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November 22, 2009

Red zone failures

Bearkats unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities

By Cody Stark

SAN MARCOS — Cornerback Jarvis Pippen knew the Bearkats needed a big play to have any hope at rallying to tie Saturday’s game against Texas State.

Sam Houston State had just punted with less than seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter and were trailing the Bobcats 28-20. One the first play of the ensuing drive, Pippens stepped in front of a Bradley George pass and came up with a key interception to give the Bearkats hope at the Texas State 32-yard line.

But junior running back Chris Poullard was stuffed for a rare 2-yard loss on the day on fourth-and-3 at the 8 as the Bobcats held on for a 28-20 victory in the season finale at Bobcat Stadium. The Bearkats finished the season 5-6 overall and 3-4 in Southland Conference action.

“We didn’t ever play well in the red area. We drove the ball down there, kicked a field goal or two and missed a couple of field goals,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “I thought that was one of the keys. We got our hands on their quarterback and couldn’t tackle him. He would roam around and make a long throw down the field. They made some remarkable catches.”

Texas State (5-2 in SLC, 7-4 overall) took a 28-20 lead when George connected with Da’Marcus Griggs for a pair of 13-yard touchdowns, one with under three minutes to go in the third and the other at the 8:06 mark of the fourth quarter.

The final score came right after Bearkat freshman kicker Miguel Antonio missed a 44-yard field goal wide left that would have put Sam Houston up 23-21.

The Kats went three and out on their next possession following Texas State’s final touchdown. George and Griggs had been giving the Sam Houston secondary fits the entire game, hooking up 11 times for 178 and two scores.

But the Bobcats went to the well one too many times, and Pippens put the Bearkats back in business with his pick.

“Basically they were challenging me and had a lot of success heading my way,” Pippens said. “I was just trying to compete and make it tough on them. I made a play on the ball and (the interception) was what happened.”

With the momentum back in their favor, the Bearkats went on the march. Senior quarterback Blake Joseph hit Poullard for 11 yards, then he later found senior wide receiver Jason Madkins, who topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season with nine grabs for 103 yards, for 6 more down to the 9-yard line.

Sophomore running back Torian Wilkins picked up a yard on third down, but Poullard was met in the backfield by a host of Bobcat defenders to turn the ball over on downs.

Things got chippy after the stop and both benches ran onto the field. But the Bearkat and Texas State coaches were able to break up the mess before things got out of hand.

Sam Houston got one final shot with 1:34 left on the clock. Joseph, who threw for 240 yards and a score, took a hard hit and fumbled on first down. Texas State recovered and ran out the clock.

“We struggled in the red zone today. It was tough, but you have to give Texas State a lot of credit,” said Poullard, who rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown. “They let us get to the red zone, but once we got there, they buckled down and kept us from scoring.”

The Bearkats jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. George hit Griggs for a 46-yard strike on the first play of the game, but the wide receiver fumbled at the SHSU 34.

Sam Houston scored 11 plays later on a 1-yard run by Poullard.

Texas State answered with a 48-yard touchdown run by Alvin Canady, but the Bearkats came right back to go up 14-7 on a 22-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver Chris Lucas.

Sam Houston took a 17-14 lead into halftime when Antonio connected from 31-yards out late in the second quarter. He also hit a 36-yard attempt to start the third to make it a six-point advantage, but Texas State held the Bearkats scoreless the rest of the way.

Sam Houston finished with 382 yards of total offense. The Kats just couldn’t finish once they got into Bobcat territory.

“I don’t know how much of it was what they did,” Whitten added. “We moved the ball and made some big catches. We got down inside the red area, but missed a field goal and went out on downs at the end of the game. We just didn’t execute.”

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