2015 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team

2015 Sam Houston State Bearkats football
NCAA Division I Semifinal, L 10–62 at Jacksonville State
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 3
FCS Coaches	No. 4
Record	11–4 (7–2 Southland)
Head coach	K. C. Keeler (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Phil Longo (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Mike Collins (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Brad Sherrod (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Bowers Stadium
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Southland Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 McNeese State $^		9	–	0					10	–	1
No. 3 Sam Houston State ^		7	–	2					11	–	4
Central Arkansas		7	–	2					7	–	4
Incarnate Word *		5	–	4					6	–	5
Lamar		4	–	5					5	–	6
Northwestern State		4	–	5					4	–	7
Stephen F. Austin		4	–	5					4	–	7
SE Louisiana		3	–	6					4	–	7
Abilene Christian *		3	–	6					3	–	8
Nicholls State		3	–	6					3	–	8
Houston Baptist		0	–	8					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from NCAA Division II Rankings from STATS poll

The 2015 Sam Houston State Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bearkats were led by second-year head coach K. C. Keeler and played their home games at Bowers Stadium. They were a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 11–4 overall and 7–2 in Southland play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Southern Utah, McNeese State, and Colgate to advance to the Semifinals, where they lost to Jacksonville State. The 2015 season marked the Bearkats' 100th season of football.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	2:30 pm	at Texas Tech*	No. 3	Jones AT&T Stadium Lubbock, TX	FSN	L 45–59	60,073
September 19	6:00 pm	Lamar	No. 3	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ASN	L 46–49	10,116
September 26	6:00 pm	Houston Baptist	No. 12	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	FCS Central	W 63–14	9,014
October 3	3:00 pm	vs. Stephen F. Austin	No. 12	NRG Stadium Houston, TX (Battle of the Piney Woods)	ESPN3[1]	W 34–28	26,990
October 10	6:00 pm	Incarnate Word	No. 11	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	FCS Central	W 59–7	6,508
October 17	2:00 pm	at Abilene Christian	No. 9	Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX	ASN	W 49–21	8,763
October 24	6:00 pm	Nicholls State	No. 9	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	FCS Central	W 37–7	5,104
October 31	6:00 pm	No. 8 (D-II) Texas A&M–Commerce*	No. 8	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	FCS Pacific	W 38–24	4,862
November 7	6:00 pm	at No. 9 McNeese State	No. 7	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN3	L 10–27	10,501
November 14	2:30 pm	Northwestern State	No. 13	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPN3	W 59–21	7,408
November 21	7:00 pm	at Central Arkansas	No. 10	Estes Stadium Conway, AR		W 42–13	3,575
November 28	3:00 pm	No. 17 Southern Utah*	No. 6	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I first round)	ESPN3	W 42–38	3,098
December 5	7:00 pm	at No. 3 McNeese State*	No. 6	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA (NCAA Division I second round)	ESPN3	W 34–29	13,493
December 12	11:00 am	Colgate*	No. 6	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	W 48–21	5,074
December 19	3:00 pm	at No. 1 Jacksonville State*	No. 6	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPNU	L 10–62	23,692
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

@ Texas Tech

Sam Houston State at Texas Tech

1 2 3 4 Total #3 Bearkats 14 17 0 14 45 • Red Raiders 14 28 17 0 59 Date: September 5 Location: Jones AT&T Stadium Lubbock, TX Game start: 2:30 PM CDT Elapsed time: 4:01 Game attendance: 60,073 Game weather: 89°F • Wind: SSW 12 • Partly Cloudy Referee: Brandon Cruse TV announcers (FSN): Mike Morgan, JC Pearson, Steffi Sorensen Sources:[2]

