Published: October 31, 2009 01:24 am      

Kats ready to tangle with Demons

Sam Houston hoping to get offense rolling to snap two-game skid

The Bearkats insist that they are not taking Northwestern State lightly and that the Demons’ 0-7 record doesn’t mean a thing.

In fact, looking at game film this week, Sam Houston State linebacker Luke McCall pointed out that Northwestern State has some talented players and if the Bearkats don’t watch out, the Demons’ seven-game losing streak could come to an end today at Bowers Stadium.

Northwestern State (0-3 in SLC) is coming off one of its best games of the season. The Demons put the ball in true freshman quarterback Paul Harris’ hands last weekend and gained more than 400 yards of total offense in a narrow 20-17 loss to Texas State.

“You watch film on them and you wouldn’t think they are a team that is winless. They are kind of snake bit or something,” McCall said Friday afternoon. “They play like a good team and run the ball real well. We have to stop the run. I think they ran for almost 300 yards against Texas State.

“Stopping the run is going to be the main thing for us.”

While the Demons appear on the brink of getting things turned around, the Bearkats (1-2 in SLC, 3-4 overall) have struggled the past two weeks, especially on offense.

Sam Houston State managed only 14 points in the first three quarters and turned the ball over three times in a 37-21 loss at Southeastern Louisiana on Oct. 17.

Things were even worse last weekend as archrival Stephen F. Austin snapped a five-game losing streak in the Battle of the Piney Woods by pummeling the Bearkats 42-3.

With starting quarterback Blake Joseph watching from the sideline with a nagging ankle injury, Sam Houston was held to a season-low 186 yards of total offense by the Lumberjacks despite not having a single turnover.

“We have to cut down on penalties and silly mistakes. We also have to execute better,” senior offensive guard Hunter Schmidt said Friday. “We have been playing hard. Blake is back this week and I think it will help us out a lot. Not to say (Bryan) Randolph did a bad job, he is a good quarterback, too.

“But I think things will be different this week than against SFA.”

Joseph suffered the ankle injury in the fourth quarter of a 44-21 victory over Nicholls on Oct. 10. He tried to play the following week at Southeastern Louisiana, but was limited to staying in the pocket and didn’t have much power in his throws because he couldn’t plant his front foot. That resulted in his three interceptions and his failure to rush for positive yards for the first time all season.

Jospeh was back and practicing as usual this week. He is in a lot better shape than he was two weeks ago and the Bearkats need a big game out of him against the Demons.

The Sam Houston defense could also benefit from a healthy Joseph. With a stagnant offense, the Bearkat defense has been on the field a lot the past two weeks and have surrendered an average of 519.5 total yards of offense in the losses to SFA and Southeastern Louisiana.

“We really need to get going on offense this week,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said early in the week. “We are putting a lot of pressure on the defense because we aren’t moving the ball. Hopefully that will change this week with Blake being healthy.

“Northwestern State is a good team and a lot better than their 0-7 record. We have to clean things up to put ourselves in position to win.”



Bearkat notes and quotes

Familiar foe — Today will mark the first time Sam Houston State defensive coordinator Scott Stoker will be on the opposite sideline against Northwestern State since the Demons’ didn’t renew his contract as head coach at the end of last season.

Stoker led the Demons to a 43-38 record in seven seasons and guided Northwestern State to the 2004 Southland Conference co-championship and the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs twice.

So what’s is going to be like for Stoker to face his former team today?

“I have been in this business long enough that these things don’t mean anything,” Stoker said Friday afternoon. “The media probably makes a bigger deal of it than us coaches. When you are older, you just move on to the next stop.”

Stoker was also a record-setting quarterback at Northwestern State and led the Demons to the 1988 SLC championship and the playoffs.



Finding their man — Northwestern State head coach Bradley Dale Peveto started true freshman quarterback Paul Harris for the first time last week against Texas State. Harris sparked the Demons’ offense to its second best outing of the season by throwing and running for more than 100 yards.

Northwestern State almost broke into the win column, but couldn’t convert a fourth-and-5 at the Bobcat 39-yard line with 32 seconds left in the game in the 20-17 loss.

Harris creates multiple problems with his ability to run and throw, so the Bearkats will need to keep him contained to slow down the Demons.

“He is really good at running the ball and they try to keep it in his hands a lot,” senior linebacker Luke McCall said. “We have to stop him from running the ball and make him throw it more. He is a true freshman, so things maybe a little fast for him. We want to make him beat us by throwing the ball rather than letting him run around out there. He is a better runner than passer.”