with the kicking extra point.

Dontrelle Inman (15) caught six passes for 119 yards
and one touchdown against the Texans.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

The Chargers took the lead with 1:54 remaining in the first half on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to Tyrell Williams. The San Diego drive began when Osweiler was picked off by Casey Howard at the 4:47 mark in the quarter. The pass was intended for DeAndre Hopkins gave the Chargers the ball on their own 37-yard line. They covered the 63 yards for the score in five plays and 2:53. Osweiler has thrown eight interception at home this season; all of them intended for DeAndre Hopkins. Houston cut the Chargers’ lead to four points with 55 seconds gone in the fourth quarter. Novak booted a 19-yard field goal to cap a 36-yard, nine play drive. San Diego responded with a 12-yard pass from Rivers to Hunter Henry to take the score to 21-10 in favor of the Chargers. Houston added a 45-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.

Osweiler completed 22-of-37 passes for 246 yards, while Lamar Miller led the ground game with 57 yards in 19 carries. Hopkins caught five passes for 70 yards. For the Chargers, Rivers was 22-of-30 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Inman caught the ball six times for 119 yards and one touchdown, while Melvin Gordon carried the ball 17 times for 70 yards and one touchdown.

Houston falls to 2-5 overall against the Chargers and 1-3 against them at home. The loss to San Diego was the Texans first home loss of the season and drops head coach Bill O’Brien career regular season record to 25-19. Next up for the Texans are two road games; a December 4 matchup against the Green Bay Packers and a December 11 game against the Indianapolis Colts. They will return to NRG Stadium on December 18 for a 12 noon CST matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, followed by a Christmas Eve game against the Cincinnati Bengals. They will close of the 2016 regular season on the road against the Tennessee Titans on New Year’s Day.

Houston Cougars fall to Memphis Tigers 48-44 in hard-fought contest

Houston WR Linner Bonner (15) tries to pull away
from Memphis DB Jonathan Cook (14) after catching
one of his 17 passes against Memphis.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (November 25, 2016) Bringing a number 18 national ranking and the winningest senior class in program history into Libertly Bowl Memorial Stadium was not enough for the Houston Cougars, as they dropped a 48-44 decision to the underdog Memphis Tigers on Friday, November 25, 2016. The Cougars finish the regular season with a 9-3 record; along with a 5-3 record in American Athletic Conference action. The Cougars will now wait for two crucial bits of information in the days to follow. First, what post-season bowl game they will be invited to play and second, whether head coach Tom Herman will be back at the helm of the Cougars for that anticipated bowl and the 2017 season.

Rumors circulated in the preceding days and hours leading up to Friday's matchup against these two conference rivals. Unconfirmed reports surfaced on the internet and social media that Herman and LSU had come to terms on a contract for the second-year head coach to lead the Tigers in 2017. Herman vigorously denounced the rumors, yet the spectre of his departure was a possibly a factor in the Cougars' loss. The Cougars' play of the field seemed uninspired in the first half and was a drastic departure from their play when they upset No. 3 Louisville on November 17. 

RB Duke Catalon (2) rushed for 60 yards and
one touchdown in addition to catching seven
passes for 41 yards against Memphis.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

The game started with a bang for the Tigers; when they scored 42 seconds into the game on a 67-yard pass from Riley Ferguson to Phil Mayhue. Houston answered three minutes later with a 41-yard Ty Cummings field goal. Memphis added two more TDs in the first quarter; a one-yard run by Doroland Dorceus and a two-yard pass from Ferguson to Mayhue. In between the two Memphis touchdown, Houston added a touchdown on a 10-yard run by Duke Catalon to close out the first 15 minutes of play with Memphis leading 21-10. The Cougars cut the Memphis lead to four points, six seconds into the second quarter with a Greg Ward, Jr. 29-yard pass to Tyler McCloskey. The Tigers responded with 13 unanswered points to give Memphis a 34-17 lead at halftime. Houston cut their deficit to seven in the third quarter with a Chance Allen 35-yard touchdown pass reception and a 25-yard Ty Cummings field goal. After a long drive that carried over from the third to fourth quarter, Houston added a 25-yard field goal by Cummings to cut the Tigers' lead to 34-30 with 13:07 remaining in the game. They finally took their first lead of the game at the 7:02 mark in the fourth quarter when Ward, Jr. hit Linell Donner with a 55-yard bomb for the score. Cummings added the extra point to give Houston a 37-34 lead. Then both teams went on a offensive frenzy; putting 21 points on the scoreboard in three minutes, 30 seconds.