Scoring summary 1 11:54 Texas Tech Jakeem Grant 3 yard run (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:06 0–7 1 8:51 Sam Houston State Ridgeway Frank 14 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 11 plays, 93 yards, 3:03 7–7 1 3:54 Texas Tech Devin Lauderdale 64 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 2 plays, 59 yards, 0:13 7–14 1 0:53 Sam Houston State Donavan Williams 1 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 2 plays, 12 yards, 0:32 14–14 2 13:24 Texas Tech Ian Sadler 8 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 2:29 14–21 2 7:30 Sam Houston State Luc Swimberghe 48 yard field goal, Drive: 6 plays, 47 yards, 2:16 17–21 2 7:13 Texas Tech Jakeem Grant 94 yard punt return (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00 17–28 2 3:44 Sam Houston State Donavan Williams 2 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:29 24–28 2 2:23 Texas Tech Ian Sadler 53 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 6 plays, 82 yards, 1:21 24–35 2 0:52 Sam Houston State Davion Davis 29 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 1:31 31–35 2 0:14 Texas Tech Devin Lauderdale 29 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 4 plays, 67 yards, 0:38 31–42 3 14:14 Texas Tech J.J. Gaines 47 yard interception return (Michael Barden kick), Drive: 3 plays, 12 yards, 0:46 31–49 3 9:59 Texas Tech Michael Barden 27 yard field goal; Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 2:53 31–52 3 1:09 Texas Tech Justin Stockton 4 yard run (Clayton Hatfield kick), Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 4:06 31–59 4 10:06 Sam Houston State Donavan Williams 4 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 6 plays, 47 yards, 2:14 38–59 4 1:53 Sam Houston State Donavan Williams 1 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, 3:23 45–59

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Lamar

Lamar at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total • Cardinals 14 21 0 14 49 #3 Bearkats 14 0 9 23 46 Date: September 19 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 4:01 Game attendance: 10,116 TV announcers (ASN): Randy McIlvoy, Shea Walker, Chris Mycoskie Sources:[3]

Scoring summary 1 9:20 Lamar Reggi Begelton 4 yard pass from Carson Earp (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 4:53 0–7 1 7:50 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 46 yard pass from Jeremi Briscoe (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:30 7–7 1 4:01 Lamar Reggi Begelton 19 yard pass from Carson Earp (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 4 plays, 76 yards, 0:49 7–14 1 2:18 Sam Houston State Donav Williams 8 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:43 14–14 2 12:40 Lamar Kad Harrington 77 yard pass from Carson Earp (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 3 plays, 91 yards, 1:01 14–21 2 5:51 Lamar Kad Harrington 5 yard run (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 6 plays, 89 yards, 2:45 14–28 2 1:29 Lamar Devonn Brown 18 yard pass from Carson Earp (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 5 plays, 82 yards, 2:24 14–35 3 9:06 Sam Houston State Luc Swimberghe 36 yard field goal, Drive: 10 plays, 43 yards, 4:38 17–35 3 1:08 Sam Houston State Donav Williams 5 yard run (Jared Johnson two-point conv. failed), Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 4:12 23–35 4 14:55 Sam Houston State Team Safety, Drive: 3 plays, -10 yards, 1:07 25–35 4 9:17 Lamar Carl Harris 27 yard run (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 4 plays, 73 yards, 2:04 25–42 4 7:51 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 55 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:26 32–42 4 4:59 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 16 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, 81 yards, 2:18 39–42 4 3:21 Lamar Kad Harrington 73 yard run (Alex Ball kick), Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:27 39–49 4 0:58 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 6 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:23 46–49

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Houston Baptist

Houston Baptist at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Huskies 7 7 0 0 14 • #12 Bearkats 14 14 28 7 63 Date: September 26 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:01 Game attendance: 9,014 TV announcers (FCS Central): Randy McIlvoy, Jeff Power, Kara Gold Sources:[4]

Scoring summary 1 11:36 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 86 yard pass complete to Gerald Thomas (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 2 plays, 87 yards, 0:34 7–0 1 4:43 Houston Baptist Tony Dawson 14 yard pass complete to Wesley Lewis (Christian Guzman kick), Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 6:48 7–7 1 2:55 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 7 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 7 plays, 87 yards, 1:48 14–7 2 6:12 Houston Baptist Terrance Peters 82 yard run (Christian Guzman kick), Drive: 3 plays, 90 yards, 1:52 14–14 2 4:12 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 12 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 8 plays, 0 yards, 3:52 21–14 2 0:15 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 38 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Carlos Teal kick), Drive: 5 plays, 83 yards, 1:53 28–14 3 11:49 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 2 yard pass complete to LaDarius Brown (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 8 plays, 56 yards, 2:56 35–14 3 10:18 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 25 yard interception return (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, -1 yard, 1:31 42–14 3 8:03 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 9 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 5 plays, 32 yards, 1:20 49–14 3 0:57 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 10 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 2:44 56–14 4 12:10 Sam Houston State Stephen Williams 25 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 2:03 63–14

