Monday, January 12, 2009

Two FCS home Games Highlight 2009 Bearkats Schedule

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS (Janaury 12, 2009) The Sam Houston State football program has announced the 2009 schedule which is highlighted by a pair of Football Championship Subdivision home games and a trip to take on FBS Tulsa.

The Bearkats will open the 2009 slate at home against Western Illinois on Thursday, September 3. It will be the first time the Bearkats and the Leathernecks have played since the 2002 season. The Kats are 4-2-1 all time against Western Illinois including a 3-0 mark at Bowers Stadium.

The following weekend Sam Houston will travel take on the Panthers of Prairie View A&M. Despite the fact the two campuses are separated by just 75 miles, this will be only the second meeting between the two FCS schools. The Panthers won the only other contest 14-9 in 1985. The two schools were scheduled to play each other this past season, but the game was cancelled because of Hurricane Ike.

On September 19, the Bearkats will welcome North Dakota State to Bowers Stadium in what will also be the second meeting between the two programs. In 2007, the Bearkats and Bison played one of the best games of the year in FCS with North Dakota State winning 41-38 in the Fargo Dome on a last-second touchdown.

The Bearkats will step up a level on Sept. 26, to take on Tulsa of the Football Bowl Subdivision for the first time. This past year, the Golden Hurricanes finished the season 11-3 and recorded a 45-13 win over Ball State in the GMAC Bowl. Tulsa had the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation averaging 47.2 points per game. Only Oklahoma scored more.

After a bye week, the Bearkats will open Southland Conference play at home against Nicholls State on Oct. 10. The game against the Colonels will also be Homecoming at Bowers Stadium.

The Bearkats will then start a tough stretch, playing three of four games on the road, starting with a trip to Hammond, La. to play Southeastern Louisiana. That game will be followed by the “Battle of the Pinewoods” against Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 24.

The Bearkats will spend Halloween at home this year when McNeese State visits Bowers Stadium, then the Kats will be back on the road to play Northwestern State the following Saturday.

Sam Houston State will play its final home game of the 2009 season on Nov. 14 against Central Arkansas. The regular season will wrap up on Nov. 21 at Texas State-San Marcos.

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