Sam Houston State drops Monmouth Hawks 21-15 in first round of FCS playoffs

Photo by
Darla Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 20211 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS (April 24, 2021) Number 2 seeded Sam Houston State University punched their ticket to the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs with a 21-15 win over the Monmouth Hawks at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium on Saturday. The Bearkats (7-0) scored their 21 points, which were unanswered by the Hawks, in the first three quarters. Monmouth mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring all 15 of their points within seven-plus minutes.

Sam Houston kicked off the scoring on their second drive of the game, marching 47 yards in eight plays. Quarterback Eric Schmid (number 3, shown right)who played his prep ball at The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, connected with Cody Chrest (Cypress Fairbanks HS, Houston, TX) on a 13-yard pass, followed by the successful kicking conversion by Seth Morgan (Klein Oak HS, Houston, TX). The 5-10, 160-pound freshman was successful on all three of the Bearkat extra points.

The remainder of Sam Houston State's points came in the second and third quarters, on two carries by Ramon Jefferson (Truman HS, Bronx, NY). The first TD was the result of a 56-yard run, to cap a three-play, 65-yard drive that lasted 1:10. His second score was a thre-yard run at the 9:49 mark of the third quarter.

The Hawks finally got points on the board after moving the ball 90 yards in eight-plus minutes; ending with a one-yard run by Juwon Farri (Northwest HS, Germantown, MD). Gene Scott (Wall HS, Wall, NJ) pushed the score to 21-8 with a successful three-yard run for the two-point conversion. Their second touchdown occurred with 5:58 remaining in the game when Terrence Greene (St. Joe's Prep, Philadelphia, PA) caught a 30-yard pass from Tony Muskett (West Springfield HS, Springfield, VA). Kaeon Torres (Donovan Catholic HS, Toms River, NJ) split the uprights for the extra point; placing the score to 21-15.

The Bearkats will next face North Dakota State on Saturday, May 1 at a yet undetermined time. The Bisons downed Eastern Washington 42-20. The Bearkat-Bison game will be played at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville.

HBU falls to SHSU in final game of season

Photo by
Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 23, 2019) Wide receiver Ben Ratzlaff (shown right) scored two touchdowns but it was not enough to overcome an early 27-0 of the Sam Houston State Bearkats, as the HBU Huskies dropped a 37-14 decision in the final game of the 2019 season for both teams.

The Bearkats jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter and extended their lead in the second quarter before Ratzlaff (Westview HS, San Diego, CA) could get the Huskies on the scoreboard. At the 6:39 mark, he covered the final 17 yards of a 78-yard drive when Bailey Zappe (Victoria East HS, Victoria, Texas) connected with the junior wide receiver for his first touchdown. The Huskies added their second TD with the Zappe-Ratzlaff connection scoring on a 25-yard pass to complete a nine-play, 87-yard drive.

Zappe, who completed 29-of-64 passes for 367 yards, had trouble with the Bearkat defense; throwing two interceptions while being sacked three times. Ratzlaff caught 13 passes for 178 yards while Ean Beek (Taylor HS, Katy, Texas) carried the ball eight times for 33 yards. Defensively, Tra Fluellen (Gilmer HS, Gilmer, Texas) recorded 14 tackles with Philip Ossai (Oak Ridge HS, Conroe, Texas) and Cotton Manning (Allen HS, Allen, TX) accounting for eight.

The Huskies finished the season with a 5-7 record, with a 2-6 record in Southland Conference action. They will kickoff the 2020 season on September 5 against North Texas in Denton.

HBU drops hard fought match to Sam Houston; Taylor scores 20 for Huskies

HBU's Sophie Taylor (5) scored
20 points for the Huskies
against Sam Houston State.
Photo by Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS (February 23, 2019) The HBU Huskies fought the good fight, but could not contain the shooting of Sam Houston State's Jaylonn Walker as they dropped a 83-64 decision to the Bearcats at Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville. With the win, Sam Houston clinched a berth in the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament to be held in Katy, Texas on March 14-17.

Walker was unstoppable for the Beatcats. The 5-7 junior chipped in 19 of the Bearcats 51 first half points and went on to tally 22 points for the game. Three other Bearcats scored in double-figures; with Lydia Baxter scoring 14, Kiera McKinney adding 13 and Amber Leggett with 12.

For the Huskies, Sophie Taylor put up 20 points, her second highest point total for the season. The 5-9 junior, who played her prep ball at Round Rock Westwood High School, was 6-of-16 from the field, including one three pointer, along with shooting 7-of-8 from the line. Sophomore Taylor Kollmorgen pulled down eight rebounds and scored nine points in 15 minutes of play.