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Stephen F. Austin

Battle of the Piney Woods

1 2 3 4 Total Lumberjacks 0 14 7 7 28 • #12 Bearkats 0 3 21 10 34 Date: October 3 Location: NRG Stadium Houston, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:32 Game attendance: 26,990 Game weather: 72°F • Wind: Calm • Indoors Referee: Ross Smith TV announcers (ESPN3): Randy McIlvoy, Shea Walker, Brooke Bentley Sources:

Scoring summary 2 14:54 Stephen F Austin De'Quan 21-yard pass from Zach Conque (Mason Juhl kick), Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 2:04 0–7 2 5:40 Sam Houston State Luc Swimberghe 35 yard field goal, Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:15 3–7 2 4:10 Stephen F Austin Judah Jones 31 yard pass from Conque (Mason Juhl kick), Drive: 4 plays, 56 yards, 1:30 3–14 3 13:14 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 78 yard punt return (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, 6 yards, 1:46 10–14 3 9:16 Sam Houston State Donavan Williams 4 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 2:27 17–14 3 5:41 Stephen F Austin Conque 1 yard run (Mason Juhl kick), Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards, 3:35 17–21 3 3:01 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 53 yard punt return (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, 3 yards, 1:06 24–21 4 13:12 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 1 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 14 plays, 87 yards, 3:22 31–21 4 10:39 Stephen F Austin Loren Easly 80 yard run (Mason Juhl kick), Drive: 1 play, 80 yards, 0:14 31–28 4 6:34 Sam Houston State Luc Swimberghe 32 yard field goal, Drive: 10 plays, 56 yards, 4:05 34–28

The Sam Houston State Bearkats faced the Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks for the 90th time in the two teams history. The Bearkats led the all-time series 52–35–2 going into the game.

The first quarter featured several long drives by both teams but neither managed to get on the scoreboard, including a missed field goal by SHSU kicker Luc Swimberghe. However, the Lumberjacks worked their way down the field before the end of the quarter, culminating in a twenty one yard touchdown scoring pass by SFA quarterback Zach Conque to Lumberjack wide receiver De'Quann Ruffin in the opening seconds of the second quarter. With SFA kicker Mason Juhl's extra point, SFA led 7–0. After some more back and forth between the teams, Sam Houston eventually got on the board with a thirty five yard field goal by Swimberghe with 5:30 remaining in the quarter, narrowing SFA's lead to 7–3. SFA struck back quickly with a thirty one yard touchdown pass from Conque to wide receiver Judah Jones at the 4:10 mark, and with the extra point the teams went to half time with SFA leading 14–3.

On SHSU's first possession of the second half, Bearkats wide receiver Gerald Thomas returned a punt seventy eight yards for a score, and with Swimberge's extra point the Bearkats narrowed the gap to 14–10 at the 13:14 mark. On Sam Houston's next possession, the drive ended with 9:16 remaining in the quarter with a four-yard scoring run by SHSU running back Donovan Williams to but the Bearkats on top 17–14. SFA's next possession ended in a one-yard scoring rush by Conque to put SFA back on top 21–17. SHSU had another long punt return with wide receiver Yedidiah Louis bringing the ball in 53 yards for a score with 3:01 remaining in the quarter, and SHSU retook the lead 24–21. The third quarter ended with SHSU leading 24–21.

