SHSU Athletics
SHSU senior running back Elijah Green carries the ball during Friday's loss to UNLV at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.
HOUSTON — A promising start descended into a lopsided defeat for Sam Houston on Friday night, as the Bearkats fell 38-21 to UNLV in their home opener at Shell Energy Stadium.
After an opening drive touchdown by UNLV, the Bearkats responded with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a rushing touchdown from senior quarterback Hunter Watson. They proceeded to allow 24 consecutive points before closing the gap with the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
With Friday’s loss, SHSU is 0-2 to begin the 2025 season.
“The consistency piece is the [missing] part in our offense right now, and I thought we didn’t do a good job of sustaining drives enough within the first half,” Sam Houston head coach Phil Longo said. “I felt like we put the defense on the field a little bit too much.”
The Bearkats trailed 24-7 at halftime after allowing 238 yards through the first two quarters, and the score never got closer than that. UNLV was led by quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who had three total touchdowns while completing 19 of 23 passes for 249 yards.
SHSU has now given up 910 yards and 79 points through two games this season.
The Bearkats did find some success in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Landan Brown, who finished with a game-high 85 yards on 10 carries, ended UNLV’s 24-0 run with a 53-yard rushing touchdown. Wisconsin transfer Mabrey Mettauer also threw a 59-yard touchdown to junior receiver Tim Burns Jr.
“For me, it was more about how hard our guys played, what our demeanor was on the sideline … those are the things that inspire me coaching this team,” Longo said.
With Watson and Mettauer each receiving extended playing time, Longo revealed SHSU will continue to have competition at the quarterback position.
Watson, who started the game, was 11 of 21 for 101 yards passing with a rushing touchdown. Mettauer threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown during his first drive of the game, but finished 8 of 13 for 86 yards and a touchdown.
“We have two that we’re going to play,” Longo said. “If somebody separates themselves, fantastic. If not, I’ve been through this before here at Sam with two quarterbacks, two really good ones. I’d rather have the problem of having two that can play and can help us than to not have any.”
Sam Houston will travel to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors next Saturday. After that, they will play the Texas Longhorns in Austin on Sep. 20.