Bearkats thwart Owls’ comeback bid
HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston State hadn’t faced a triple-option team all season until Saturday night. Considering the unfamiliarity with Kennesaw State’s offense, the Bearkats did a good job slowing down the Owls’ ground game, especially in the closing minutes.
With less than a minute and a half remaining, P.J. Hall made the play of the game. Hall’s tackle on a fourth-down play gave possession to the sixth-seeded Bearkats and secured a 3427 victory.
Offensively, Sam Houston State was still Sam Houston State, which leads the FCS in scoring at nearly 45 points per game. The Bearkats rode the passing of Jeremiah Briscoe and running of Corey Avery for the victory at Bowers Stadium, sending Sam Houston State to its third semifinal appearance in the FCS playoffs in the past four years and extending its winning streak to nine games.
Sam Houston State (12-1) advances to play secondseed North Dakota State at 7 p.m. Friday. For the seventh consecutive year, North Dakota State will host a semifinal game.
“We’re respectful for what they have done, but we’re not intimated,” Bearkats coach K.C. Keeler said. “I have a great team and the best offense in the country, and I think we’ll play some great defense there. We’re not done.”
Behind quarterback Chandler Burks, Kennesaw State averages a nationalbest 328.5 rushing yards per game. Against the Bearkats, the Owls rushed for 352 of their 472 yards. Sam Houston State, which was averaging 544.6 yards of offense, totaled 482.
But Sam Houston State’s defense stepped up when needed, stopping the Owls on downs twice in five opportunities. The biggest being Hall’s tackle on Ezra Naylor for a 4-yard loss on fourth-and-5 at the Sam Houston State 11. It was a reverse that was forced to the sideline by Chris Stewart, who totaled 15 tackles, and finished by Hall.
“That was the play that won the game,” Stewart said. “The whole game we anticipated that they were going to bring something back. That was always in the back of our minds, and we looked for that.”
Briscoe threw for 316 yards and three touchdown passes and Avery, who surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season, ran for 129 yards before a crowd of 5,725.
The two teams were a contrast in styles. Sam Houston State’s versatile offense versus the Owls’ running game.
Playing at home has been beneficial for Sam Houston State, which has won 20 straight games at Bowers and is 13-0 all-time in Huntsville in playoff games. The Bearkats of the Southland Conference have won 47 of their past 49 games at Bowers.
Among Briscoe’s touchdown passes on Saturday was a 61-yarder to Nathan Stewart for the Bearkats’ first score. With the reception, Stewart eclipsed 1,500 receiving yards for the season.
Playing an 11th straight week, Kennesaw State (122) lost for the first time since its season opener at Samford. The Owls’ 12 wins is the most by a FCS program in their third year of football.
“It was a fun ride and I hated for it to end,” said Burks, the Big South Offensive Player of the Year, who passed for 120 yards and ran for 43 yards, including a 4-yard score in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
After Burks was intercepted by Zyon McCollum on the Owls’ first possession of the second half, the Owls ran 23 straight running plays.
Only Stephen F. Austin has held Sam Houston State to less than 30 points this season.