HUNTSVILLE —
After looking right at home in Big Sky country on Friday night, the Bearkats will be booking another cross-country trip as they’ll be heading to Washington state this week.
Eastern Washington, the No. 2 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, survived a second-half rally from Illinois State and pulled away to win its quarterfinal showdown 51-35 on Saturday night.
Sam Houston, which defeated No. 3 seed Montana State 34-16 last Friday, will now head to Cheney, Wash., to take on the Eagles on Saturday at 3 p.m. CST in the FCS semifinals. The showdown will be televised live on ESPNU.
“Well, they throw the ball really well. That’s a big part of their offense,” Sam Houston coach Willie Fritz said of the Eagles late on Saturday night. “Eastern Washington is the number two team in the playoffs and they’re very deserving.”
“They’re tough on the red carpet there,” Fritz said of the Eagles’ red turf. “They’re a very strong team.”
Eastern Washington, co-champs of the Big Sky Conference, was led Saturday night by quarterback Kyle Padron, who completed 19-of-33 passes for 358 yards and six touchdowns.
Following a closely fought first half in which Eastern Washington (11-2 overall) led 24-17 at the break, the Eagles scored a pair of TDs in the first four minutes of the third quarter to jump out to a 38-17 advantage.
Illinois State (9-4) fought back to score 18 unanswered points and pull within three at 38-35 with 13:55 to play.
The Eagles finished off the Redbirds’ rally with a pair of touchdown passes to clinch a berth in the FCS semifinals.
Junior receiver Brandon Kaufman, who stands 6-foot-5, caught nine passes for 191 yards, including a 76-yard score midway through the fourth that extended Eastern Washington’s lead back out to two scores.
Padron, like his predecessor and 2011 Walter Payton Award winner Bo Levi Mitchell, transferred to Eastern Washington from SMU. This season, Padron has passed for 2,374 yards and 17 touchdowns.
The Eagles also ran the ball 33 times for 109 yards. Quincy Forte was Eastern Washington’s leading rusher against the Redbirds on Saturday with 116 yards on seven carries, including a 57-yarder that set up the Eagles’ final touchdown.
“Every team at this point of the season can run the ball effectively,” Fritz said.
Defensively, the Eagles had a rough day as Illinois State, the third-place finisher out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, racked up 520 yards of offense (372 passing and 148 rushing).
“They’ve got a real solid defense,” Fritz said. “They were real good at creating some turnovers (one fumble and two interceptions). Illinois State has also gotten a lot of yards and points on a lot of teams this year.”
In the other semifinal, No. 1 seed North Dakota State will host No. 5 seed Georgia Southern on Friday night in Fargo, N.D., at the Fargodome.
The winners of the two semifinal games will meet Jan. 5 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco for the FCS national championship game.
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Related Photos
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Sam Houston State defensive tackle Preston Sanders (91) sets his sights on Montana State quarterback DeNarius McGhee during Friday’s quarterfinal playoff game in Bozeman, Mont. The Bearkats held the Bobcats to just 72 rushing yards in their 34-16 victory over the third-seeded Bobcats. SHSU will head back on the road later this week for an FCS semifinal game against Eastern Washington. The Bearkats and Eagles will clash Saturday at 3 p.m. D.J. Shafer
Discussion
FCS PLAYOFFS — On the road again
Bearkats headed to Eastern Washington for Saturday afternoon game
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SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: One bad inning
One big inning did in the Bearkats on Thursday night.
After giving up five runs in the third inning to Southeastern Louisiana, Sam Houston State responded and chipped away at the deficit. The Kats had their chances to pull even with the Lions but couldn’t make the key hit when they needed it Thursday night at Constellation Field.
The Bearkats lost 5-3 and now will have to win twice today to stay alive in the Southland Conference Tournament, beginning with an elimination contest against Lamar at noon. -
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: It's Miller time!
The Bearkats found out last year how tough it was to get to the championship game from the losers’ bracket.
In order to have a chance at a Southland Conference tournament title, the Kats had to find a way to come out on top in their tournament opener on Wednesday against McNeese State.
Thanks to opportunistic hitting and some flashy glove work, along with a solid performance from starting pitcher Tyler Eppler, top-seeded Sam Houston State pulled off an 8-3 victory over the Cowboys at Constellation Field. -
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Mary Walker of Ennis, the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association’s 2012 world barrel racing champion, earned $4,000 with a winning time of 17.10 seconds.
Tuf Cooper of Decatur, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s 2012 tie-down roping champion, finished second with an 8.4 time. Cooper earned $3,000. -
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: Bearkats believe they can beat anybody
The long regular-season grind is over for the Sam Houston State Bearkats. The fun stuff — postseason tournament baseball — starts today in Sugar Land.
This afternoon at 4, the Bearkats (36-18), conference champs for the second consecutive season, clash with No. 8 seed McNeese State in the first round of the 2013 Southland Tournament. - What’s in store at the Southland baseball tourney?
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BEARKAT BASEBALL — Kats win again, head into conference tourney with plenty of momentum
Having already clinched the outright Southland Conference regular-season championship on Friday night and the No. 1 seed in this week’s conference tournament a night earlier, the Bearkats didn’t have much to gain from Saturday afternoon’s series finale against Central Arkansas. Still, the Kats certainly didn’t want to go into this week on the heels of a loss and rallied late to end the regular season with 6-5 victory as well as completing a series sweep against the Bears.
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BEARKAT BASEBALL — Kats repeat as outright conference champs
Thanks in large part to one of starting pitcher Cody Dickson’s finest performances of the season, Sam Houston State beat Central Arkansas 4-0 and clinched the Southland Conference regular-season championship outright for a second straight season.
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BEARKAT BASEBALL — Kats one step closer to repeating as outright conference champs
Sam Houston State took care of business with a 7-3 victory over the Bears on Thursday night and clinched at least a share of the Southland Conference title and secured the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament.
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UIL STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS: On the medal stand ...
Remember that saying, “Good things happen to those who wait?” Well, the Lady Hornets waited and waited, then waited some more.
When a long day, and four special seasons, concluded late Friday night at the UIL State Track and Field Championships, great things happened for a tight group of Huntsville girls. - More Sports Headlines
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