Bearkats use strong start to salvage winning season
McCollum’s 2 picks, Bowens’ 2 TD grabs extend Huskies’ skid
Sam Houston State hasn’t had the season it envisioned. But the Bearkats came away with what they wanted Saturday at Husky Stadium — a victory to ensure their ninth consecutive winning season, the longest streak in school history.
Zyon McCollum had two interceptions, including a 17-yard picksix, in Sam Houston State’s 42-20 win to spoil Houston Baptist’s senior day in both Southland Conference teams’ season finale.
“Everybody around us knew we had to win this game,” Bearkats coach K.C. Keeler said. “We had to get 2019 going, now.
“You would think this late in the season, not playing a rivalry game, but the kids played at the level they played at with a lot of passion.”
Freshman Dee Bowens caught touchdown passes of 45 and 50 yards from Ryan Humphries and Ty Brock, respectively, for Sam Houston State (6-5, 5-4 SLC), which jumped out to a 28-3 advantage and led 28-10 at halftime.
Brock, who passed for 251 yards, threw a 56-yard scoring strike in the third quarter to Nathan Stewart, who had seven receptions for 100 yards. Bowens had 133 receiving yards on six catches.
Despite outgaining the Bearkats in total offense, HBU (1-10, 0-9) dropped its 10th straight game. The Huskies’ lone win was 49-7 over Southwest Baptist in their opener.
“We have struggled with consistency in putting the ball in the end zone,” HBU coach Vic Shealy said. “We didn’t generate enough points.
“But we got to get stronger and do a good job of recruiting and repair areas that need to be repaired and come back better next year.”
HBU’s longest gain came on its first offensive play, a 55-yard reception to Coleman Robinson from Bailey Zappe to the Bearkats’ 27-yard line. The drive ended when McCollum, a former Utah commit and sophomore from Galveston Ball, intercepted Zappe at the 11.
“I was just trying to play for next year and rally the guys,” McCollum said. “We have some new leaders coming up, and the Bearkats will be completely different next year.”
The 2018 season ended a stretch of seven straight years in which the Bearkats played in the FCS playoffs.
Following McCollum’s touchdown interception, the Bearkats came back with another touchdown on Humphries’ touchdown pass, following a backward pass. For Humphries, a former scout team player, it was the first offensive snap of the freshman’s career.
“We had a scholarship guy set to do that, and he wasn’t throwing the ball that well, and he was a high school quarterback,” Keeler said. “So we put Ryan in there, and we love Ryan.
“We think Ryan’s going to play slot next year and play significant snaps. The great thing with this new redshirt rule, is you can play him at any time, so we didn’t burn a year of eligibility on that one play. And he laid it out and Dee Bowens made a phenomenal catch. Bowens is a future star in this program.”
Derek Broussard had an interception for HBU, which led to the Huskies’ first touchdown — a Dreshawn Minnieweather 27-yard run in the final minute of the first half. Minnieweather rushed for 105 yards. Teammate LaDarius Dickens ran for a game-high 121 yards.
But the Huskies couldn’t match the Bearkats in points.
“It was not the season that we expected,” said Broussard, a senior from Beaumont, who redshirted last season following surgery on both shoulders. “But for me, I felt it was just a blessing to play football again.”