Sam Houston dropped another game Wednesday night, as the Bearkats fell 35-17 to the UTEP Miners. 

Wednesday’s defeat makes seven consecutive losses for Sam Houston to begin the 2025 season. 

“It’s becoming a recurring thing with these tough losses,” Sam Houston head coach Phil Longo said.  “I just told our guys I appreciate their effort, which I do every week. This could be a situation that could be a lot worse, but it’s not. 

“We have been playing well enough to keep ourselves in many of these games that we’re playing, we’re going to find a way to close it in the fourth quarter, and that shows where we are right now.” 

The Bearkats competed with the Miners for most of this game, and at one point were down 21-17 in the fourth quarter. But after a blocked field goal, UTEP went on to score 14 unanswered points. 

Senior quarterback Hunter Watson suffered an injury late in the second quarter and did not return for the second half. Mabrey Mettauer started the second half, and Landyn Locke also saw the field late in the fourth quarter.  

“We were playing good complimentary football when we were controlling the football and controlling the line of scrimmage,” Longo said. “That changed a bit when we lost our starter. That’s not necessarily Mabrey’s fault, but the rhythm just wasn’t the same.” 

Watson finished with 161 passing yards before exiting the game. Sophomore running back Landan Brown led the team in rushing with 110 yards and junior wide receiver Chris Reed led the team in receiving with 51 yards.  The Miners were led by junior quarterback Skylar Locklear, who finished with 236 passing yards and four total touchdowns.  

Sam Houston will take on Louisiana Tech on Oct. 31 in Ruston. After that, they will travel to take on Oregon State.