THIS WEEK
Sam Houston State Bearkats (1-1) vs. Gardner Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (2-1)
Saturday, September 27, 2008 -- 6 p.m. (Eastern) -- Spangler Stadium -- Boiling Springs, NC
THE GAME ON RADIO
Sam Houston State’s contest Saturday with Gardner Webb will be broadcast live on KSAM 101.7 FM in Huntsville. The broadcast, with Kooter Roberson and Leroy Wilkinson, can also be heard on the internet at www.gobearkats.com.
KATS HEAD EAST TO FACE FIRST BIG SOUTH FOE
Saturday’s game in Boiling Springs, NC, marks the farthest east Sam Houston State has played football. In 1964, the Bearkats played in Augusta, GA, in the NAIA National Championship playoff (a 7-7 tie with Concordia of Minnesota). Boiling Springs is 17 miles further east than Augusta, GA.
The contest is Sam Houston State’s first against a Big South Conference opponent.
The matchup marks only the 23rd time in Sam Houston’s 93 years of intercollegiate tooftball that the Bearkats have played east of the Mississipppi River. SHSU stands 8-11-3 in their first 22 travels east of the "Big Muddy."
SAM HOUSTON VS. NCAA DIV. I FCS OPPONENT
The Bearkat-Bulldog match-up has post-season implications as, with the cancelation of the Prairie View A&M game due to Hurricane Ike, the contest with Gardner Webb will be Sam Houston’s only non-conference game this season with an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
Sam Houston is 22-16-1 in regular season non-conference games against NCAA Division I FCS foes.
LAST WEEK
Sam Houston State held its own with #19 Kansas in front of a crowd of 51,767 as the Kats fell 38-14 to the defending Orange Bowl champions. SHSU trailed 14-7 with a minute left before intermission and cut the Jayhawk margin to 28-14 in the third quarter.
Quarterback Rhett Bomar totaled 355 yards total offense (340 passing, 15 rushing), throwing for one score and running for another. The 355 yards was Bomar’s second highest game as a Bearkat. The senior totaled 461 yards in last year’s narrow loss at North Dakota State.
The contest marked only the second time in Southland Conference football history an SLC team lost to an NCAA Division I Bowl Championship Series Top 25 team by less than a four-touchdown margin. Northwestern State fell to #21 Missouri 35-14 in 1998.
SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS
Sam Houston competes as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in the Southland Conference. The Bearkats won the SLC title in 1991, 2001 and 2004.
Each of those championship years, Sam Houston earned NCAA Division I playoff berths. The Bearkats reached the national quarterfinals in 2001 and the semifinals in 2004.
Bearkats playing in the National Football League include quarterback Josh McCown (Panthers) and Keith Davis (Cowboys).
FOURTH YEAR UNDER COACH WHITTEN
Todd Whitten and his staff begin their fourth season at Sam Houston State, seeking to build on back-to-back winning seasons and Southland Conference runner-up finishes. Thirty-eight lettermen return from last year’s 7-4 squad including six starters on offense and and six on defense.
THE BEARKAT OFFENSE
Sam Houston State ranks No. 14 in total offense (429.5) and No. 15 in passing offense (276.5) in NCAA Division I FCS football.
Quarterback Rhett Bomar leads the Southland and ranks No. 9 nationally in individual total offense (291.5). The senior has passed for 538 yards and 5 TDs and rushed for 45 yards and another score in a game-and-a-half. He did not play in the second half of the opener against East Central Oklahoma.
Bomar led the Southland and ranked No. 8 nationally in total offense (290.6 yards per game) last year.
Senior wide receivers Catron Houston (9 catches for 136 yards) and Justin Wells (9 for 131) are Bomar’s top targets.
Transfer running back James Aston leads the Kats with 148 yards on 15 carries including two TDs and a long run of 49 yards. Aston also has 8 receptions for 108 yards and another score.
A concern coming into the season was the youth of the offensive line after losing three All-Southland Conference linemen and All-American tight end Blake Martin to graduation. But, with a two-deep consisting of four seniors, two juniors and four freshmen, the line has performed well.
THE BEARKAT DEFENSE
Defensive end Chris Brown, who accounted for five of the Bearkats’ 13 sacks in 2007 and Eric Mikolajchak return in the front line. Both earned All-Southland Conference honors last year. Brown was an All-America honorable mention selection.
Nolan Bucek led the Southland in tackles (88) in 2007 and Luke McCall added 72 stops as linebackers last year. Cornerbacks Wonseleh Brewer and Stanley Garrett return as starters in the secondary.
Brown is Sam Houston State’s tackle leader this season with 15 stops including 11 last week at Kansas.
Safety Billy Skinner and defensive lineman Frank Simon each have14 stops in the first two games. Bucek has totaled 13.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker Taylor Wilkins was 33-for-33 on extra points and hit 14-of-18 field goals last season, The junior kicking specialist produced a career long 45 yard field goal against East Central.
Punter Derrick Raymer is averaging 34.0 yards per attempt.
ALL-SOUTHLAND RETURNEES
Six All-Southland Conference Bearkats return. Defensive end Chris Brown was a first team selection. Kicker Taylor Wilkins and linebacker Nolan Bucek were named to the second team. Quarterback Rhett Bomar, offensive lineman Hunter Schmidt and defensive lineman Eric Mikolajchak were honorable mention All-Southland.
BEARKAT OFFENSIVE SUCCESS
In the past nine seasons, Sam Houston has led the Southland Conference in passing four times and total offense three seasons. Three Bearkat quarterbacks have earned Southland "Player of the Year"
honors and been finalists for the Walter Payton Award as NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision offensive player of the year -- Chris Chaloupka (1999), Josh McCown (2001) and Dustin Long (2004).
TRANSFERS LOOK TO FILL GAPS
Several transfers figure to fill important spots in the Bearkat two-deep including wide receiver Jason Madkins (Navarro JC), tight end Jonathon Clark (Glendale CC), defensive back D. J. Emerson (SMU) and quarterback Bryan Randolph (Moorpark JC).
