Published: November 16, 2009 11:39 pm      

Dotson earns special honor

Game-changing punt block and touchdown keep alive Bearkats’ block party tradition

Vincent Dotson has been named the Southland Conference football Special Teams Player of the Week after making a game-breaking punt block and touchdown return in Sam Houston State’s 17-14 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday.

With the Bearkats trailing UCA 7-3 in the third quarter, Dotson blocked a Central Arkansas punt from the SHSU 49, picked it up at the 36-yard line and ran it in for the go-ahead touchdown.

The freshman walk-on, who earned a spot on the Bearkats’ special teams unit this year, got a hand on an earlier punt and made three tackles on special teams. This is the first player of the week award for Dotson, who has nine tackles this season.

McNeese State linebacker Malcolm Bronson, was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week and quarterback Jeremy Moses of Stephen F. Austin won the offensive honor.

Dotson’s two blocks in the UCA game keeps alive the Sam Houston State “block party” tradition. Since the 1991 season, Sam Houston special teams have blocked 90 kicks including 64 punts, 18 field goals and eight point-after attempts. The Kats have gone 19 consecutive seasons with at least one block during the year.

Sam Houston State will close out its 2009 season with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday at Texas State. A victory would clinch a winning season for the Bearkats for the fourth time in the last six years.