Memphis responded to the Donner touchdown with their own touchdown to regain the lead a tad over three minutes later. Ferguson connected with Anthony Miller on a 35-yard pass play to regain a four-point lead (41-37). Houston received the the kickoff with 3:49 left in the game; driving 75 yards in seven plays; concluding with a three-yard touchdown pass from Ward, Jr. to Allen to regain the lead with the score of 44-41. The Tigers received the final kickoff of the game on their own 28 yard line with 1:29 remaining. Ferguson then went to work and moved the ball 72 yards in 1:05; scoring the game winning touchdown with 19 seconds left in the match. After that, all Houston could was run three play before time ran out.

Houston fans were very spirited at
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

Offensively, Houston tallied 624 yards of total offense, with Ward, Jr. accounting for 487 yards of those yards in the air. With four passing touchdowns, he has 52 career passing touchdowns which stands fifth in program history. Ward also recorded his seventh multi-TD passing game of 2016 and 16th of his career. 

Linell Bonner recorded his third touchdown reception this season and eighth of his career, on a 55-yard pass from Ward Jr. with 7:02 left to play giving Houston its first lead, 37-34. With 235 yards, Bonner finished his sixth game with at least 80-plus yards and became the 20th player in program history with a 200-yard receiving game. The mark also put him over the 1,000 yard threshold for the season, becoming the 19th player in Houston history to reach that mark.

HBU falls to Rice Owls 3-point shooing 79-53 in women's basketball action

Taylor Kollmorgan (24) scored seven points and pulled
down 10 rebounds against the Rice Owls.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016 All Rights Resaved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 19, 2016) The Houston Baptist University Huskies could not contain the three-point shooting of Rice University and as a result, dropped at 79-53 decision to the Owls at Sharp Gymnasium on the HBU campus on Saturday, November 19, 2016. The Owls connected on 11 of their 26 attempts from beyond the arc to raise their season record to 2-1 for the season. The Huskies, who shot 29% from the field, dropped to 0-3.

Starting forward Lauren Calver scored 13 point in the Huskies' loss. The 6-1 freshman from Helensburgh, Australia had her best game of the season; bettering her 11-point performance against the Texas Longhorns on November 16, 2016. Sophomore center Veronika Kirienko (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) came off the bench to score nine points and pull down 12 rebounds, while starting guard Bria Johnson and forward Taylor Kollmorgan each chipped in seven. Kollmorgan also pulled down 10 rebounds. The Owls has four players scoring in double-digits with starting guard Wendy Knight leading the Owls’ effort with 13 points.

Huskies continue their home stand against Southwestern Assemblies of God Wednesday at 7 p.m., before closing it out with Oral Roberts Saturday at 2 p.m.

Texas Southern upends Arkansas-Pine Bluff 27-10

Photo by Kris Gager, Houston Sports Images
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 13, 2016) The Texas Southern Tigers rolled to a 27-10 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Southwestern Athletic Conference football action at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on Saturday, November 12, 2016. With the win, the Tigers moved to 5-6 in 2016 while the Golden Lions fall to 1-10.  The Tigers rolled up a 20-7 lead in the first half, with both teams scoring seven points in the third quarter. Arkansas-Pine Bluff added a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to close out scoring.