The Huskies fell behind by the end of the first quarter 24-8, with Walker accounting for 13 of Sam Houston's first quarter points. Marilyn Nzoiwu chipped in four of HBU's eight points. The Bearkats increased their lead to 51-27 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Huskies outscored the Bearcats 25-18, but could only manage 12 points in the fourth quarter. Sam Houston led the entire game; pulling out to 31-point lead at the 3:28 mark in the second quarter.

Next up for the Huskies is a Wednesday, January 27 home match up against Lamar at Sharp Gymnasium. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. CST in Houston.

HBU Huskies fall to Sam Houston State 42-20 in final game of season

Story and photos by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 17, 2018) After jumping out to a 28-10 lead after 30 minutes of play, the Sam Houston State Bearkats went on to down the HBU Huskies by the score of 42-20 at Husky Field in Houston. The contest, which was the final game of the season for both teams, saw the Bearkats complete the 2018 season with a 6-5 record; 5-4 in Southland Conference action, while HBU posted a 1-10 record, with a 0-9 record in conference.

The game was much tighter than the score indicated. Both squads recorded over 400 yards of total offense (SHSU: 401 yards and HBU: 490 yards). One key factor was in the HBU loss third-down conversions, along with fumbles. The Huskies fumbled the ball three times; losing possession to the Bearkats on two of them. In third-down conversions, HBU could manage only four on 18 attempts (22%) while the Beatkats conferred on half their attempts (8-of-16, 50%).

Sophomore quarterback Bailey Zappe (Victoria East HS, Victoria, Texas), who completed the final game of his historic sophomore season, was 17-of-34 in the air for 219 yards. He also carried the ball 11 times for 25 net yards, with the longest run being 15 yards. Sophomore LaDarius Dickins (Rowlett HS, Rowlett, Texas) carried the ball 15 times for 121 yards, while sophomore teammate Dreshawn Minnieweather had 16 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown.

Kicker David Dominguez (Mortan Ranch HS, Katy, Texas) booted two field goals of 44 and 33 yards, along with a two extra points. The final touchdown of the game was a one-yard run by sophomore wide receiver Gamar Girdy Brito  (Victoria West HS, Victoria, Texas).

HBU scores 33 points in season ending loss to Sam Houston State

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS (November 18, 2017) The Houston Baptist University Huskies tallied 415 yards of total offense and scored 33 points, in their best performance of the season in a 53-33 loss to No. 4 Sam Houston State University at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville on Saturday, The Huskies scored five times; once in each of the first three quarters and twice in the fourth, for their largest scoring performance of the season

Their first score was a 22-yard run by freshman quarterback Bailey Zappe, along with a Alec Chadwick extra point. The TD capped  a four-play, 47-yard drive that lasted 1:15. With 2:06 remaining in the second quarter, Zappe completed a two-yard pass to senior halfback Mev Ajdin for six points. Again, Chadwick split the uprights for the extra point; giving the Huskies 14 points as they headed to the locker room. In the third quarter, Zappe connected with senior running back Terrance Peters with a 23-yard pass for their third score. They added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter; a 12-yard run by senior wide receiver Isaiah Hall and an 11-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jack Swenson to junior wide receiver David Racine. Defensively, senior linebackers Cody Moncure and Garrett Dolan led the Huskies with 11 and nine tackles, respectively.

Offensively, Zappe completed 12-of-23 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. in addition to rushing for 25 yards on four carries. Hall tallied seven  carries for 90 yards with Swenson completed six passes for 71 yards. Senior wide receiver Ethan Fry caught four passes for 76 yards.

Peters finishes the season with 126 carries for 452 yards and three touchdowns while Fry 40 passes for  527 yards and two touchdowns. Zappe completed 150 passes for 1.548, yards and five touchdowns.  









The Bearkats  jumped out to a 26-7 lead after 15 minutes of play, In the first quarter, which lasted just over one-hour, Sam Houston tallied 229 of their XXX total yards.

Turnovers and Ineffective Offense trump SFA’s upset over Sam Houston

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved

By Devin Brooks

Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved

Special for TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October  7, 2017) Christmas came in October for the SFA Lumberjacks as the Sam Houston State Bearkats gifted them with multiple turnovers, but SFA wasn’t in a receiving mood.

As a result, 26,792 fans watched the SFA Lumberjacks fall to the Sam Houston StateUniversity Bearkats 27-16 Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium in Houston. This was the 92^nd edition of the Battle of the Piney Woods game and SFA secured their seventh consecutive loss after failing to convert on the Kats’ multiple blunders throughout the game.

