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November 27, 2009

Jacks, Cowboys set to host opening-round playoff games today

By Cody Stark The Huntsville Item Fri Nov 27, 2009, 10:12 PM CST

This is the time of year every team in the Southland Conference hopes to get to dating back to spring football practice.

All that hard work and sweat has paid off for Stephen F. Austin and McNeese State. The Lumberjacks and Cowboys were the final two teams standing at the end of the regular season and both are hosting Football Championship Subdivision playoff games today.

McNeese State has grown accustomed to being in the postseason on a regular basis, but SFA is making its first trip since 1995.

Only two years removed from an 0-11 season, the Lumberjacks went 9-2 in 2009 and split the SLC championship with the Cowboys by going 6-1 in league play. SFA received the conference’s automatic bid to the playoffs thanks to a 16-13 victory over McNeese.

The Jacks welcome Eastern Washington to Homer Bryce Stadium today for a 2 p.m. kickoff.

Bearkat fans might remember the Eagles out of the Big Sky Conference. During Sam Houston State’s remarkable run to the FCS semifinals in 2004, quarterback Dustin Long guided the Kats to 21 unanswered points on the road in the fourth quarter to stun Eastern Washington 35-34 in the second round.

The Eagles and Lumberjacks both come into the contest on a roll. SFA has won three straight, while Eastern Washington (8-3) has rattled off four victories in a row.

But neither of those teams are as hot as McNeese State (9-2) right now. After dropping their SLC opener to SFA, the Cowboys went unbeaten the rest of the way.

At the same time the Jacks and Eagles are kicking off, McNeese will battle New Hampshire (9-2) at Cowboy Stadium. This marks the 14th time the Cowboys have been to the playoffs and sixth this decade.

Cowboys Stadium is one of the toughest places to go on the road and win at, but McNeese State better come to play. Two years ago when the Cowboys last made the playoffs, Eastern Washington cruised to a 44-15 victory in Lake Charles, La., in an opening-round upset.

Head-scratching move — It’s old news, but the fact that Nicholls fired Jay Thomas as head football coach is still a little shocking.

Thomas broke the news in an interview following the Colonels’ 45-30 upset over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 19.

“I was totally surprised by it,” Thomas told the Houma (La.) Today newspaper. “I planned to stay in Thibodaux a long time. My wife teaches at the university and both my girls were born there. I wish the next guy, the next staff, the best of luck.”

Thomas has had a lot to deal with since taking over the Nicholls program in 2004.

There have been several hurricanes that have come through Thibodaux, La. There was an academic scandal stemming from the previous staff, and the program has been hit hard by budget cuts, not to mention a lot of turnover on the coaching staff.

Thomas had some assistant coaching positions that needed to be filled this season, but with the university in a hiring freeze, he didn’t fill those spots until about a month before the season.

Despite missing some games when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit in 2005, Thomas guided the Colonels to a share of the Southland Conference championship with a 5-1 league mark and 6-3 overall finish.

While Nicholls was only 27-35 in his six seasons as head coach, its going to be tough for the Colonels to find a quality candidate to take over the program.

After all, the new coach is going to have to deal with all those same problems, while trying to earn the trust of the locker room.

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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
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Southland Notebook: Representing the SLC

Jacks, Cowboys set to host opening-round playoff games today

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