TSU’s Brad Woodard rushed for 117 yards on 28 carries while Tylor Cook added 101 yards on eight carries. Johnathan Bowen scored on rushing TD off 14 carries for 66 yards. Tracy Johnson and Elie Nabushoi each caught one pass for a touchdown. Next up for the Tigers is a 2 p.m. CST matchup against Grambling State at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday, November 19, 2016.

Below are more photos from the game, courtesy of Kris Gager and Tommy Boatman, Houston Sports Images, Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved.

HBU upsets SFA 31-24 in Southland Conference football action

Tony Dawson (11) rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
Photo courtesy HBU Media Relations Department

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 12, 2016) The Houston Baptist University Huskies jumped out to a 14-7 lead at halftime and when on to down the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks by the score of 31-24 at Husky Stadium on the campus of HBU on Saturday, November 12, 2016. The win was the first ever for the Huskies over the Lumberjacks and gave HBU their biggest win in program history.

The Lumberjacks got on the scoreboard on their first possession; driving 75 yards in 10 plays to put six points on the scoreboard when Zach Conque connected with Tamrick Pace on a 32-yard pass. Storm Ruiz booted the conversion to give SFA a 7-0 lead. The Huskies responded on their first possession with a 75-yard, 10 play drive. Tony Dawson hit Terrance Peters with a 26-yard pass for the score. Alec Chadwick added the conversion to tie the score at seven at the 6:57 mark of the first quarter.

HBU scored seven points in both the second and third quarters and 10 points in the fourth. SFA matches the Huskies’ scoring output in the second half. The Huskies achieved 437 yards of total offense while Dawson completed 9-of-22 passes for 139 yards and one interception. SFA’s Conque was 26-of-43 with one interception. Husky head coach Vic Shealy commented about the win after the game.

“We wished we could’ve played out the last six minutes of the game much more clean, that is part of the growing and maturation of your program. It was the first time we had been in that situation with the onside kicks, but you learn and we’ve got good coaches and players who want to better themselves and I’m confident we’ll learn and grow. I’m even more excited, as a football program, we can create memories with that 17-point fourth quarter. The turnover we created led to a score and that was a pretty clutch field goal, it wound up making a difference in the game, and that shows the maturity in our program. This is a really significant moment in our program.”

Dawson saw great success on the ground, breaking his Dawson broke his own school record with 218 rushing yards and two touchdowns. His 83-yard third-quarter touchdown is the longest play from scrimmage, then added a 41-yard early in the fourth. He had previously rushed for 191 yards against Nicholls on Oct. 15. He stated after the game:

“We just tried to come out and execute our offense – we didn’t try to do anything fancy, just took what they gave us. (Beating SFA) is a big accomplishment, to get a home win in my senior year for all of the other seniors and everyone else in this program, I’m just really proud of the guys. They had my back and I had their backs, so we just went out there and fought. (The onside kick recovery) was the biggest play of the night, by far, I misjudged the first one, but the second one was the play of the game to seal the deal.”

The Huskies has set new program records for wins (four) and conference wins (three) and finished the season with a winning record at home with a 3-2 mark.

Houston Cougars get win No. 8 with 30-18 victory over Tulane Green Wave

Greg Ward, Jr. lunges for the end zone for
Houston's second TD of the game.
Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 12, 2016) Jumping out to a 28-10 lead at halftime, the Houston Cougars went on to down the Tulane Green Wave by the score of 30-18 on John O’Quinn Field inside TDECU Stadium in Houston on Saturday, November 12, 2016. With the win, the Cougars move to 8-2 on the season and 5-2 in American Athletic Conference action. The loss moved the Green Wave to 3-7 in 2016 and 0-6 in conference play.

