Bethany College Swedes (0-0) at HBU Huskies (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 5 – 7 p.m.
Husky Stadium – Houston, Texas
Video / Audio (Lonnie King/Alonzo Williams)
TV (Delay): Sunday at 8 p.m. on Root Sports
(Tom Franklin/Jeff Power)
Live Stats
Game Notes
Tickets: Adults $13/Youth $5
Promotions: Cowbells by Memorial Hermann (first 450 fans), T-shirts for students by Pepsi (limited)
Gameday Central HOUSTON - HBU hosts Bethany College in the season opener presented by Memorial Hermann Saturday at 7 p.m. at Husky Stadium and broadcast by Root Sports. The audio broadcast and live stream is available on HBUHuskies.com and powered by Legacy Sports Network.
Six-foot-six, 240-pound sophomore quarterback
Max Staver, a transfer from Tyler Junior College and the University of Florida, is expected to get his first start under center for the Huskies. He will be joined by eight other returning starters on offense, including all-conference running back
B.J. Kelly, who rushed for 735 yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt freshman. Sophomore wide receiver
D'Angelo Wallace is HBU's leading returner with 17 catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns.
HBU's defense is led by all-conference linebacker
Garrett Dolan, who led the Huskies with 82 tackles, and all-conference cornerback
Eric Amoako, who totaled 60 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown. Sophomore safety
Taylor Thompson led HBU with three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, while senior defensive end was the team leader with 5.5 sacks.
Bethany College, a member of NAIA Division I out of Lindsborg, Kansas, went 7-4 last season and 5-4 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Association. The Swedes, who are also playing their season opener, are led by sophomore wide receiver Jasaan Eley, who made the switch to the outside after rushing for 705 yards (64.1 per game) last season. Bethany College returns three preseason all-conference selections in running back Tevis Linnebur, wide receiver/kick returner Nile Daniel and offensive lineman Brooks Porter. Senior quarterback Virgil Bridges is expected to start for the Swedes, after appearing in five games last season and completing 27-of-54 passes for 330 yards, a pair of touchdowns and four interceptions in 2014.
Tonight's game is the first of three sets of back-to-back home games for the Huskies this season. HBU will host Northern Colorado Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at Husky Stadium, before two-straight Southland Conference games on the road.
This Week's Quotes from Head Coach Vic Shealy
On Fall Camp..."It's another stair step to where we want to be. We feel like we've seen our kids develop and with the new kids coming on, we feel the program has had a good fall camp. We've gotten beat up a little bit, but that happens -- we're just trying to get them back healthy this week and play well Saturday."
On Biggest Area of Improvement..."I feel like we've got some decent DNA in our skill kids, we feel the weight room has been good there, we feel like we've gotten better. Some of the football IQ and things you need to run your schemes have improved. The biggest areas where we've seen the girth and physical development is in the mid-skill type guys -- the linebackers, the hedge guys on defense and the tight ends. That's probably the single-greatest area where we've seen player development occur."
On Running Backs..."We want to be balanced offensively, we've done some things to have a greater ability to be balanced, but I still believe being able to run the football is paramount to our success. We continue to make (the running backs) an area of toughness. Our coaches do a good job with our backs, but we come from a state where the kids come in knowing what to do fundamentally and ball security is important. We're comfortable and excited about the quality of backs in our program."