SHSU scored again early in the fourth quarter with a one-yard run by running back Corey Avery at the 13:12 mark, lifting the Bearkat lead to 31–21. The Bearkats failed to take advantage of a three-and-out by the Lumberjacks, with a forty seven yard punt return by Louis setting the Kats up in the red zone, but a field goal by Swimberge bounced off the upright. SFA struck back quickly with an eighty-yard scoring rush by Lumberjack running back Lon Easily on the first play of their possession, narrowing the lead to 31–28 Bearkats. Another Bearkat field goal by Swimberge stretched the lead to 34–28, where it stayed through the end of the game.

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Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 0 0 7 0 7 • #11 Bearkats 24 28 7 0 59 Date: October 10 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 6,508 Referee: Kevin Hassell TV announcers (FCS Central): Tom Franklin, Kenneth Moore, Kara Gold Sources:

Scoring summary 1 10:55 Sam Houston State Luc Swimberghe 34 yard field goal, Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 2:49 3–0 1 8:13 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 66 yard pass complete to Corey Avery (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, 76 yards, 1:08 10–0 1 6:53 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 35 yard pass complete to LaDarius Brown (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, 34 yards, 1:06 17–0 1 6:28 Sam Houston State Donavan Williams 1 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 1 play, 1 yard, 0:03 24–0 2 12:53 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 3 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 2:24 31–0 2 11:51 Sam Houston State Collins Okotcha 60 yard interception return (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 3 plays, 53 yards, 0:57 38–0 2 8:05 Sam Houston State Jeremiah Briscoe 35 yard pass complete to LaDarius Brown (Luc Swimberghe kick); Drive: 7 plays, 94 yards, 1:42 45–0 2 2:05 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 8 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 12 plays, 93 yards, 4:38 52–0 3 9:02 Incarnate Word Dorland Fields 1 yard run (Cody Seidel kick), Drive: 14 plays, 65 yards, 5:52 52–7 3 1:36 Sam Houston State Remus Bulmer 8 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:04 59–7

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@ Abilene Christian

Sam Houston State at Abilene Christian

1 2 3 4 Total • #9 Bearkats 28 7 14 0 49 Wildcats 0 7 0 14 21 Date: October 17 Location: Shotwell Stadium Abilene, TX Game start: 2:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 8,763 Game weather: 79°F • SSE 7 • Sunny Referee: Kevin Mar Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:41 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 64 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:19 7–0 1 8:07 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 9 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 6 plays, 51 yards, 1:49 14–0 1 3:53 Sam Houston State Collin Rison 24 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 1:26 21–0 1 0:22 Sam Houston State Don King III 9 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 1:07 28–0 2 9:44 Abilene Christian Dallas Sealey 8 yard run (Zach Lehr kick), Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:30 28–7 2 1:19 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 1 yard run (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:04 35–7 3 9:24 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 10 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 3:27 42–7 3 3:01 Sam Houston State Davion Davis 13 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Luc Swimberghe kick), Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 2:16 49–7 4 12:47 Abilene Christian Adrian Duncan 14 yard run (Zach Lehr kick), Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 5:08 49–14 4 4:45 Abilene Christian Jamie Walker 7 yard pass from Cody Ennis (Zach Lehr kick), Drive: 6 plays, 86 yards, 2:57 49–21

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Nicholls (homecoming)

Nicholls at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Colonels 0 0 7 0 7 • #9 Bearkats 23 7 7 0 37 Date: October 24 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:00 Game attendance: 5,104 TV announcers (FCS Central): Tom Franklin, Kenneth Moore, Maya Golden Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:48 Sam Houston State Team Safety, Drive: 4 plays, -25 yards, 1:06 2–0 1 11:49 Sam Houston State Deon Hutchinson 13 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 1:55 9–0 1 3:01 Sam Houston State Hayden Cagle 3 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards, 0:30 16–0 1 0:47 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 12 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 4 plays, 29 yards, 1:19 23–0 2 1:05 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 12 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 1 play, 22 yards, 0:17 30–0 3 12:09 Sam Houston State Ridgeway Frank 11 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 2 plays, 15 yards, 0:21 37–0 3 3:37 Nicholls Tuskani Figaro 80 yard run (Francisco Condado kick), Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards, 0:18 37–7