Houston first scored in the first quarter when JeremyWinchester recovered a fumble on a botched punt for six points. They added their second TD at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter on a five-yard Greg Ward, Jr. quarterback keeper. Tulane answered with 41 second remaining in the first period on a 21-yard pass from Glen Cuiellette to Darnell Mooney. With three kicking conversions after the TDs, Houston led 14-7 after 15 minutes of play. The Green wave cut the Houston lead to four when Andrew DiRocco booted a 41-yard field goal 1:21 into the second quarter. Houston responded six minutes later with a 16-yard pass reception from Ward, Jr. to Steven Dunbar for the Cougars’ third touchdown of the game. A little less than three minutes later, they increased their lead when Chance Allen was the

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

recipient of another Ward, Jr. pass; this time a six-yarder for the score. That score closed out the first half with Houston leading 28-10. Tulane added to their point total with 4:27 remaining in the game on a 28-yard pass from Cuiellette to D.J. Owens. Houston tallied a team safety 42 seconds later to close out the scoring.

Ward Jr. completed 18-of-30 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Linell Bonner led all receivers with 97 yards in the air while Tulane’s Josh Rounds topped all rusher with 72 yards. Houston will have a short week as they next face No. 5 Louisville on Thursday, November 17 at home.

Houston Cougars Head Coach Tom Herman: Post Game Presser on Nov 12, 2016

No. 6 North Shore downs Pasadena Memorial 54-0

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 11, 2016) The No. 6 North Shore Mustangs scored 21 points in the first quarter and went on to defeat the Pasadena Memorial Mavericks by the score of of 54-0 at Galena Park ISD Stadium in Houston, Texas on Friday, November 21, 2016.  Bryant Badie, Isaac Cerda and Kerrion Hadnot each score two rushing touchdowns for the Mustangs in the win. North Shore tallied 592 yards of total offense along with 27 first downs. The balanced attack generated 294 yards rushing and 298 yard in the air. The defending UIL 6A Division 1 state champion are now 10-1, with their only loss so far in 2016 was a 26-13 decision against Manvel on September 1, 2016.

Houston kicks off season with 93-52 win over Morgan State

Photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 11, 2016) The Houston Cougars outscored the Morgan State Bears 45 to 19 in the first half, and went on to down the Morgan State Bears by the score of 93-52 in front of 3,005 basketball fans at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas on Friday, November 11, 2016. The Cougars had four players scoring in double digits, including starting forward Devin Davis. The junior transfer from Indianapolis, Indiana tallied 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Cougars’ first double-double of the season. Starting guard Rob Gray led all scorers with 22 points, with Danrad Knowles and Damyean Dotson adding 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Twelve Houston players saw action against the Bears with nine contributing points. Morgan State had two players scoring in double digits; Tiwian Kendley scored 18 points while Phillip Carr added 16. In the two teams only previous meeting; Houston beat the Bears 72-57 on November 22, 2014. Next up for the Cougars will be their second and final exhibition game of the season when they take on Angelo State on Wednesday, November 16, 2014 with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Hofheinz Pavilion. 

Houston Cougars down UNC Pembroke 94-67 in exhibition basketball action

Photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 5, 2016) With four players scoring in double digits, the Houston Cougars downed the University of North Carolina Pembroke by the score of 94-67 at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston on Saturday, November 5, 2016. The game was first of two exhibition games for the Cougars prior to the start of the 2016-2017 season.

Starting guards Damyean Dotson and Rob Gray, Jr. scored 23 and 22 points respectively, starting forward Devin Davis tallied 16 while junior Wes VanBeck came off the bench to add 10. Eleven Houston players saw action against Pembroke with nine contributing to the Cougars’ point tally.  Houston shot 50% from the field (32-64) while completing 22-of-26 shots from the free throw line. They were also 8-of-24 (33.3% from three-point range. Davis led all players with nine rebounds, with Danrad Knowles and Dotson each pulling down eight. Andrew Evans and Akia Pruitt came off the bench to score 16 and 14 points, respectively for Pembroke.

Next up for Houston is a November 11 matchup against Morgan State at Hofheinz Pavilion. They will follow that game up with a November 16, 2016 home game against San Angelo State.