A short rain shower late Wednesday afternoon cooled things off around Huntsville, and it was a welcome relief from the heat for the Sam Houston State football squad.

The cooler temperatures put a little extra pep in the step of the Bearkats, who were running team and unit drills at Bowers Stadium in preparation for Saturday’s game at Gardner-Webb, a Football Championship Subdivision school in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Sam Houston head coach Todd Whitten has been pleased with how things have gone in practice this week. The players are pumped and ready to get back on the field following last weekend’s performance on the road at Kansas.

The Bearkats (1-1) might have lost 38-14 to the Jayhawks, the 18th-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision team in the nation, but the game was closer than the score indicates.

“The truth of the matter is that we competed well and executed most of the time,” Whitten said Wednesday. “We played well at times. We had three turnovers and you can’t do that. We gave up three huge third-down conversions — we have struggled with that — but we are working hard to get those corrected.

“So yeah, against one of the best teams Sam Houston has ever played, I was proud of our effort.”

Take away those three turnovers, which led to three touchdowns and ended two drives in Kansas territory, plus two lengthy Jayhawk scoring passes on third and long, and it might have been a different outcome in Lawrence, Kan.

The Sam Houston State defense did a good job of shutting down the Jayhawks for a majority of the first half, and the Kats’ offense was able to move the ball against a team projected to compete for the Big 12 North title this season.

In a game many thought would be a laugher by halftime, the Kats more than held their own. Kansas had been struggling in the running game and figured to get some extra work in, but when the Kats kept the Jayhawks out of the end zone in the first quarter, the game plan changed.

It wasn’t until an interception return down to the SHSU 1-yard line that Kansas finally scored on a short run by quarterback Todd Reesing with 10:27 left in the second quarter. The Jayhawks’ other two first-half touchdowns came on 68- and 57-yard passes on third-and-long situations, the latter coming with 47 seconds left in the first half to make it 21-7.

The Bearkat defense has been working this week on finding a solution to those third-down conversion woes before heading to North Carolina to face the Bulldogs (2-1) on Saturday at 5 p.m.

“I think overall as a whole defense we did good against Kansas. It was just those few plays on third and long,” SHSU safety Jeff Sparks said. “We have to stop them on those. That is what we are concentrating on this week, stopping third downs whether they are long or short. We have to get them off the field to get our offense back out there.”

Kansas was able to create a little breathing room in the second half, but Sam Houston still put up 385 yards of total offense.

Despite the three interceptions, one of which could have been caught by a Bearkat receiver, quarterback Rhett Bomar threw for 340 yards and a touchdown. He ran for another score. Wide receiver Justin Wells caught eight passes for 111 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown.

Having to replace four starters from last season, the SHSU offensive line also looks like it is starting to come together. The O-line only gave up two sacks (three total on the season) against the Jayhawks last Saturday.

With all that said, Sam Houston State isn’t taking the Bulldogs lightly. Gardner-Webb is 2-1 and riding a two-game winning streak.

With the game against Prairie View A&M; having been canceled, this could be the only test against an FCS opponent for the Bearkats before the start of conference on Oct. 11 at Central Arkansas.

“We are just trying to do everything we have been doing every week,” junior guard Hunter Schmidt said. “We are practicing hard and trying to compete at a higher level. Whether we are playing Kansas or Gardner-Webb, we are going out there to play our game. If we do that, everything will work itself out.”



Searching for a game

After Hurricane Ike forced the contest against Prairie View A&M; to be canceled on Sept. 6, the Bearkats are trying to add an extra game to the schedule. The replacement game would be held Oct. 4 when Sam Houston State has a bye week before opening Southland Conference play at Central Arkansas on Oct. 11.

SHSU officials are talking to several schools, but as of Wednesday nothing had been worked out.

“We are trying to find people with open dates and are calling around,” Whitten said. “We have been working hard and have been for the last 10 days. I’m really not sure where we are at this point, but (athletic director) Bobby Williams has been working on it. We really want to play another game and aren’t concerned with who.

“I think it is critical for the development of your team to play ball early in the season, and that’s what we are trying to do.”