SHSU running back likely out for season

SHSU Sports

Discussion

November 5, 2009

By Cody Stark The Huntsville Item Thu Nov 05, 2009, 11:01 PM CST

The injuries keep piling up, but the Bearkats’ latest could be the biggest.

Sam Houston State senior running back James Aston is likely done for the rest of the season after suffering an ACL injury in the first half of last week’s win over Northwestern State.

Aston is third in the Southland Conference in rushing yards (566) and touchdowns (eight) and he leads the league in kickoff return average (25.1 yards). He also has 235 receiving yards and a touchdown reception to go along with an 89-yard score on a kick return.

“It’s tough. James hasn’t worked all week and it appears he won’t play this week and maybe not for the rest of the year,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said Thursday. “He is such a great guy and has been an inspiration to our team. He plays so hard and has made a lot of great plays. He is an exceptional young man.”

With Aston out for Saturday’s clash at McNeese State, the bulk of the carries will go to junior running back Chris Poullard, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2007.

Poullard has carried the ball 86 times this season for 326 yards and three scores. He has also caught six passes for 47 yards.

Sophomore Torian Wilkins will see time in the backfield as well Saturday. He has 10 carries for 32 yards this season.

“We will probably be more of a one-back situation this week,” Whitten said. “Poullard is a great running back and we are lucky to have him able to fill in. Torian is also going to get some touches Saturday, but we won’t have as much two-back stuff.”

The Bearkats will also be without safety Victor Carmichael this week. Carmichael injured his hand against Northwestern State and had to have surgery.

Sam Houston has been hit hard with the injury bug this season. The Kats lost starting offensive tackles Travis Watson and Chris Crockett and safety Randy Stewart for the year before the season began.

Starting quarterback Blake Joseph suffered a sprained ankle in a win over Nicholls that forced him to sit out a loss at Stephen F. Austin.

Backup quarterback Jeff Welch returned for an ACL injury he sustained in spring practice in time to play against the Lumberjacks, but was lost for the season when he re-injured his knee in the first half in Nacogdoches.

Fullback Matthew Powledge and guard Travis Best both were injured in a loss at Tulsa and missed some time, but have since returned.

“Victor had surgery on his hand, so we are a little thin there,” Whitten added. “We are to the point where we are running out of bodies late in the season. We have had tough trouble with injuries, so hopefully that will go away.”

Text Only

SHSU Sports

Time to crank it up
Sam Houston State head coach Willie Fritz knew coming into the season that he was going to have his hands full turning around the Bearkats’ football program.
The rest of the coaches in the Southland Conference apparently agree.
Coming off a 5-6 season, a fifth-place finish in league play and the loss of 15 starters, Sam Houston State has been tabbed to finish seventh in the SLC preseason coaches’ poll, which was announced Wednesday during the Southland Conference Football Media Day at the L’Auberge du Lac Resort.

July 28, 2010 1 Photo
Pitching dominates Triple-A All-Star Game
Like the Major League All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif., pitchers dominated the Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday in Allentown, Pa.

July 14, 2010
Almost there
After years of toiling in the minor leagues, Dustin Martin can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Rising through the ranks of the minor league system all the way from Rookie League, the former Sam Houston outfielder is playing some of his best baseball these days and will play in Wednesday’s Triple-A All-Star Game in Allentown Pa., which will be televised at 6 p.m. on the MLB Network.

July 10, 2010 1 Photo
Gallant shining again in Cape Cod League
Maybe, just maybe, on the mound closing games is where Dallas Gallant needs to be if he’s going to make a name for himself.
For the second summer in a row, the Sam Houston State pitcher has performed marvelously when he finishes games for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, a member of the distinguished Cape Cod Baseball League.

July 9, 2010
Bearkats enjoy banner year in classroom
With the release of grade point averages for the more than 400 Bearkats participating in varsity sports, plus the announcement by the Southland Conference office of the annual Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll, the 2009-10 season goes in the books as another banner academic year for Sam Houston State University.

June 25, 2010
Belcher, Vilardi golf tournaments help rival football programs
Golfers in the Huntsville area can help the football programs at both Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, two longtime rivals that soon will be adding new excitement to their annual “Battle of the Piney Woods” when they kick off this fall at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

June 17, 2010
Kelly ready for NCAA golf regional
When Sam Houston’s Scott Kelly tees off Thursday in the NCAA South Central Regional men’s golf tournament, his goal will be simple. He wants to become the first Bearkat golfer to earn a spot in the national tournament.
“As an at-large entry, it’s difficult to advance but it’s not out of the question,” Kelly said. “I’m going into the tournament with high expectations and will give it my best shot.”

May 19, 2010
Dreaming big
His mind has been working overtime. Huntsville senior Quenntin Tucker has spent the past two weeks preparing for the Class 4A Region III track meet.
Tucker practices the discus by day, then dreams about it at night. Physically and mentally, he’s ready for the big meet.
“I had a dream about this,” Tucker said last week during a short break from practice. “In the dream I finished second in our region, then I finished second at state.
“I woke up that morning smiling.”

May 1, 2010 1 Photo
Same old story
The Bearkats must’ve felt as if they had a little bit of déjà vu.
For the second straight Saturday, the Bearkats used a monster inning to climb out of a huge hole only to see it slip away.
This time, it was Stephen F. Austin, which rallied for five runs in the final two innings and held off Sam Houston for a 14-13 win.

May 1, 2010 1 Photo
UCA has Bearkat softball team on ropes
The Bearkats saw the light dim on their Southland Conference tournament aspirations Saturday afternoon.
Desperately in need of a series win to gain ground in the chase for the sixth and final seed, the Sam Houston State softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Central Arkansas.

May 1, 2010 1 Photo
More SHSU Sports Headlines

SHSU Sports

Search Results

Discussion

SHSU running back likely out for season

Site Map

Contact Us