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Texas A&M–Commerce

Texas A&M–Commerce at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 3 7 14 0 24 • #8 Bearkats 14 10 7 7 38 Date: October 31 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 6:04 PM CDT Elapsed time: 3:11 Game attendance: 4,862 Referee: Dan Lewis TV announcers (FCS Pacific): Tom Franklin, Kennth Moore, Maya Gold Sources:[5]

Scoring summary 1 12:07 Sam Houston State Cory Avery 3 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards, 2:53 7–0 1 10:12 Texas A&M–Commerce Kristov Martinez 31 yard field goal, Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards, 1:48 7–3 1 4:28 Sam Houston State Cory Avery 4 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:53 14–3 2 13:11 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 2 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 12 plays, 45 yards, 3:00 21–3 2 9:45 Texas A&M–Commerce Darby Smith 55 yard pass from Harrison Stewart (Kristov Martinez kick), Drive: 1 play, 55 yards, 0:09 21–10 2 0:00 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 22 yard field goal, Drive: 13 plays, 83 yards, 4:21 24–10 3 10:10 Texas A&M–Commerce Derrick Macon 10 yard pass from Harrison Stewart (Kristov Martinez kick), Drive: 3 plays, 88 yards, 1:08 24–17 3 5:07 Texas A&M–Commerce Lance Evans 39 yard pass from Harrison Stewart (Kristov Martinez kick), Drive: 8 plays, 94 yards, 2:26 24–24 3 2:14 Sam Houston State Cory Avery 1 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, 2:53 31–24 4 9:19 Sam Houston State Jared Johnson 24 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 4 plays, 64 yards, 1:37 38–24

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@ McNeese State

Sam Houston State at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total #7 Bearkats 10 0 0 0 10 • #9 Cowboys 0 14 3 10 27 Date: November 7 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 7:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 2:58 Game attendance: 10,501 Game weather: 64°F • NNE 13 • Overcast with rain Referee: Dan Romeo Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary 1 9:38 Sam Houston State Darion Flowers 90 yard interception return (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 11 plays, 67 yards, 5:22 7–0 1 0:54 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 20 yard field goal, Drive: 7 plays, 95 yards, 2:06 10–0 2 1:40 McNeese State Daniel Sams 64 yard run (Jean Breaux kick), Drive: 2 plays, 64 yards, 0:37 10–7 2 0:04 McNeese State Kent Shelby 6 yard pass from Daniel Sams (Jean Breaux kick), Drive: 8 plays, 70 yards, 1:06 10–14 3 3:48 McNeese State Jean Breaux 23 yard field goal, Drive: 11 plays, 81 yards, 4:53 10–17 4 5:20 McNeese State Jean Breaux 27 yard field goal, Drive: 10 plays, 59 yards, 5:09 10–20 4 5:11 McNeese State Ryan Ross 20 yard run (Jean Breaux kick), Drive: 1 play, 20 yards, 0:09 10–27

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Northwestern State

Northwestern State at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Demons 7 7 7 0 21 • #13 Bearkats 14 21 10 14 59 Date: November 14 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 2:30 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:03 Game attendance: 7,408 Referee: Carl McNeil Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:29 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 24 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:31 7–0 1 3:51 Northwestern State Chris Jones 19 yard run (Chris Moore kick), Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 3:04 7–7 1 1:10 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 24 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:32 14–7 2 11:42 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 27 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:32 21–7 2 7:06 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 9 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 11 plays, 77 yards, 2:59 28–7 2 5:27 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 15 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 0:56 35–7 2 2:03 Northwestern State Ed Eagan 22 yard pass from Stephen Rivers (Chris Moore kick), Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 3:22 35–14 3 12:01 Northwestern State De'Mard Llorens 15 yard run (Chris Moore kick), Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:53 35–21 3 9:52 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 8 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 2:09 42–21 3 5:23 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 31 yard field goal, Drive: 7 plays, 49 yards, 1:51 45–21 4 12:54 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 78 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 3 plays, 88 yards, 1:10 52–21 4 2:23 Sam Houston State Ridgeway Frank 11 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 12 plays, 87 yards, 5:20 59–21

