By Cody Stark
Junior quarterback Bryan Randolph said he had better grip on the Bearkat offense Saturday than he did when he transferred to Sam Houston State at the beginning of last season.
Randolph’s new comfort level showed on the field during the annual Orange and White spring game.
The junior from Semi Valley (Calif.) College hit senior wide receiver Darrell Armstead for a 75-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage as the offense rolled to a 54-35 victory over the defense Saturday at Bowers Stadium.
Randolph, who heads into the summer as SHSU’s starting quarterback, completed 21-of-37 passes for 418 yards and three touchdowns. Armstead finished with two catches for 97 yards.
Freshman wide receiver Melvis Pride added three grabs for 122 yards with a long of 46 that went for a touchdown. Senior running back James Aston finished with 117 all-purpose yards, including a 39-yard scoring strike.
“Overall I thought we did awesome,” Randolph said. “Once again Armstead set the tempo like he did in the first scrimmage this spring. Once you get that first touchdown all the pressure is off and you can just go and play your game.
“Our guys had a great game. Melvis Pride stepped up and Aston, as always, ran the ball well and had that touchdown catch.”
Because of injuries, the Sam Houston State coaching staff decided to change the spring game format, scrapping the old way of splitting the squad into two teams for a point system. The White (offense) got points for scoring, extra points, first downs and plays of 20 or more yards.
One of the reasons the White scored so much was because three of its four touchdowns went for 75, 46 and 39 yards, which resulted in eight points each because points were tacked on for PATs and plays of 20 or more yards.
“I thought it was a pretty clean game,” Bearkats head coach Todd Whitten said. “The guys had fun. We are going to evaluate it, but on the surface I was pleased. I thought we hit some big plays.”
The Orange (defense) didn’t play as bad as the score indicated, especially since the points system favored the offense and the guys have been digesting new schemes brought in by defensive coordinator Scott Stoker. The Orange got points for punts, three-and-outs, sacks, interceptions and fumbles forced and recovered.
The White jumped out to a quick 20-5 lead when Randolph led a five play drive that featured a 22-yard pass to Armstead and was capped with Pride’s touchdown grab. But the Orange came storming back.
Freshman defensive lineman Marlowe Poitier sacked backup quarterback Weston Glasser on the next play for two points and the Orange cut it to 20-10 when they forced a three-and-out and a punt.
With the White up 22-11, linebacker Brandon Bruce sacked Randolph (a noncontact play) and two plays later, junior cornerback D.J. Emerson recovered a fumble by freshman running back Will Clay, who had 44 yards and a touchdown, to cut the lead to 23-19.
The Orange finished the day with four three-and-outs, forced seven punts, recorded three sacks, forced two fumbles, recovered one and had an interception.
“At the start of the spring we had a whole lot thrown at us and had to work overtime to get where we need to be to make plays,” said junior defensive lineman Cody Gatewood, who had a sack and an interception. “We have been working hard in practice and coach Stoker has done a great job of getting everything out of us everyday.”
Gatewood’s sack forced a three-and-out and got the defense within 27-24, but that was as close as the Orange would get.
Randolph found senior receiver Jason Madkins, who also added a 25 yard catch, for nine yards to start the next drive. After Aston picked up a first down (one point), the offense found themselves in a second-and-19 situation following a fumble.
Pride then came up with 21-yard reception for a first down. Two plays later, Randolph and Aston hooked up for a 39-yard score to make it 40-25 following senior Taylor Wilkins’ kick.
The Orange made one last push toward the end of the game down 52-29 when Gatewood snagged a deflected pass out of the air and started weaving his way to the end zone before being pulled down at the 1. The defense got six points on the play, but could have gotten 12 if the 6-2, 260-pound junior could have scored.
“I thought it was a good spring. We weathered the storm with these injuries, but there are a lot of college football teams fighting through that right now,” Whitten added. “We continued to develop our offensive line and develop some receivers that hadn’t played a lot. I feel really good about our backs. We have to get solidified with our quarterback, but we will get there.
“Defensively, we had some days when we were really good and days the offense won. But that is how the spring goes.”
