The longest active home winning streak in the FCS came to an
end as the Sam Houston State University Bearkats lost to the University of
North Dakota Fighting Hawks 24-23.
In front of a crowd of 5,375, SHSU’s offense struggled to
consistently move the ball downfield. SHSU had a handful of scoring
opportunities, but penalties and offensive mistakes caused a number of crucial
drives to stall out deep in UND territory. Less than three minutes into the
game, senior linebacker Hunter Brown was flagged for unnecessary roughness that
propelled an opening-drive touchdown for the Hawks.
The Bearkats kept the game close in the first half thanks to
a touchdown from sophomore running back Kyran Jackson. He finished the night with
16 carries for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
The passing game did not see the same success as the ground
game, however. Junior quarterback Mike Dare was sacked five times, four of
which came in the second half. Bearkats head coach K.C. Keeler talked about
Dare’s decision making throughout the night.
“We just can’t take the sacks like we are taking,” Keeler
said. “Mike [Dare] has to throw the ball away, and that’s the biggest thing
that we have to get through his head. One, two, the ball has to get out of
there.”
Aside from the pair of rushing touchdowns, the only other
scoring for SHSU was courtesy of senior kicker Tre Honshtein’s three field
goals (41 yards, 34 yards and 28 yards).
The Fighting Hawks took the lead in the fourth quarter with
4:44 remaining in the game on a clutch touchdown on fourth and goal. The late
score put UND on top 24-23. SHSU got the ball back but ended up turning it over
on downs with only one timeout left. The Hawks were able to pick up a first
down conversion that put the game on ice to beat the Kats by one point.
Bearkats head coach KC Keeler talked about how this
early-season loss will impact the team moving forward.
“As I told the players, your season is not over, it’s just
starting,” Keeler said. “That’s a good football team. They came in and made one
more play than we did. You have to give them all of the credit in the world. I
thought they did a really good job. We don’t see their brand of football much.”
The Bearkats open conference play Saturday at 3 p.m. in Thibodaux,
La. when they face off against the Nicholls State University Colonels.