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@ Central Arkansas

Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • #10 Bearkats 14 21 7 0 42 Bears 6 0 7 0 13 Date: November 21 Location: Estes Stadium Conway, AR Game start: 7:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:21 Game attendance: 3,575 Referee: D. Alvarez Sources:

Scoring summary 1 12:20 Central Arkansas Jace Denker 45 yard field goal, Drive: 5 plays, 38 yards, 1:22 0–3 1 11:01 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 13 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 1:11 7–3 1 6:49 Central Arkansas Jace Denker 35 yard field goal, Drive: 11 plays, 54 yards, 4:05 7–6 1 2:39 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 45 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 1 play, 45 yards, 0:07 14–6 2 10:09 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 3 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 4 plays, 39 yards, 1:10 21–6 2 1:37 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 50 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 3 plays, 53 yards, 0:41 28–6 2 0:21 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 3 yard pass from Jared Johnson (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 0:21 35–6 3 11:42 Sam Houston State Jalen Overstreet 30 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 6 plays, 55 yards, 1:57 42–6 3 2:00 Central Arkansas Jatavious Wilson 28 yard pass from Hayden Hildebrand (Jace Denker kick), Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:14 42–13

FCS playoffs

First round – Southern Utah

Southern Utah at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total #17 Thunderbirds 6 26 7 0 39 • #6 Bearkats 16 10 7 9 42 Date: November 28 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 3:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:50 Game attendance: 3,098 Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:01 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 3 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 4 plays, 40 yards, 1:00 7–0 1 12:21 Southern Utah Brady Measom 69 yard pass from Ammon Olsen (Keita Calhoun kick blocked), Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:34 7–6 1 12:21 Sam Houston State Alfonzo McMillian Defensive PAT Conversion, Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:34 9–6 1 9:44 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 31 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 1 play, 31 yards, 0:09 16–6 2 14:02 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 29 yard field goal, Drive: 14 plays, 46 yards, 3:10 19–6 2 12:04 Southern Utah Malik Brown 4 yard run (two-point conv. failed), Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 1:53 19–12 2 8:06 Sam Houston State Ridgeway Frank 2 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 3:58 26–12 2 7:47 Southern Utah Ty Rutledge 61 yard run (Keita Calhoun kick), Drive: 1 play, 61 yards, 0:12 26–19 2 4:11 Southern Utah Mike Sharp 36 yard pass from Ammon Olsen (Keita Calhoun kick), Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards, 2:52 26–26 2 2:08 Southern Utah Mike Sharp 34 yard pass from Ammon Olsen (Keita Calhoun kick blocked), Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 0:41 26–32 3 12:58 Southern Utah Mike Sharp 9 yard pass from Ammon Olsen (Keita Calhoun kick), Drive: 5 plays, 26 yards, 0:40 26–39 3 7:00 Sam Houston State Ridgeway Frank 1 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 2:05 33–39 4 8:36 Sam Houston State Team Safety, Drive: 2 plays, -6 yards, 0:44 35–39 4 3:44 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 55 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 1 play, 55 yards, 0:14 42–39

Second round – McNeese State

Sam Houston State at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total • #6 Bearkats 7 17 10 0 34 #3 Cowboys 10 7 6 6 29 Date: December 5 Location: Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 7:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:33 Game attendance: 13,493 Game weather: 57°F • ENE 3 • Fair, 45% humidity Referee: Jeremy Parker Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary 1 11:58 McNeese State Jean Breaux 43 yard field goal Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:23 0–3 1 4:08 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 54 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick) Drive: 4 plays, 70 yards, 1:04 7–3 1 0:39 McNeese State Kent Shelby 15 yard pass from Daniel Sams (Jean Breaux kick) Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 3:29 7–10 2 13:32 McNeese State David Bush 4 yard pass from Daniel Sams (Jean Breaux kick) Drive: 5 plays, 27 yards, 1:34 7–17 2 9:38 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 1 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick) Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 3:54 14–17 2 4:30 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 22 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick) Drive: 10 plays, 86 yards, 3:11 21–17 2 0:00 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 47 yard field goal Drive: 12 plays, 51 yards, 1:58 24–17 3 9:01 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 24 yard field goal Drive: 10 plays, 60 yards, 3:31 27–17 3 2:22 McNeese State Zach Hetrick 3 yard pass from Daniel Sams (Jean Breaux kick blocked) Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 3:58 27–23 3 1:21 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 28 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick) Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards, 1:01 34–23 4 11:20 McNeese State Tavarious Battiste 43 yard pass from Daniel Sams (two-point conv. failed) Drive: 7 plays, 51 yards, 3:33 34–29