SFA (2-4 overall, 2-2 Southland) forced four turnovers in the game that could’ve been devastating to the Bearkats, but SFA couldn’t capitalize on the Kats’ mistakes and that proved to be the story of the game. Sam Houston committed 13 penalties that totaled to 144 yards. They fumbled three times, twice on special teams, and threw one interception that lifted SFA out of the dark, but thanks to the ineffectiveness of SFA’s offense, the Kats won their seventh straight BOTPW game and now have a 54-35-2 record over the SFA during this 92 game rivalry.

Early in the first quarter the game was shaping up to be a classic blowout. Sam Houston jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Davion Davis, SHSU running back, scored the first touchdown of the game when he rumbled into the end zone from 10 yards out. Sam took 2:47 minutes to run eight plays that totaled 71 yards. Afterwards, quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe and kicker Tre Honshtein added to the lead making the score 17-0 in favor of SHSU after one quarter. Briscoe broke the career record for passing touchdowns (85) for SHSU after his first quarter touchdown pass. SFA gained 9 yards and SHSU gained nine first downs during the first quarter.

SFA came into the second quarter with a different mindset. Sophomore safety, Alize Ward, intercepted Briscoe’s pass and returned it for 52 yards setting SFA up inside the 20 yard line. Storm Ruiz, kicker, would make a 42 yard field goal giving SFA their first score of the game. On SFA’s next possession, Blumrick hooked up with Tamrick Pace for a 58-yard gain. That pass led to Blumrick jumping into the end zone from the one-yard line. That cut the SHSU lead to 17-10 with 3:19 left in the first half.

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017, All Rights Reserved

SFA would go into the half down 20-13 after both team’s swapped field goals. After a bevy of miscues that included interceptions, ejections, fumbles and confusing challenges, the Jacks were in position to tie the game at 20 midway through the fourth quarter. Blumrick got the team into the red zone after he hooked up with receiver Frank Iheanacho for a 35-yard gain. Blumrick went through his progressions during the drive on the goal-line and threw a pass into the back of the end zone intended for Cody Williams, but Danzell Sims intercepted the potential game-tying TD pass and ended all hopes of a Lumberjack upset. SHSU would score late in the fourth quarter on a 26-yard TD run by Briscoe. The SFA defense was simply fatigued and Briscoe was able to slip away and score to dagger touchdown. Blumrick completed 18 passes for 205 yards. Pace caught 6 passes for 100 yards. Ward has recorded three interceptions on the season which ties for the most in the SLC.

SFA will gather themselves and take their talents to Conway, Arkansas. The Jacks will battle the eighth ranked Central Arkansas Bears. This game will be featured as the SLC Game of the Week and will be streamed live on ESPN3. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at Estes Stadium in Conway.

No. 4 HBU Huskies fall to No. 5 Sam Houston State in Southland Conference Tournament

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 TexSport Publications

KATY, TEXAS (March 9, 2017) The No. 4 Houston Baptist University Huskies saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end as they fell to the No. 5 Sam HoustonState University Bearkats in the third game of the 2017 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 9, 2017. The crowd at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas saw both team struggle in shooting, with the Bearkats coming out on top at the end of the game. HBU shot 38% from the field, with Sam Houston one percentage point back (38%).  The Huskies could not find the form they had during the latter part of the regular season, where they downed the Bearkats 88-77 at home on February 16. Earlier they also downed they Southland Conference rival 79-65 on December 29, 2016 in Huntsville.

With the win, Sam Houston will face the top seeded New Orleans Privateers on Friday, March 10 with a 5 p.m. CST tipoff. The Privateers come into the tournament with a 13-5 conference record. The Bearkats and New Orleans played once during the regular season, which resulted in a 70-68 win by Sam Houston.

The Huskies had two players in double figures; Josh Ibarra (16) and Reveal Chukwujekwu (14), with Ibarra pulling down nine rebounds, eight of them on the defensive end of the court. The Bearkats were led by Chris Galbreath, Jr. with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow starters John Dewey III and Dakarai Henderson added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bearkats held an 11-point lead halfway through the first half, but the Huskies came roaring back to cut their lead to two at the half (28-26). The score was tied at 30 at the 17:41 mark in the second half, with Sam Houston going on to build a 12-point lead in just under five minutes.  HBU cut the bearcat lead to one with 2:29 remaining in the game on a three-point jumper by Asa Cantwell. The Huskies attempted to battle back late in the game, but to no avail.

With a 17-13 record, the Huskies will be sitting on needles the remainder of the weekend to see if they garner an invitation to a potential post-season tournament.

HBU Huskies upset Sam Houston State Bearkats at Sharp Gym

Photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2017 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 16, 2017) The HBU Huskies kept the conference tournament seeding hopes alive with an 88-77 upset of the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Sharp Gym in Houston on Thursday, February 16, 2017. The win pushed the Huskies to 8-6 in conference action and 12-12 for the season. The Bearkats fell to 9-5 in conference and 18-9 overall.

