Bomar on target for Sam Houston
HUNTSVILLE — Rhett Bomar still wears No. 7. That's about the only thing that has not changed during his one-year exile from football.
When he ran onto the field for Sam Houston State's season opener against Division II Angelo State, there was no deafening roar from the bleachers.
The game wasn't on television.
It wasn't even a sellout. A crowd of 10,517 showed up at Bowers Stadium on Thursday night — one of the largest home openers in years for the Bearkats — but that's still a fraction of what Rhett Bomar played in front of on Saturdays to begin his college career at Oklahoma.
This isn't Norman anymore.
For Rhett Bomar, that's just fine.
Rhett Bomar, the former OU quarterback at the center of a summer job scandal, began the process of resurrecting his career by leading Sam Houston to a 17-13 victory over Angelo State.
"I've moved on completely," Rhett Bomar said. "I don't let anybody talk to me about the past. Now that I've got this first game under my belt, people can talk about Sam Houston."
Bothered by leg cramps
In his debut, Rhett Bomar completed 16-of-24 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and interception. His eight-yard TD run gave the Bearkats a 17-0 lead late in the first half.
But from that point, Rhett Bomar battled leg cramps and a pesky Angelo State defense that wouldn't go away.
Despite a 19-month layoff, Rhett Bomar didn't show the typical rust. His passes were on target, except for the three dropped passes that slipped through his receivers' fingers. He showed remarkable consistency, coming back from an interception on his first series to complete 10 consecutive passes. In typical fashion, the 6-2, 215-pound Rhett Bomar lowered his shoulder and delivered a blow to Rams defensive back Edward Cantrell.
"For not having played in a year, I thought he played well in his first start," Sam Houston coach Todd Whitten said.
The NCAA made Rhett Bomar forfeit one year of eligibility last season for taking payment for work he did not perform at Big Red Sports/Imports, along with former teammate J.D. Quinn.
Rhett Bomar, a junior from Grand Prairie, transferred last fall to Sam Houston, which has developed a reputation as a refuge for quarterbacks — among them Dustin Long (Texas A&M) and Josh McCown (SMU) — seeking a fresh start.
"When he first got here, (Rhett Bomar) made the comment to me that he realized how important being a college football player was to him, and how much he appreciates the opportunity that we've given him to play football," Whitten said. "Sometimes you don't realize that until you lose it."
Fitting right in
From the moment he stepped on campus, Rhett Bomar made it a point to blend in his new surrounding.
"As soon as he got here, he got that chip off his shoulder," said running back Chris Poullard, who rushed for a game-high 131 yards. "He told a couple of us what happened, and he just let it go."
Rhett Bomar, who had not played since the Holiday Bowl against Oregon in late December 2005, threw a 40-yard pass on the Bearkats' second offensive play of the game that slipped through the fingers of Catron Houston. His next pass, on third-and-4, was intercepted by linebacker Ian Ritchey across the middle of the field.
From that point, Rhett Bomar completed 10 straight passes, including a 64-yard touchdown to Justin Wells in the first quarter.
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