Quarterfinals–Colgate

Colgate at Sam Houston State

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 14 0 7 21 • #6 Bearkats 14 17 10 7 48 Date: December 12 Location: Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX Game start: 11:00 AM CST Elapsed time: 3:01 Game attendance: 5,074 Television network: ESPN3 Sources:

Scoring summary 1 12:01 Sam Houston State Corey Avery 1 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:59 7–0 1 7:59 Sam Houston State Davion Davis 26 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 11 plays, 81 yards, 2:36 14–0 2 14:58 Colgate James Holland 3 yard run (Jonah Bowman kick), Drive: 16 plays, 80 yards, 7:55 14–7 2 8:51 Sam Houston State Yedidiah Louis 8 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 2:47 21–7 2 5:57 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 18 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 5 plays, 47 yards, 1:13 28–7 2 0:48 Colgate Alex Greenawalt 31 yard pass from Jake Melville (Jonah Bowman kick), Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 5:09 28–14 2 0:00 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 23 yard field goal, Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards, 0:40 31–14 3 11:01 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 21 yard field goal, Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 2:23 34–14 3 7:20 Sam Houston State Gerald Thomas 32 yard pass from Jeremiah Briscoe (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 2:15 41–14 4 11:57 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 25 yard pass from Jalen Overstreet (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 9 plays, 93 yards, 2:12 48–14 4 4:08 Colgate Jake Melville 13 yard run (Jonah Bowman kick), Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:42 48–21

Semifinals–Jacksonville State

Sam Houston State at Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total #6 Bearkats 0 10 0 0 10 • #1 Gamecocks 17 24 14 7 62 Date: December 19 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 3:00 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:26 Game attendance: 23,692 Game weather: 52°F • WNW 5 • Sunny Referee: Tom Stapleton Television network: ESPNU Sources:

Scoring summary 1 13:25 Jacksonville State Eli Jenkins 1 yard run (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 4 plays, 31 yards, 1:35 0–7 1 9:42 Jacksonville State Troymaine Pope 62 yard run (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 5 plays, 85 yards, 1:40 0–14 1 6:51 Jacksonville State Connor Rouleau 36 yard field goal, Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 1:52 0–17 2 13:43 Jacksonville State Miles Jones 3 yard run (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 3:36 0–24 2 7:46 Jacksonville State Ruben Gonzalez 12 yard pass from Eli Jenkins (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 14 plays, 89 yards, 5:00 0–31 2 5:37 Sam Houston State LaDarius Brown 0 yard run (Tre Honshtein kick), Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 2:09 7–31 2 1:24 Jacksonville State Connor Rouleau 22 yard field goal, Drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 4:13 7–34 2 0:59 Jacksonville State Troymaine Pope 7 yard run (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 1 play, 7 yards, 0:05 7–41 2 0:08 Sam Houston State Tre Honshtein 51 yard field goal, Drive: 7 plays, 23 yards, 0:51 10–41 3 11:34 Jacksonville State Ruben Gonzalez 8 yard pass from Eli Jenkins (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 6 plays, 84 yards, 2:41 10–48 3 4:56 Jacksonville State Miles Jones 3 yard run (Connor Rouleau kick), Drive: 9 plays, 87 yards, 4:20 10–55 4 9:29 Jacksonville State Christian LeMay 13 yard run (Cade Stinnett kick), Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards, 2:17 10–62

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	3	1 (31)	3 (38)	12	12	11	9	9	8	7	13	10	6	3
Coaches	4	4 (2)	5	14	14	14	11	10	10	9–T	18	12	10	4

References