The game, which was televised on Root Sport, saw four players hit in double-digits; Atif Russell and Braxton Bonds with 18 points each followed by Colton Lasher and Josh Ibarra with 15 each. Reveal Chukwujekwu tallied 10 rebounds to lead HBU.

With the win, the Huskies have fifth place in the conference standings, with Sam Houston holding on to fourth place. New Orleans hold the top spot followed by SFA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Huskies have four conference games remaining on their schedule, including a February 23 matchup against McNeese and a February 25 game against Lamar with both those games are on the road. They close out the regular season with two home games; March 1 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and March 4 against Abilene Christian.

Sam Houston dominates SFA 63-28 in Battle of the Piney Woods

Nathan Stewart (81) caught five passes for 183 yards
and two TDs in the first half for the Bearkats.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 1, 2016) Scoring 28 points in the first quarter, the No. 2 Sam Houston State Bearkats used an effective passing game to down Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks by the score of 63-28 in the Battle of the Piney Woods at Houston's NRG Stadium on Saturday, October 1, 2016. The Bearkats have won the past six matchups and 13 of the past 17 games. This year's game, the 91st edition, makes the match up the third longest continuous college football rivalry in Texas.

After five minutes of back-and-forth football, the Bearkats found their way into the end zone on a 37-yard pass from quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe to wide receiver Yedidiah Louis for the first touchdown of the game. The score capped a four-play drive at the 9:20 mark in the first quarter. They added another another touchdown two minutes, 32 seconds later when Briscoe found wide receiver Davion Davis open down the left side of the field; flinging him a 57-yard pass for the score. On the ensuing kickoff, SFA's Trevon Smith caught the ball and advanced it to their own 13-yard line, With a hard hit on Smith, Bearkat safety P.J. Giddens forced Smith to fumble; which was recovered by linebacker Santiago Montoya. As a result, Sam Houston took over on the SFA 18-yard line. Three plays later, Briscoe handed-off the ball to running back Corey Avery, who rambled the final seven yards of the possession for the Beatkats' third touchdown in less than four minutes. They added their fourth touchdown of the first quarter when Briscoe hit Nathan Stewart with a 73-yard bomb at the 2:39 mark. Four minutes later, in the second quarter, Briscoe again connected with Stewart on a 39-yard pass to take the score to 35-0 with 12:13 left in the first half.

Jabalon Allen (in the blue) got SFA's first touchdown of the game on
an 18-yard pass from Zach Conque.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved

The Lumberjacks finally found the endzone two minutes after Bearkats' fifth touchdown when quarterback Zach Conque hit fullback Jabralon Allen with an 18-yard pass for the TD. Kicker Storm Ruiz added the extra point to cut the Bearkat lead to 35-7. However, Sam Houston would not allow their lead to be cut, and added another Briscoe to Louis pass of 17 yards to post a 42-7 lead with 7:29 remaining in the half. Sam Houston score three additional times in the third quarter. Briscoe continued his air assault with touchdown passes to Collin Rison and Deon Hutchinson, while Corey Avery added a 21-yard rushing touchdown. The Lumberjacks added 14 points to their total in the third quarter with two touchdown passes and extra points. They also added a fourth quarter TD to their close out the scoring in the game.

Offensively, Briscoe completed 25-of-33 passes for 438 yards and seven touchdowns. Stewart caught five apsses for 183 yards, while Louis added seven catches for 119 yards. Both Stewart and Louis accounted for two touchdowns each of the Bearkats total.

Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler stated after the game:

I thought going in that this was possibly the best opponent that we had on our schedule. We have tremendous respect for Stephen F. Austin. But we really have had two good weeks of focused practice and it was good to see us continue to push through after not playing, what we feel, was our best football earlier in the year. I think we have gotten that mentality that we are going to have tremendous preparation as we move forward and I think we played a pretty good game tonight.

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

He also commented about how good the Bearkats offense is: 

It’s tough to find a weak spot on our offense. We have really talented skill kids, like Nathan Stewart who is a true freshman. To have a third running back like Remus (Bulmer), are you kidding me? He starts for everybody in this league. And Jeremiah has really blossomed as a quarterback and his leadership skills are special. It’s been powerful to see him take this team over. With the tempo and the confidence we play at, I think the sky is the limit for this offense. 

The two schools have played each other eight times in Houston. The Kats and the Jacks battled to a 14-14 draw in the Astrodome in 1976. Sam Houston now holds a 54-35 all-time lead, with two ties. Today's win ties the longest winning streak of a school at six.. The Bearkats also won six straight games between 1937-1946.