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Worries laid to rest
Bearkats quarterback looks sharp in return from injury; offense clicks in opener
Anybody who had questions as to whether Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar was fully recovered from last year’s season-ending knee surgery got the answers they were looking for Thursday night.
Making his first start since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last November, Bomar was sharp in the Bearkats’ 58-14 dismantling of East Central Oklahoma. He led Sam Houston to scoring drives on all eight of its first-half possessions, completing 14-of-22 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns before being pulled at halftime.
About the only concern was how Bomar would react after getting hit for the first time, and it didn’t take long to squash those thoughts.
With the Bearkats driving deep in Tiger territory on the game’s opening possession, Bomar took off and picked up six yards on an option keeper before being tackled at the ECU 7-yard line. He bounced up, ran back to the huddle and two plays later hit wide receiver Catron Houston for a 7-yard score.
No worries, no problems.
“I thought maybe (getting hit) would (worry me) and I would think about it until I got hit first,” said Bomar, who also added a 30-yard run in the second quarter. “But I ran an option and I cut it up and the guy actually dove at my knee. But after that, I really didn’t think about it, and when I got hit, it was normal. I didn’t even think about my knee at all, and it felt good out there.”
With Bomar’s health concerns laid to rest, another question was answered — just how much had the wide receiving corps improved from a year ago?
The Bearkats had an awful lot of drops during the 2007 season, but that wasn’t the case Thursday night.
Houston, who steadily progressed in spring drills, had a solid outing against the Tigers. Aside from a fumbled punt, he caught five passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns, which equaled his ’07 total of visits to the end zone.
Houston’s best catch came with 9:44 to go in the second quarter when he leaped up and snagged a high pass from Bomar to haul in a 24-yard score to help put the Kats up 38-0.
The much-anticipated debut of 6-5 transfer Jason Madkins went well. After he dropped a wide-open pass over the middle on Sam Houston’s first drive of the game, the former Mart High School standout caught three passes for 39 yards.
Madkins also showed why the Bearkats covet his size so much, especially around the goal line, catching an 11-yard fade route in the right corner of the end zone that put SHSU up 13-0.
Senior Justin Wells showed steady hands as usual and sophomore Chris Lucas made a solid catch over the middle and held on to the ball despite getting blasted from behind by an ECU defender.
“Some of them like Catron and Justin Wells, they were playing as sophomores and now they are seniors,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said Thursday night. “Lucas had a fabulous camp. He didn’t hardly drop a pass all fall. Madkins brings a big target for us.
“Trey Payne — we just have five guys that are older and can do a good job for us. I think it is really one of the strengths of our team right now.”
If the Sam Houston State offense is going to continue to be this explosive, the Bearkats are going to need more performances like the one they got from junior running back James Aston to keep opposing defenses honest.
With the loss of Chris Poullard, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, and sophomore TyMagic Robinson nursing a hamstring injury, Aston got the start in the backfield for Sam Houston on Thursday.
The Texas State transfer and Katy High School’s all-time leading rusher didn’t disappoint. Aston bulled his way to 115 yards on eight carries and scored two touchdowns on the ground against the Tigers. Like Bomar, all of Aston’s production came in the first half.
Aston also gives the Kats another receiving threat out of the backfield. He caught three passes for 41 yards Thursday. He also reeled in a pass from Bomar, raced down the sideline and jumped over an ECU defender for a 21-yard touchdown.
With Robinson’s ability to score every time he touches the ball when he gets back to full strength (he had two carries for 18 yards Thursday), the Bearkats should have one of the most dangerous backfields in Southland Conference this season.
“(Aston) had a good camp as well,” Whitten added. “We had thought through camp that he is a good ball carrier and a good back. He cramped up a little bit today, but he has good vision and is really strong. He has great balance and we are going to continue to work with him. I think he has a chance to do a lot of good stuff for us.”
One down, 10 to go but the SHSU offense is off to a much better start than last season.
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Fantastic finish
When every young recruit walks through the door at Johnson Coliseum, their goal is help Sam Houston State get to the NCAA tournament.
The Bearkats have had some really talented players over the past seven seasons since Sam Houston last went dancing and none of them were able to accomplish what this year’s group has. -
Top-ranked Cubs bring big bats to Huntsville
On a night when Brenham’s Chase Wellbrock nearly threw a no-hitter, Huntsville head coach Jeff Brumbelow shook his head more about the Cubs’ impressive hit parade.
Brenham came to Kate Barr Ross Park on Wednesday and quickly took control on the District 18-4A baseball game against the Hornets. The top-ranked Cubs banged out 16 hits in the first three innings and scored 13 runs on their way to a commanding 18-1 win over Huntsville. -
Playing among trees
Monday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum, the Bearkats began preparing for their first-round NCAA tournament matchup with 19th-ranked Baylor.
Sam Houston State (25-7) literally has a steep hill to climb if it wants to upset the third-seeded Bears (25-7) on Thursday in New Orleans. Baylor has a 7-foot center (Josh Lomers) and a pair of 6-10 forwards (Ekpe Udoh and Anthony Jones) who have played in all 32 games this season. -
Just deserts
Seniors Jeremy LaDay, Marvin Dunbar and Justin Gilbert refused to listen to the people who said the Hornets were headed for a subpar season in 2009-10.
Huntsville’s run was done, some folks said last fall. That only fueled the fire for LaDay, Dunbar and Gilbert. -
Bearkats headed for NCAA tournament
After several years of disappointing early exits, the Sam Houston State Bearkats are going dancing and once again, it comes at the expense of archrival Stephen F. Austin.
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Still kicking
The Bearkats were staggering and about to go down. But the regular-season champions showed what they were made of in the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament Thursday night.
Junior guard Lance Pevehouse knocked down a clutch 3-pointer with 1:11 left in the game to help Sam Houston State overcome a five-point deficit. The Bearkats then caught some breaks down the stretch and pulled out a thrilling 88-85 win over Southeastern Louisiana at the Merrell Center. -
Cooper to take over Hornet defense
Shane Martin did not have to look far to find the guy who will fill his old shoes with the Hornets football program.
Huntsville’s new head football coach promoted David Cooper, one of his hard-working assistants, to defensive coordinator, the job Martin held for the past two seasons. -
Huntsville's Baggett jumps at chance to play in Space City Classic
Out of the blue, Huntsville senior Forbes Baggett got some good news Tuesday.
An all-district offensive and defensive lineman, Baggett received an invitation to play in the Space City Classic, an all-star football game featuring Houston-area players. The game is scheduled Saturday evening at Delmar Stadium in Houston. -
Bulldogs are back again in 2010
They’ve been here before and know Austin all too well.Two years ago, the New Waverly Bulldogs made their first trip to the state tournament, but it ended rather quickly in a disappointing blowout loss to Tuscola Jim Ned.
Then last March, the Bulldogs got past Shallowater and advanced to the state championship game only to fall to defending state champion Ponder 51-39.
This time around, the Bulldogs are determined to take another step forward and come back with a state championship. They’re back again in 2010, and they say they’re going to finish the job this time. - 2010 UIL Boys Basketball State Tournament
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Fantastic finish
