The Sam Houston State Bearkats will look to double their win total this weekend as the team travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., to take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Saturday night at 6 p.m.The Bearkats are coming off a hard-earned win against Midwestern State; a game the Bearkats almost let slip away. After trailing 14-3 most of the third quarter, the Bearkats found a rhythm and were able to score three unanswered touchdowns, capped off when redshirt freshman Jackie Brown returned a block punt by junior Dejuan Davis for a touchdown to put SHSU up 23-14 in the fourth quarter.After Midwestern State was able to tie the game with 6:18 left on the clock due to a deep snapping mistake by freshman Patrick Holland, the Bearkats responded with a 36-yard drive that sealed the game when sophomore kicker Joey Price nailed a 37-yard field goal.Northern Arizona rebounded after a season opening loss to beat Cal Poly 31-24 last weekend. The Lumberjacks relied heavily on their running game to get into the end zone. The team combined for three rushing touchdowns, led by freshman Philo Sanchez, who had 145 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in just his second collegiate game. “They have a lot of speed and do some things that will present a lot of challenges,” SHSU head coach Ron Randleman said. “We have to minimize their big plays and make some big plays of our own.”Senior quarterback Vance Smith was able to overcome a rocky first half last weekend and ended up completing 15 of 32 passes for 166-yards and one touchdown. The Bearkats were also able to get their running game going as junior Maurice Harris gained 112-yards rushing on 21 carries and freshman Robert Sanders added 40-yards on just 11 carries. The Bearkats will need to win the turn over battle and solid play out of their special teams to win said Randleman.”We have to fly around and hopefully get a few more takeaways,” Randleman said. “We did some good things defensively last week and hopefully, we can get some turnovers to put our offense in good field position.”The Bearkats have turned the ball over four times this season; one of which went for a touchdown, while three errant snaps by Holland have resulted in 17 turnover points. Coach Randleman feels that Holland will be a very good deep snapper and that all he needs to do is relax.
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Football ready for rematch with Lumberjacks
December 9, 2002
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